A look back at Round 30
MLS Cup Playoffs round into form
Chicago Fire 1, Los Angeles Galaxy 0
Man of the match: Yes, John Thorrington got the goal. But the best Chicago man on the field all afternoon undoubtedly was Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who supplied chance after chance by getting into the right spots and making his team's offense go via precision passing, long and short.
Bigger picture: The Fire will be tough in the playoffs because they had to fight to get there, whereas other teams might have been cruising a bit and now have to suddenly find the next gear. Dasan Robinson and Wilman Conde played well Sunday, and Thorrington was better than either of the Fire starting forwards after his second-half introduction.
Pressure point: The Galaxy missed the playoffs because they couldn't dig a win out of two matches in the closing week. So the offseason onus is on the front office to acquire the right personnel and hope to avoid a 2007 repeat. It won't be easy; Los Angeles has a real conundrum ahead regarding Landon Donovan. They'll have to trade for a DP slot or move him along.
Chivas USA 0, Houston Dynamo 0
Man of the match: Claudio Suarez, calm as ever, held together the back line without the usual workhorse screening from Jesse Marsch. Houston had just one shot on goal despite playing the second half with a man advantage.
Bigger picture: The Chivas USA injury situation got bad at the worst possible time. Jesse Marsch and Francisco Mendoza missed the match with groin strains. Maykel Galindo collected an ankle knock in the contest and is dealing with an abdominal strain, and the Western Conference champs can scarcely afford to be without yet another forward. Ante Razov (11 goals) seems to be done for the year due to a knee injury.
Pressure point: Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson is a having an outstanding season but does draw too many cards. It hurt his team Saturday when a depleted Chivas USA side was further weakened by Lawson's Vaughn's ejection. Robinson was out, suspended for an ejection last week, and Houston's passing out of the back wasn't as sharp as usual. It all added up as Chivas USA achieved the draw that allowed them to stay in first place. More importantly, Chivas now has the chance to host a one-game conference final.
Columbus Crew 3, D.C. United 2
Man of the match: Crew rookie Robbie Rogers had a goal and an assist and was a livewire on the right side all afternoon. His running off the ball was strong, as well.
Bigger picture: Just like New England, no one around the RFK grounds can feel great about going into the playoffs on a little slump. Tom Soehn's team has no wins in four October matches (three in MLS, one in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana). Plus, Brazilian attacker Fred looks a bit rusty from inaction.
Pressure point: Troy Perkins doesn't appear to be playing with confidence. He still makes some big saves, but in two consecutive games he's made a poor choice to get out and challenge a breakaway in a spot where he can't (or shouldn't) use his hands. It was a Perkins boo-boo that crushed the team in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup last winter. United obviously doesn't want a repeat in the MLS playoffs.
Kansas City Wizards 2, FC Dallas 0
Man of the match: Scott Sealy had a goal on either side of halftime as the Wizards, who needed a result to get into the playoffs, showed some real grit in getting the business done on the road.
Bigger picture: Steve Morrow's team has lost its way at home. Including the U.S. Open Cup loss to New England, FC Dallas is 1-4-2 at Pizza Hut Park since August. With very little success at Robertson Stadium, any chance of advancing in the conference semifinal series against Houston must start with a win at home.
Pressure point: The heat will be on Eddie Johnson to raise his game for K.C. in the postseason. The Wizards forward had 13 goals in late July but has only three over the Wizards' last 13 contests.
Toronto FC 2, New England Revolution 2
Man of the match: TFC center midfielder Carl Robinson always has such huge presence in the middle of the park, something Mo Johnston's club misses dearly when their Welshman is away on international duty. He partners well with Maurice Edu, usually holding the right spots while the youngster does the majority of the running.
Bigger picture: New England manager Steve Nicol has some important choices to make before meeting the Red Bulls in the conference semifinals. Two of his three central midfielders aren't currently at their best. Nicol left Andy Dorman on the bench over the weekend, preferring Steve Ralston at the top of the triangle. And Jeff Larentowicz, who had something of a breakout year, has appeared to fade a bit down the stretch.
Pressure point: New England goes into the playoffs on a little bit of a slide, winless in their last three MLS contests.
Los Angeles Galaxy 1, New York Red Bulls 1
Man of the match: Dane Richards finished the season as strong as any rookie in MLS, with several outstanding matches. He certainly made things difficult last Thursday on left back Mike Randolph, frequently blazing past the emerging Galaxy defender.
Bigger picture: Beckham got 22 minutes but was (perhaps predictably) not particularly sharp. His first touches were imprecise, two corner kicks came up a little short and his passing didn't have the usual authority. Still, getting Beckham back on the field was necessary, if only to get him a little action at game speed before Sunday's important match.
Pressure point: The draw made things a little tougher on Los Angeles, helping to set up the must-win scenario at Chicago three days later.
THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 30
Technician's notebook:
Injury report: Several important players picked up injuries over the weekend, including Red Bulls defender Dave van den Bergh, Chivas USA forward Maykel Galindo and D.C. United attackers Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio (the Golden Boot winner). United's situation looks worse due to the schedule; with the series beginning Thursday, Tom Soehn's men have two fewer days to get healthy.
TFC gets it coming and going: Expansion Toronto FC set an MLS record for goals -- but not one that will go up on a plaque inside the TFC clubhouse. Mo Johnston's men established the league mark for fewest goals scored with 25. But the club came nowhere near the other dubious scoring marks. TFC might have allowed a league-worst 49 goals, but that was a far cry from the all-time record of 68 (shared by two teams). And the all-time low goal difference (36, also shared by two sides) was quite safe, too.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
