In one of my earlier entries I explained that I was really trying to expand my footy horizons this year. Part of that is going to be paying a little closer attention to the Mexican league. I watched a few matches last season, but since my Spanish is more than rusty, I never paid really close attention unless the it was Cruz Azul or Monterrey, who wound up playing RSL in CONCACAF.
However, the more I've watched the more I understand, and hey, it's footy, so I'm really looking forward to taking in some more matches from south of the border this year. The first of these was Monterrey vs. Morelia.
One thing was crystal clear from the get go. Monterrey was the better side in all facets of the game. I mean hey, I saw these guys play live and beat RSL at home. Even Cruz Azul didn't manage that, so I have much respect for the CONCACAF Champs. They nearly grabbed the advantage early as well. Cardozo slotted home a goal in the 8th minute, but he was ruled offside. Replays were a little questionable, but we moved on. Offside would trouble Monterrey for most of the evening, as Cardozo and Humberto Suazo couldn't get their runs timed right.
Monterrey had a ton of possession in the first half, but really didn't have a lot of good, quality chances. In the 35th minute, they literally set up camp in the Morelia 18, but couldn't trigger a shot. Right before the half Suazo managed a nice looking strike, but it sailed just wide, ending the half at 0-0.
The second half was more of the same, except a little slower for most of it. Morelia looked desperate to claw into the match, but they had a hard time wrestling the ball away from Monterrey. They never really tested Orozco in goal.
Monterrey finally broke it open late, when Suazo helped his team capitalize on a Morelia turnover in the 84th minute. He slipped in, onside this time, and scored to make it 1-0 to Monterrey. Carreno added another in the 90th minute to ice it, the full time result being 2-0.
All in all a pretty fun match to watch and a hard earned win for Monterrey.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Community Shield 2011: Manchester City vs. Manchester United
This year's FA Community Shield pitted Man City (FA Cup Winners) against Man United (Premier League Champions). Often this match has the feel of a friendly to it, not the feel of a regular season match or the intensity of a Cup Final. Well, adding the Manchester Derby to it upped the intensity this year quite a bit.
Last year about this time, City were in the process of closing down a major spending spree over the summer transfer window. Going into the new EPL season, they were a trendy pick as a dark horse to take the title from Chelsea. Well, we know how that turned out. Sir Alex compared the blue side of Manchester to "Noisy Neighbors," United took the league, and only the fact that City prioritized the FA Cup at the end kept them from going without any trophies to show for their funding. So both sides have something to prove. City wants to show that they're legit contenders, not just an all-star team, and United wants to show that they're still top dog.
If you were to look at the score line on this match, it might seem like a tale of two halves, but that wouldn't be quite true. United dominated for the most of the match. It was a very lively and chippy match, with 5 yellows handed out in the first half alone. However, as so often happens in soccer, United didn't capitalize on their work and chances and it bit them in the ass.
In the 38th minute, City capitalized on some of their only good possession of the first half. David Silva put a free kick into the area, and the United Defense plus De Gea just kind of stood ball watching as Lescott came in and flipped it into the net to make it 1-0. City added one more before the half, when Dzeko bombed a shot in past De Gea from distance to make it 2-0, and end both the first half and a rocky spell for the new United 'keeper.
Coming out of half time, you could tell United wasn't interested in conceding the shield to City at the 2-0 score line. In the 51st minute, Smalling got on the end of an Ashley Young free kick and flicked it past Joe Hart to make it 2-1. Then just a few minutes later Cleverley, Rooney, and Nani tore apart the City defense and earned the equalizer scored by Nani. 2-2.
Things looked to be headed to penalties, but City screwed themselves in the 94th minute. Rooney hit a clearance out of the United box, but Vincent Kompany totally misread it at the back. A hustling Nani stormed onto it, juked Hart out of his boots, and calmly slotted home the game winner, 2-3 to United. It was a bad blunder by Kompany and a great hustle play by Nani.
