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Crew move into tie for first in Eastern Conference
As we are constantly reminded in MLS, some ownerships just don't seem to get "it." Mostly, "it" refers to the unique -- at least in the North American landscape -- nature of supporters culture. While some teams -- not so coincidentally many of the more highly attended ones -- have embraced this relationship, some of them continue to show a baffling lack of comprehension.
The latest example comes from the New York Red Bulls, an organization you might assume would know better as the ownership's roots are in Europe. But check out the team response to their supporters' letter notifying them of their intention to stage a silent protest over the team's capitulation in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals:
Give MLS referee David Gantar credit. He sensed he may have gotten his red card against the San Jose Earthquakes wrong, so he enlisted the help of his assistant.
Although Gantar managed to identify someone who was actually involved in the play, he still managed to issue a red card and award a penalty for something that replays clearly showed deserved neither:
Kosuke Kimura was undoubtedly just trying to send in a speculative pass in the 82nd minute, but the ball ended up catching New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis in no-man's land, temporarily giving the Colorado Rapids the lead. The goal maybe not quite as impressive as San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham's gainst West Bromowich Albion a couple weeks ago, but this one had the advantage of not only coming in a MLS game, but also at a particularly opportune time.
The Columbus Crew moved into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers on Saturday. Eddie Gaven's 79th minute goal stood up as the game-winner.
The two sides played almost exactly even, with both firing off 18 shots and putting three of them on target. But Gaven was the only player able to find the back of the net, ending a 259-minute goalless streak for the Crew.
The loss was just the latest in a season of road woes for the Timbers, who have won just one of nine matches away from Jeld-Wen Field. They are now five points behind Chivas USA in the race for the No. 10 playoff spot.
The Crew, meanwhile, seem to be doing just enough to stay alive for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. This was their third 1-0 win of the season and the 15th time in 21 matches that they've scored one or fewer goals.
Justin Braun registered his second hat trick of the season, leading Chivas USA to a 3-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. The victory allowed Chivas USA to leapfrog both the Dynamo and the San Jose Earthquakes to move into 10th-place in the overall MLS table.
It's been a bit of a strange season for Braun, who has been relegated to the bench and fought a couple lengthy scoring slumps. His first hat trick ended a 10-match goalless streak and he entered this match having scored just once in his past 11 appearances. Braun now has seven goals this season, just two short of his career high that he set a year ago.
Braun's first and second goals were both pretty impressive. On his first, he was able to flick the ball past All-Star goalkeeper Tally Hall with the bottom of his foot. On the second, he successfully executed a one-touch chip over Hall.
Thierry Henry's 85th minute equalizer allowed the New York Red Bulls to salvage a 2-2 tie with FC Dallas despite being forced to play the final 10 minutes of the match a man down. Henry now leads MLS with 11 goals.
The match was a bit of a back-and-forth affair as Juan Agudelo gave the Red Bulls an early lead with a 39th minute goal. But the Toros came storming back, equalizing on Marvin Chavez's 51st minute goal and taking the lead on another goal from Chavez in the 78th minute.
The situation seemed to get worse for the Red Bulls when Dane Richards picked up his second yellow card on what appeared to be pretty light contact on Bruno Guarda.
As it turned out, though, the red card wasn't so debilitating. Henry was able to create some space from himself about 25 yards out and fired a left-footed shot past a diving Kevin Hartman to salvage a point for the Red Bulls, who were in bad need of something positive.
With MLS teams busy with a host of friendlies, this is actually one of the lighter weekends of the season. Just six matches will be played -- as the Philadelphia Union had their match against the Seattle Sounders moved back to October to accomodate a friendly against Real Madrid.
New York Red Bulls vs. FC Dallas, 6 p.m., Saturday (Galavision)
A season that was merely frustrating a few weeks ago has suddenly taken a pretty drastic turn for the worst as the Red Bulls have lost two of their past three and have won one of their past eight. They have also been eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup -- after playing a team of reserves, much to the chagrin of their supporters -- and the Supporters' Shield is all but off the table, meaning their only chance for their first trophy in franchise history is the MLS Cup. Just to add salt to the wound, their supporters are planning a silent protest at this match. FC Dallas meanwhile is buzzing along with the second most points in the league and getting ready for their first ever CONCACAF Champions League match. Not looking good for the Red Bulls. Pick: FC Dallas 1-0.
Columbus Crew vs. Portland Timbers, 8 p.m., Saturday
The Timbers are coming off their first road win in their MLS history, so spirits are probably relatively high. Unfortunately, their going up against a team that has lost just once at home. The Crew do not play pretty soccer, necessarily, but they have quietly worked their way up the Eastern Conference standings and could actually move into a tie for first with a win. Pick: Crew 1-0.
Sporting Kansas City vs. Toronto FC, 8:30 p.m., Saturday
This match marks the start of a rather jaw-dropping run of home matches for Sporting, who will play their next nine matches at Livestrong Sporting Park. Although they've cooled off recently, they are still on an 11-match unbeaten run. That streak includes a 2-0-3 mark at home. Toronto FC is still looking for their first road win and should have their two new Designated Players, as well as their other three recent acquisitions, more fully integrated into the team. Could be a little tighter than it looks at first glance. Pick: SKC 2-1.
Colorado Rapids vs. New England Revolution, 9 p.m., Saturday
Shockingly enough, both teams are coming off midweek wins, as the Rapids delivered a 4-1 beat down to the Red Bulls and the Revolution shocked DC United on the road. The Rapids, despite missing Conor Casey for the remainder of the year, actually look like they could be pretty dangerous. It's hard to see the Revolution turning it around. Pick: Rapids 2-0.
Real Salt Lake Vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 10 p.m., Saturday
In looking at the Earthquakes' record it's tempting to say they have been hard to figure out. They've registered some impressive results, scored a fair amount of goals, have a positive goal-difference and sit on the precipice of the playoffs. But maybe we're over-analyzing them. Aside from a five-match run from matches 9-13, they have actually been a pretty bad team. It's been seven matches since they won, a span of games which has seen them shut out five times. RSL may not be as good as we thought they were at the start of the season, but losing at home to the Earthquakes would be an absolute stunner. Pick: RSL 2-0.
Chivas USA vs. Houston Dynamo, 10:30 p.m., Saturday
Even though it might not seem like it, this is one of those so-called "six-pointers." Chivas USA and the Dynamo are both level at 23 points through 20 matches and could very well be fighting it out for one of the final playoff spots. Other than that, though, there's not a lot to get excited about here for a neutral. Neither team is on particularly good or bad form, but rather doing just enough to remain relevant. The Dynamo are winless on the road through nine matches, so this might be a good time to turn that around. Pick: Tied 1-1.
VIDEO: Sporting KC Has Some Fun With Canadian Stereotypes
by Jeremiah Oshan
Honestly not quite sure what to make of this video. I'm assuming it's real, as there are no obvious signs that it's not. I guess I'd like to applaud Sporting Kansas City for not taking themselves overly seriously, but ... really?
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Jul 24 12:20p