With only four to choose from, just a single candidate this week and, despite his lack of popularity around these parts,
On to the results…
Results in Brief
The round began in New York with the Red Bulls playing host to the Revolution in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It had been sometime since either of these MLS originals had reached this stage of the playoffs, for New York they last graced it back in 2008, while for New England in had been one year more, last reaching this stage back in 2007 – the third of three-straight cup finals.
Both sides arrived in good form, New York having progressed through the knockout round and past East leaders DC United – they lost the second leg, but had ridden their strong home form thus far, having won their last two and gone unbeaten in three at Red Bull Arena. Added to that general form, the hosts had won both meetings between the clubs this season and gone unbeaten through the last six. New England, however, were the form team in the league, unbeaten in seven overall, with just one loss in the last three months; countering the Red Bull home form, the Revs were unbeaten on their travels through four, having won the last two.
With 1200 travelling fans in one corner of the ground and the spectre of the match being Thierry Henry’s final in MLS, play took off from the start and did not slow until the half-time whistle.
The Revolution pressed with abandon, drawing a crucial early save from Luis Robles who got a strong hand to a Jermaine Jones header. The Red Bulls countered with a look of their own, a Peguy Luyindula run drawing a strong shoulder-barge from Jose Goncalves and shouts for a penalty from the New York faithful.
But it was New England who would take the lead in the seventeenth minute. Jones played out wide to Teal Bunbury, who took on full-back Ambroise Oyongo, beating him to the inside to walk across the top of the box before unleashing a left-footed curler that nestled inside the far-post past a helpless Robles.
Already a tense and furious match, the first of ten bookings would be shown in the 23rd minute to New England’s AJ Soares – from then on, no more than eleven minutes would pass between booking, and that pause was spread across half-time. Three minutes later Jones was lucky to avoid more strict sanction, when his horrendous scissor tackle took down Dax McCarty, drawing only a yellow.
New York would equalize a minute after that, Bradley Wright-Phillips playing Johnny-on-the-spot in the 27th minute after Luyindula broke in down the left-side of the area; his initial rushed shot was saved, but from the ground his follow-up effort struck the bar, falling for Wright-Phillips, who may have been offside, to nod in the equalizer. The play had begun with a solid Ibrahim Sekagya tackle in midfield, allowing Oyongo to play up towards Henry, who sagely let the pass run into the path of the streaking Luyindula.
It was Wright-Phillips’ fourth goal of the post-season, having continued his golden boot form, but his good luck would end there, woefully sending a free-header in first-half stoppage-time over the bar and then picking up a silly booking in the sixtieth minute for preventing Bobby Shuttleworth from rolling out a restart quickly that will see him miss the second leg with yellow card accumulation.
There was no way the pace of the first half could continue and the match settled into a rhythm, appearing destined to end in a draw, that is until a late counterattack saw the Revolution slice open the Red Bull defenses in the 85th minute, handing the series advantage to the visitors.
Chris Tierney’s touch launched the attack, finding Lee Nguyen who streaked up the middle of the pitch before playing wide right to Bunbury. Unselfishly, the goal-scorer played a ball for Jones, himself making a lung-bursting run to the left-post, managing to remain onside to tuck in the finish with a sliding left-foot.
The 1-2 win, their first ever at Red Bull Arena and first in eleven matches in New York, would hand the Revolution the advantage as they return home for the second leg with a one-goal lead; their two away goals serving to enhance that lead with the away-goals rule in effect. They will progress with a win, a draw, or even a 0-1 loss. The Red Bulls will be without the services of the suspended Wright-Phillips, but Henry has announced his intention to play, despite the troublesome turf surface at Gillette Stadium.
A few hours later, the Western Conference Finals would kick off with the Galaxy welcoming the Sounders to the StubHub Center in the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Having met over the last two weeks of the season to determine which would win the Supporters Shield and take top spot in the West, these two were well-acquainted; the Sounders having drawn in LA and won 2-0 at home on the final weekend of the regular season, would earn both plaudits.
Seattle may have been unbeaten through two, but the last two meetings in LA had ended square, while the Galaxy had not lost at home since opening day, a run of seventeen-straight matches. LA’s five-goal explosion against Salt Lake in the previous round masked the fact that it was their defense, and some heroic goalkeeping, that had got them to this stage of the playoffs.
Given the rambunctious nature of the Eastern meeting, it was unlikely that this match would live up to the standard set by its counterpart and it was altogether a much more cautious affair. Understandably so, as Seattle were without the services of two first-choice players, midfield engine Osvaldo Alonso out with a hamstring issue and Lamar Neagle away to deal with a personal matter.
