On Friday night the inevitable finally happened. The Red Bulls, with their momentum and cache of games in hand, overtook the fading DC United at the top of the Eastern Conference standings — also keeping Vancouver Whitecaps well in their sights at the top of the Shield race. And the Red Bulls were still there on Monday morning, after DC’s draw in Colorado could only draw them level on points with New York, having played three games more. It’s currently the Red Bulls’ Conference to lose.
If the Red Bulls do go on to claim either divisional or league-wide honors, many will doubtless highlights the seven points they have taken off DC in their three meetings this season — including the one two weeks ago that seemed to permanently tilt the battle for the East.
But just as important in terms of points, and indeed in terms of how the team sees themselves, will be the series of three games against Chicago that started a few days before the DC match, continued with a come from behind 3-2 win at Red Bull Arena on Friday night, and will conclude on the final day of the regular season. That clash could yet be a repeat of the scenario the Red Bulls faced in 2013, when victory over the Fire guaranteed them the Supporters Shield.
And it was telling that even in the aftermath of the DC victory, senior Red Bulls players were ambivalent in the locker room, as they reflected on their poor performance in a loss to the division’s basement team, Chicago, in midweek. To use a popular phrase in US soccer circles, the current Red Bulls players benchmark themselves against the consistent likes of the LA Galaxy — teams whose swagger seems to always give them an edge, even with the parity checks and balances of MLS. By that measure, the type of historical jinx the Red Bulls have had against Chicago should be a thing of the past. And yet no Red Bulls team has ever won at Toyota Park — a symbolic frustration for New York as they try to shake the historical perception of them as being talented but flaky.
And far from being beaten before they get on the field, Chicago won the first game of the series and went 2-0 up in the second through a simple quality of their team, that the Red Bulls side is set up to struggle against — speed. The brute math of New York’s current pressing game, in a league like MLS, tends to suggest that the tactic, when executed well, will prevail more often than not. Often this year, that has proved to be the case, but against fast teams the problems are apparent.
After David Accam had picked up a clearance from a Red Bulls corner, brushed aside the covering Connor Lade and rounded Luis Robles to make the score 2-0 on Friday night, New York faced the prospect of yet another loss to Chicago. They instantly pulled one back though, and faced with a Chicago defense full of changes and playing Jeff Larentowicz as its starting center back, they had enough about them to keep pushing and eventually complete the comeback, though not before more scares caused by Accam’s speed.
Playoff opponents and indeed their next opponents (and another one-time jinx side) New England will be taking note. The Red Bulls slow rise to the top is complete for now — but speed can hurt them. GP
Brek Shea’s return could spark Orlando City’s ailing attack into life again
Somewhere in California, most likely at a Newport Beach coffee house, Jurgen Klinsmann’s phone bleeped in the pocket of his khaki pants with a message from whichever scout he’d assigned to watch Orlando City face Sporting KC on Sunday evening - “Brek is back,” it read. Of course, this is only an assumption (although it’s almost certain he was wearing khaki pants), but the German’s interest was surely piqued by the return of one of his favourites.
Sidelined since June after undergoing hernia surgery, Brek Shea’s return to action will give Klinsmann something to consider ahead of next month’s clash with Mexico – especially if the winger-turned-full-back can maintain the standard of his 30-minute cameo against Sporting KC. With his first touch Shea assisted Bryan Rochez for Orlando’s go-ahead goal in the 3-1 win, generally impressing in his first appearance for nearly three months.
But Shea’s return will have (and already has had) a bigger impact on Orlando City’s fortunes than it will on those of the USMNT. Before Sunday’s game at the Citrus Bowl Adrian Heath’s side had scored just once over their previous five outings, resulting in a slide down the Eastern Conference. But against Sporting KC – once an affiliate of the Floridan franchise in their USL Pro days – Shea gave Orlando the kind of directness and drive they have lacked so desperately in recent weeks. There was threat to their attacking play again.