In the end, I thought United played the better match and deserved the result. However, De Gea looked a little rocky in goal. After all, he is only 20. We'll see how that goes through the EPL season.
Last year about this time, City were in the process of closing down a major spending spree over the summer transfer window. Going into the new EPL season, they were a trendy pick as a dark horse to take the title from Chelsea. Well, we know how that turned out. Sir Alex compared the blue side of Manchester to "Noisy Neighbors," United took the league, and only the fact that City prioritized the FA Cup at the end kept them from going without any trophies to show for their funding. So both sides have something to prove. City wants to show that they're legit contenders, not just an all-star team, and United wants to show that they're still top dog.
If you were to look at the score line on this match, it might seem like a tale of two halves, but that wouldn't be quite true. United dominated for the most of the match. It was a very lively and chippy match, with 5 yellows handed out in the first half alone. However, as so often happens in soccer, United didn't capitalize on their work and chances and it bit them in the ass.
In the 38th minute, City capitalized on some of their only good possession of the first half. David Silva put a free kick into the area, and the United Defense plus De Gea just kind of stood ball watching as Lescott came in and flipped it into the net to make it 1-0. City added one more before the half, when Dzeko bombed a shot in past De Gea from distance to make it 2-0, and end both the first half and a rocky spell for the new United 'keeper.
Coming out of half time, you could tell United wasn't interested in conceding the shield to City at the 2-0 score line. In the 51st minute, Smalling got on the end of an Ashley Young free kick and flicked it past Joe Hart to make it 2-1. Then just a few minutes later Cleverley, Rooney, and Nani tore apart the City defense and earned the equalizer scored by Nani. 2-2.
Things looked to be headed to penalties, but City screwed themselves in the 94th minute. Rooney hit a clearance out of the United box, but Vincent Kompany totally misread it at the back. A hustling Nani stormed onto it, juked Hart out of his boots, and calmly slotted home the game winner, 2-3 to United. It was a bad blunder by Kompany and a great hustle play by Nani.
In the end, I thought United played the better match and deserved the result. However, De Gea looked a little rocky in goal. After all, he is only 20. We'll see how that goes through the EPL season.
Match Thoughts: Real Salt Lake vs. New York Red Bulls
No doubt coming into this one that RSL needed all three points against a tough Red Bulls side. After losing 0-2 to Columbus and 2-0 to Sporting KC, there were a few fans ready to hit the panic button. I wasn't quite one of them, but had we gone down to the Red Bulls last night, I would have thought about it.
Instead, Real dominated the match. The energy in the guys was evident from the opening whistle. I don't know what buttons Jason pushed with the team after the KC loss, but they were the right ones. For the first time since the CONCACAF Champions League, I saw the typical RSL swagger really return last night.
NY really didn't have much, if anything, for us. RSL survived the the first ten minutes (whew) and climbed on top in the 13th minute. Captain Kyle Beckerman put a nice corner into the box and Frank Rost and the rest of Red Bulls stood around and watched Nat Borchers head it in for his second tally of the year and give RSL the 1-0 lead.
The rest of the first half, indeed the match, was pretty much all RSL. RSL had the possession and the only NY player who looked like he cared was Henry. In the 44th minute, Kyle picked off a poor ball from NY's defense, and passed it over to Luis Gil who knocked it in from 25 yards for his first ever MLS goal. So glad I was there. The Gil Golazo put RSL 2-0 at the half.
NY never really looked like they were going to climb back into it. They did force Rimando into 1 save, but the back line for RSL, including Schuler, was solid against Agudelo and Henry all night. I wasn't really impressed with Agudelo, he whined more than he played tonight.
RSL got the final goal of the match in the 77th minute when Sabo slotted home a PK after Roy Miller was whistled for a handball in the box. Full time result 3-0 to RSL.
I also don't wanna hear about how the Red Bulls were tired after their London trip. NY and MLS chose to be in that "tournament." If you want to win REAL silverware, then put your league matches first.
Instead, Real dominated the match. The energy in the guys was evident from the opening whistle. I don't know what buttons Jason pushed with the team after the KC loss, but they were the right ones. For the first time since the CONCACAF Champions League, I saw the typical RSL swagger really return last night.
NY really didn't have much, if anything, for us. RSL survived the the first ten minutes (whew) and climbed on top in the 13th minute. Captain Kyle Beckerman put a nice corner into the box and Frank Rost and the rest of Red Bulls stood around and watched Nat Borchers head it in for his second tally of the year and give RSL the 1-0 lead.
The rest of the first half, indeed the match, was pretty much all RSL. RSL had the possession and the only NY player who looked like he cared was Henry. In the 44th minute, Kyle picked off a poor ball from NY's defense, and passed it over to Luis Gil who knocked it in from 25 yards for his first ever MLS goal. So glad I was there. The Gil Golazo put RSL 2-0 at the half.
NY never really looked like they were going to climb back into it. They did force Rimando into 1 save, but the back line for RSL, including Schuler, was solid against Agudelo and Henry all night. I wasn't really impressed with Agudelo, he whined more than he played tonight.
RSL got the final goal of the match in the 77th minute when Sabo slotted home a PK after Roy Miller was whistled for a handball in the box. Full time result 3-0 to RSL.
I also don't wanna hear about how the Red Bulls were tired after their London trip. NY and MLS chose to be in that "tournament." If you want to win REAL silverware, then put your league matches first.
Bundesliga Blurb: Hertha Berlin vs. FC Nurnberg
Okay, I usually follow EPL, Serie A, and MLS. I really want to try and diversify and watch more Bundesliga and La Liga this season, especially the Bundesliga. However, we don't get Gol TV, so I'm pretty much stuck watching whatever matches I can get on ESPN3. Better than nothing I guess.
Last night I took in Hertha Berlin and FC Nurnberg from the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Hertha was just promoted at the end of last year, while Nurnberg just missed out on Europe. I was really impressed by the atmosphere in Berlin, the supporters packed the stadium to the rafters for their club, along with 7000 Nurnberg fans who made the trip.
Unfortunately, the match didn't quite live up to the atmosphere in this one. Nurnberg was clearly on the front foot for most of the match. However, they really could have taken better advantage of the fact that the Berlin defense was in quite a bit of disarray. Ultimately, most of this rather chippy match (5 yellows) was played in the midfield.
Nurnberg finally got the goal in the 80th minute when Pekhart took a cross from Mendler and slotted it past the Berlin keeper to make it 0-1, which was the final. Berlin never managed an official shot on goal, and Nurnberg certainly deserved all the points.
On a side note, it's AWESOME to have European season getting back underway.
Last night I took in Hertha Berlin and FC Nurnberg from the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Hertha was just promoted at the end of last year, while Nurnberg just missed out on Europe. I was really impressed by the atmosphere in Berlin, the supporters packed the stadium to the rafters for their club, along with 7000 Nurnberg fans who made the trip.
Unfortunately, the match didn't quite live up to the atmosphere in this one. Nurnberg was clearly on the front foot for most of the match. However, they really could have taken better advantage of the fact that the Berlin defense was in quite a bit of disarray. Ultimately, most of this rather chippy match (5 yellows) was played in the midfield.
Nurnberg finally got the goal in the 80th minute when Pekhart took a cross from Mendler and slotted it past the Berlin keeper to make it 0-1, which was the final. Berlin never managed an official shot on goal, and Nurnberg certainly deserved all the points.
On a side note, it's AWESOME to have European season getting back underway.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Dynamo Rookie Forward Bruin Out 4-6 Weeks
MLSsoccer.com is reporting some rather disappointing news for Houston Dynamo fans. Rookie forward Will Bruin will miss the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday.
I got to see Bruin live when Houston played RSL, and I like what I see in the kid. Hopefully this will be just a bump in the road for the former Rookie of the Year candidate.
Bruin holds the Dynamo record for starts by a rookie with 20.
Head over to http://www.mlssoccer.com for more details.