One thing that did carry over was the prodigious use of yellow cards, though to a lesser degree, the first coming after just three minutes, when DeAndre Yedlin caught Robbie Keane in the face with a stray arm.
The early chances came LA’s way, Keane failing to connect cleanly on a Stefan Ishizaki cross, Gyasi Zardes drawing a sharp save from Stefan Frei, who got down low to deny the effort, and then Keane again hooking an awkward attempt over the bar.
Seattle did draw a fantastic double-save out of Jaime Penedo, the star of the first leg in Salt Lake, in the 20th minute, denying Obafemi Martins’ initial attempt and then staying big to block Clint Dempsey’s follow up.
Penedo would be called upon again at the start of the second half, getting a strong hand on a deft Dempsey chipped attempt after the American international linked up with Martins, whose back-heel allowed him in down the right-side of the area.
Frei was then tested, reacting quickly to prevent an own-goal off the knee of teammate Leonardo Gonzalez from an LA cross in the 52nd minute. Seconds later, Frei and the Sounders would not be so lucky, as a Marcelo Sarvas effort from the top of the box deflected off Chad Marshall, handcuffing the keeper to find the back of the net after AJ DeLaGarza’s pull back found the midfielder high.
Seattle’s woes were nearly compounded on the hour mark, when Zach Scott blocked off a Keane run, prompting LA to call for his expulsion. Scott had picked up a booking in the 37th minute, catching Keane with a high forearm, but he would skate through further punishment, despite several more fouls as the match wound to an end.
LA had repeated chances to increase their advantage, Ishizaki bending free-kick over the wall only to strike the bar, before connecting with a Keane cross at the back-post; Alan Gordon too sent his look over the bar with a late chance, but Seattle held firm, thanks largely to an outstanding performance from Defender of the Year candidate, Marshall, who pressured a hurried effort out of Gordon.
The Galaxy will take the 1-0 advantage with them to Seattle, extending their playoff shutout streak to 270 minutes with a third-straight clean-sheet. On a similar note, the potent offense of the Sounders has scored just once through three playoff matches and been shut out in the last two; Alonso having gotten on the end of Marco Pappa free-kick back in the first leg against Dallas their sole tally of the post-season.
Overheard
A sampling of the most intriguing quotes from the round:
Thierry Henry committed to playing on the dreaded turf in the New England area, relaying one of the reasons why he has not thus far: “I’m playing. You happy? The only thing is if … my Achilles don’t last, then I will be on holiday if we don’t go through. I’m sure guys wouldn’t care if I can walk or not after that. That’s just the way it is.”
New York’s Bradley Wright-Phillips with a rather shocking admission post-match: “I didn't know the rules of the yellow card accumulation. I’m angry, obviously. I'm angry. Stupid yellow card and now I have to pay.”
LA was not pleased with the official’s decision to keep both sides at even strength. Robbie Rogers offered: “I was surprised after Scott got the yellow card, that he had, like, five more fouls. I mean, it's an absolute joke. [He stayed] because they didn't want guys to get a red."
Landon Donovan too chimed in on that turn of events, adding a touch of foreshadow for the return leg: “The officials made it clear that no one's getting sent off. So we have to make sure we're aware of that next weekend, and we'll play with that in mind, and I'm sure they will, too. It's going to be even more physical, and that's OK. We can play that way.”
Even Seattle boss, Sigi Schmid reflected on that good fortune: “I thought we benefited a little bit [from the referee’s decisions]. In most games, I think that referee would have pulled that yellow, so I'm not going to pretend I didn’t see that. … Yeah, we were fortunate that Zach stayed on the field.”
See It Live
A selection of the finest moments of the weekend, beginning with several of the best saves: Luis Robles on Jermaine Jones; Bobby Shuttleworth on Dax McCarty; Stefan Frei on Gyasi Zardes; and Jaime Penedo on Clint Dempsey.
There has been much debate about players calling for a card, but to see Bruce Arena making the motion from the sideline when Zach Scott blocked off Robbie Keane’s run was something else.
There was a plethora of travelling fans at both matches, adding to the atmosphere, including a nice exchange between Jay Heaps and the New England fans post-match.
Meanwhile, Jones responded to the accusations that New England were divers with this tweet – shots fired indeed.
Controversy
Jermaine Jones was lucky to stay on the pitch after his high scissor tackle on Dax McCarty.
While there were hints off offside on goals from both
Upcoming Fixtures
The second legs are set to be played next weekend with the East wrapping up on Saturday as New England takes their advantage home to the turf outside of Boston, while the West will come to a conclusion on Sunday with Seattle looking to overturn LA back home.
Saturday: New England-New York. Sunday: Seattle-Los Angeles.
All video & quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
Each week James takes a look at the league as a whole.
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