His reintroduction to the first-team fold was timely for the Lions, given the significance of Sunday’s match. Orlando have just five games left of the regular season to play, and with both the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC holding games in-hand, Heath’s men needed three points against Sporting KC to keep alive their hopes of becoming the first expansion side since the 2009 Seattle Sounders to make the play-offs.
Orlando probably rue that Sporting KC are no longer in the Eastern Conference. Just a few weeks ago, Peter Vermes’ side had the look of Supporters’ Shield challengers, whilst now - having lost four of their last five matches - they are simply scrapping for their post-season place. Had this been last season, Orlando would have been targeting SKC’s top six place (ignoring the fact that City’s introduction to MLS was half the reason Sporting were moved to the West, of course).
The injury suffered by Kaka whilst on international duty with Brazil last week had the capacity to derail Orlando City’s season, but even with the playmaker in the lineup Heath’s side were flagging of late. Sunday’s second half cameo by Shea showed exactly what they were missing, demonstrating the impact he could have on the play-off run in. Who knows, Klinsmann might even make the trip out to the Citrus Bowl to see for himself. GR
2015 starting to bear uncanny resemblance to 2014 for the Revs
There are some things you can count on in Major League Soccer: a piece of outrageous Sebastian Giovinco trickery in every game, Seattle’s field will never look anything less than terrible and Toronto FC will always be Toronto FC. If the last two seasons are anything to go on, perhaps a late-season charge by the New England Revolution should be added to that list too.
It was about this time last year that Jay Heaps’ side set off on the run that would take them all the way to the MLS Cup final. The turning point, following a dismal mid-summer, came in a 1-0 home win over Chivas USA on 23 August - with the Revolution winning their next five fixtures in succession. This year, the watershed came on 2 August - again, after a difficult summer spell - as New England sparked off a four-game winning streak with a 3-1 home victory over Toronto FC.
In the reverse fixture on Sunday the Revs underlined credibility of their resurgence. At BMO Field Heaps’ side were somewhat fortunate to hold a 2-0 advantage at the break - given TFC’s possessional and territorial advantage. In fact, the New England only managed one shot on target over the course of the opening 45 minutes - so to have found the net twice by half-time was a little freakish.
And yet despite their statistical fortune, it’s difficult to put the win down as a fluke considering their recent form. It’s not just results that are beginning to give 2015 an uncanny 2014 tinge. Many of the factors that pushed the Revolution towards becoming MLS Cup contenders last year are once again coming to the fore.
There’s the resurgence of Lee Nguyen as one of the league’s most irrepressibly productive players, the defensive partnership between Andrew Farrell and Jose Gonclaves and the improving form of Diego Fagundez - who might not be putting up numbers like he did two years ago, but has netted three times in his last three outings. All of this only underlines the similarities between this year and last in Foxborough.
New England now welcome the New York Red Bulls to Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, in what will be something of a litmus test for their season. Victory will take Heaps’ side above their East coast rivals (although RBNY will hold games in-hand) and propel the Revs on to the brink of Conference title contention - marking a remarkable turnaround since their loss of five consecutive fixtures over June and July. This season might be missing a blind draw to decide the destination of a new Designated Player, but 2015 is starting to feel very familiar for the New England Revolution. GR
The East’s playoff field is all but set and the finger-pointing is starting
The form of New England in recent weeks had already begun to close the door on the faint hopes of several teams below the red line — hoping that the Revs now annual summer slump might extend into fall. But after the weekend’s round of results only Montreal are realistically in reach for most of the chasing pack. Orlando were the only team that won, and even that was only enough to draw them level on points with the Impact, but having played four games more.
Looking at the group of Orlando, Philadelphia, New York City, and Chicago Fire, the flaws in each are obvious. The expansion teams can be forgiven for missing the playoffs in their first year, whatever the fanfare around their individual marquee signings, but Philadelphia and Chicago have found themselves part of the post-Chivas-USA landscape where owners of under-performing sides can expect to be under a lot more scrutiny than even 18 months ago. Fans rightly want to know why two sides who should be operating in line with their presences in two of the larger media markets in the country, seem to persist in behaving like small market upstarts with low expectations.
