Rea Salt Lake - Seattle Sounders FC
In the first round, an incredibly poor and lifeless performance saw the Sounders concede three goals and dig themselves into an incredibly deep hole. Heading into the match Wednesday night, they were hoping they had set the stage for a miraculous comeback much the same as San Jose's against the LA Galaxy back in 2003. Despite the fact that the return leg was almost an exact mirror image of the first one, the Sounders completely dominating the game and calling all of the shots and getting two goals because of that dominance, they just could not find that third and tying goal.
Houston Dynamo - Philadelphia Union
The first leg at PPL park saw an incredibly action-packed first half, Houston taking advantage of the Union's attempt at a new and unfamiliar formation. Two goals one minute apart in the first ten minutes saw the game still deadlocked, but half an hour in Calen Carr took the permanent lead for Houston. The Union were the aggressors in the second half, but through some great goalkeeping by Tally Hall just couldn't find an answer to Houston's second goal. Heading into the second leg, Philadelphia knew what they needed to do. Houston, playing their last match ever in Robertson Stadium, had other plans. Late in stoppage time at the end of the first half Houston had an excellent set piece opportunity that they took advantage of. Brad Davis swung the ball into the box and Brian Ching was there to head the ball in for the match's lone goal.
Sporting Kansas City - Colorado Rapids
An incredibly physical first leg not only saw three players leave the pitch with injuries for the defending champions, but two goals in favor of SKC. Teal Bunbury was the scorer of both, the first easily slipping the ball past Pickens off of a long ball from Julio Cesar and the second a penalty that was Bunbury himself drew from Tyrone Marshal who got his marching orders as well. Missing yet more key players, being down two goals and the second leg being in intimidating confines of Livestrong Sporting Park, Colorado had a mountain the size of Everest to climb, and as a result they were completely helpless at the hands of SKC. They added two more to the aggregate total, both through set pieces, both served into the box by Graham Zusi. Aurelian Colin and CJ Sapong were there to guide both opportunities into the back of the net.
LA Galaxy - New York Red Bulls
The marquee match-up of the play-offs certainly lived up to all the hype, seeing plenty of drama and action across both legs. The first leg saw the Galaxy take an early lead through a fantastic strike by former Red Bull Mike Magee assisted by none other than David Beckham. The Red Bulls did everything in their power to nullify the goal, but fantastic goalkeeping from Josh Saunders and overall defending from the Galaxy made sure that none of their efforts counted. Then only seconda after the final whistle frustrations boiled over, Rafa Marquez throwing the ball at Landon Donovan and inciting a brawl that saw both the Galaxy's Ju ninho and Marquez red carded. Marquez found himself with much more than a red card, however. He ended up being fined over two thousand dollars and suspended an additional two matches for his role and the matter after additional review. The Red Bulls were looking to make an upset in the second leg, but despite cultivating hope through an early goal by Luke Rodgers, they just couldn't do it. Magee added another goal just before the end of halftime, and then a penalty drawn by Beckham late in the second half sealed the deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment