I have to apologize to you all. Some internet issues caused me to not post my week two preview. It was a great week of MLS matchups that I will get into here in a minute. I want to start with wrapping up the absolutely beautiful hot mess that is Concacaf Champion League.
For those that are newer to soccer, or have primarily watched European soccer CONCACAF (the North and Central American soccer governing body) hosts a club competition similar to Europe in which teams that finish atop their leagues qualify or can qualify for. MLS gets three seats (MLS Cup Champion, Supporter's Shield Champion, and the next highest finishing club) then MLS teams are eligible for two more spots via the Canadian Cup and the US Open Cup. This year there are five teams from MLS represented in CCL: LAFC (Supporter's Shield and MLS Cup Champs), Philadelphia (2nd in MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield), Austin FC (next highest finisher in MLS), Orlando City (US Open Cup) and the Vancouver Whitecaps (Canadian Cup). Night one was the first leg of the two legged competition and let's get into the games because they were FANTASTIC:
Austin FC kicked off the tournament getting beat 3-0 by Haitian Champs Violette AC. Austin primarily sent their second team, leaving most of their stars at home. It did not pay off. Violette couldn't play in their home stadium in Haiti due to violence and damage from the devastating Haitian earthquake. To add to that, due to a number of reasons Violette hadn't played a competitive game since May. This is what makes CCL truly remarkable. A Haitian side that hadn't played a competitive match in nine months, who according to Transfer Market have a combined transfer value of $150,000 just absolutely took it to a top MLS club in the Dominican Republic. There are reports that Violette may not be able to travel to the US due to visa issues. I hope they do. They deserve a chance to compete with Austin's first team to qualify for the quarterfinals. I also hope that MLS and USL clubs will look at signing some of the Violette AC players as they showed what they are capable of on a beautiful night in the Dominican Republic.
In the second game of the night in the most amazing CCL fashion, Philadelphia Union took on Alianza in San Salvador on a field that most youth rec leagues wouldn't want to take the pitch on. The ball took weird bounces all night. The Union played only three first choice starters but got the result setting them up for a good situation going back to Philly next week. Aside from the field the CCL moment of the night was the stray dog running on to the field and grabbing the soccer ball in the second half. Viva CCL!
The nightcap on FS2 (I hate putting games on a completely inaccessible network. Find a streaming home for these games) was Orlando City at Tigres in our first MLS versus Liga MX matchup of the tournament and it did not disappoint. It was a high flying incredibly hard fought game. Tigres came out firing in the second half and Pedro Gallassee earned Man of the Match honors in my book making brilliant save after brilliant save against the home side. Things got chippy and Tigres captain Gignac was originally sent off on a red card that was overturned on video review. Multiple yellow cards were handed out, we got to see Mexican international Diego Lainez in the second half and Orlando City started 8-9 first choice starters. If this game was a preview of Leagues Cup, I'm all in. It felt like more than a first round CCL game, it had more of a feel of UEFA Champions League match in that both of these teams wanted to win. The 2nd leg next week is going to be must watch television. Both clubs are going to be pushing for three points and to move on.
The other two MLS games this week include Vancouver hosting Honduran side Real Espana and LAFC playing host to Costa Rican side Alajuelense. I'll try to review both of those late night games as well!
On the MLS side the story of the week was St. Louis City SC's first home game. It was wild, it looked fun and it was a very fitting first MLS game for a city with rich soccer history. Much has been written about the buildup but the real story is St. Louis is sitting at 6 points through two games. The schedule only gets tougher from here, but what a start for Major League Soccer in St. Louis.
Sporting KC tried to kick a hole through Rapid's keeper Yarbrough, an interesting tactic that did not pan out. Sporting got a lot of shots on goal but nothing to really challenge the Colorado keeper. Sporting are ready to have Russell, Pulido and Ghadi Kinda's playmaking abilities back on the field.
LAFC took their opener against the Portland Timbers while the LA Galaxy dropped their opener to FC Dallas a game in which US International Jesus Ferreira scored a brace. Jordan Morris continues to cook for Seattle who remain unbeaten. Stay tuned for more American soccer coverage!
Comments
Post a Comment