There is simmering discontent among the more engaged fans at both clubs. Philadelphia Union fans held a mock-funeral procession in June to “honor” Nick Sakiewicz as a “serial franchise killer” (ironically the protest coincided with the start of one of the Union’s better stretches of the season), while 500 Chicago Fire fans signed a petition this week protesting at the stewardship of Andrew Hauptman — describing the onfield results of the past five years as “nothing short of a disgrace”. Whatever the merits of the individual complaints the two teams have found themselves among the also-rans in what’s seen as the weakest conference this year, and another long winter inquest beckons, assuming the fans are wrong about how much those owners care.
It’s all the more galling when teams in markets like Columbus get to see well-handled rebrands, ambitious hires and personnel acquisitions, and the entertainment factor of Kei Kamara’s now 20 goals and counting this season (including a brace against the Union on Saturday), or when serial regular season failures Toronto finally start to punch their weight this year. The Canadians may have lost this weekend, but should finally reach the playoffs this year, and with something to spare.
And of course there’s New England. Whatever the justifiable criticisms of parts of Robert Kraft’s reign, the Revs are once again one of the form teams in the East, currently have a shrewd balance of player buys and youth development that will serve them for the next few seasons, and in Jay Heaps have a coach who seems to have developed the Dom Kinnear knack of getting his team to peak just in time for the playoff race. Four coaches in the East will be playing no meaningful part in that race. As of today, it’s pretty clear which ones. GP
StubHub Center draw shows Montreal Impact might be ready for MLS Cup
Not many think pieces are written about goalless draws. In the catalogue of soccer’s greatest contests, not many matches that finished without so much as a goal are featured. But Saturday’s 0-0 draw between the LA Galaxy and the Montreal Impact revealed more than most such results, especially for those looking to draw MLS Cup deductions. Bruce Arena’s side have pretty much been able to do whatever they want at StubHub Center of late, but not against Montreal this time around.
Indeed, the LA Galaxy had scored an astonishing 43 goals over their last nine home games leading into the weekend. Faced with a team that had failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last six outings, Robbie Keane, Giovani Dos Santos et al must have been relishing another evening to fill their boots.
But the Impact found the kind of form that they had previously only shown this season in the Concacaf Champions League – and with results elsewhere falling their way, Montreal have significantly boosted their hopes of securing a play-off spot. Two points above the Philadelphia Union, with four games in-hand, interim head coach Mauro Biello has so far proved a fairly watertight stopgap, winning his first game in charge against Chicago last week before this week emerging from MLS’s most dangerous shooting gallery without so much as a flesh wound.
Of course, it’s only two weeks since Joey Saputo’s itchy trigger finger itched that little bit too much – with Frank Klopas fired following a 2-1 defeat to Toronto FC. Under the former USMNT forward Montreal were derided as a side with one of the softest centres in MLS – and yet against the LA Galaxy the Impact were spirited, resolute and fantastically stubborn. “There’s a mentality developing here – not giving up anything,” Montreal centre-back Wandrille Lefevre explained after the draw in Carson, adding how the Impact planned to break out on the counter.
However, to denounce Montreal’s display as merely a backs-to-the-wall job would be unfair, given the vigour and frequency with which they attacked the Galaxy themselves. Montreal’s defence was solid when it needed to be, but they finished the match with more shots on goal (15 to 11) than the league’s supposed-best attacking outfit. They fully deserved at least a point to take back home.
Perhaps Montreal are a team built for knock-out competition? Sure, Saturday’s game in Carson was a regular season fixture, but Biello’s side showed all the attributes of an outfit capable of making a run in the play-offs. By making it to the Concacaf Champions League final earlier this year the Impact have already demonstrated such credentials, but having since endured a difficult few months - and a change in management - they underlined them once again in California. GR