I got to see Bruin live when Houston played RSL, and I like what I see in the kid. Hopefully this will be just a bump in the road for the former Rookie of the Year candidate.
Bruin holds the Dynamo record for starts by a rookie with 20.
Head over to http://www.mlssoccer.com for more details.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
CONCACAF Champions League Prelim: Real Esteli vs. Toronto FC
I didn't blog the opening match of this two-legged affair last week in Toronto, but it was a decent enough match. TFC was sparked by two goals from Plata, but Kocic bungled a ball in the box late that gave the Nicaraguan side life with an away goal. TFC took the win 2-1 at BMO.
Since then, the revolving door that has been TFC's locker room has kept spinning. Today they dealt Maicon Santos to FC Dallas for Eric Avila. Maybe all MLS teams should just totally change their rosters every few weeks, yeah?
At any rate, tonight TFC traveled to Nicaragua to take on Esteli on their home turf. The turf was butt ugly. The grass, I should say. The pitch was bumpy, patchy, wet, uneven, and in dire need of a visit from a lawn mower. Real Esteli counted on this helping them out, and I really thought it might.
The first half was pretty ugly. Both teams had trouble stringing passes together. Yes, the pitch looked to be giving TFC some issues, but Esteli wasn't doing much either. Toronto finally drew first blood in the 37th minute, when Ryan Johnson took a ball outside the top of the area and absolutely ripped it into the back of the net to give the Reds a 0-1 lead. It looked like that would hold into half time, but in the 45th minute Andy Iro got hit with a handball in the box to give Real Esteli a PK. Rosas converted and we went to half time tied at 1-1.
However, any fight in Esteli was quickly snuffed out right after half time. In the 47th minute the Nicaraguan keeper kicked an idiotic ball softly out right to Johnson. The Jamaican international took advantage and slotted it past the bewildered keeper to make it 1-2 TFC. Neither side really threatened much throughout the second half, and TFC took the win by the 1-2 margin.
The Reds now advance to group C, where they will get to take on PUMAS, one of the Mexican champion sides, and perhaps FC Dallas.
Since then, the revolving door that has been TFC's locker room has kept spinning. Today they dealt Maicon Santos to FC Dallas for Eric Avila. Maybe all MLS teams should just totally change their rosters every few weeks, yeah?
At any rate, tonight TFC traveled to Nicaragua to take on Esteli on their home turf. The turf was butt ugly. The grass, I should say. The pitch was bumpy, patchy, wet, uneven, and in dire need of a visit from a lawn mower. Real Esteli counted on this helping them out, and I really thought it might.
The first half was pretty ugly. Both teams had trouble stringing passes together. Yes, the pitch looked to be giving TFC some issues, but Esteli wasn't doing much either. Toronto finally drew first blood in the 37th minute, when Ryan Johnson took a ball outside the top of the area and absolutely ripped it into the back of the net to give the Reds a 0-1 lead. It looked like that would hold into half time, but in the 45th minute Andy Iro got hit with a handball in the box to give Real Esteli a PK. Rosas converted and we went to half time tied at 1-1.
However, any fight in Esteli was quickly snuffed out right after half time. In the 47th minute the Nicaraguan keeper kicked an idiotic ball softly out right to Johnson. The Jamaican international took advantage and slotted it past the bewildered keeper to make it 1-2 TFC. Neither side really threatened much throughout the second half, and TFC took the win by the 1-2 margin.
The Reds now advance to group C, where they will get to take on PUMAS, one of the Mexican champion sides, and perhaps FC Dallas.
All I'm going to say about RSL vs. Columbus.
Yup I was there in my usual seat. I watched the Crew kick our asses all over our home field. Gaven and Heineman get two easy goals in 10 minutes, and that's all she wrote.
Give credit to the Crew, they came in and kicked our asses after we kicked theirs in Champions League.
Clean-sheeted by the backup keeper.
Ouch.
Give credit to the Crew, they came in and kicked our asses after we kicked theirs in Champions League.
Clean-sheeted by the backup keeper.
Ouch.
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