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MLS Matchday 15: Your Running Commentary

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It is a light night in Major League Soccer, with just two matches on the slate. The New York Red Bulls travel to Columbus, where they hope to end their nightmare winless run, while Toronto FC tries to keep its own hot streak going in Utah against Real Salt Lake.

I won't be running the usual live commentary on the Red Bulls match (family commitments) but everyone is welcome to share their own thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. I was at the CLB-RBNY game, and it was a PERFECT night for a game. Clear, comfortable, and a pretty good-sized crowd, too. The Crew really should’ve had more than one goal and there were a few times that Columbus had attacks that coulda/woulda/shoulda done better had they not tried to get too creative/fancy and instead just shot the damn ball.

    Salazar, however, was complete crap. He let too many players go for the man first, then the ball. If he whistles the foul on Khano Smith in about the 8th minute when he tries to plant Eddie Gaven in the 3rd row, then maybe the stupidity is minimized. Instead, Stammler, Ubiparapovic, Smith, O’Rourke, and Hejduk spend half the game shoving people around instead of playing the ball. By the time Salazar tried to regain control, by issuing a yellow card to Brian Carroll and calling a few ‘touch’ fouls on people, the game was too far gone. He also missed a back-pass from RBNY (I think it was Boyens) to Cepero, which Danny picked up. Should’ve been a Crew free kick inside the box, but Salazar just flat missed it.

    The linesman in front of the RBNY bench was consistently wrong on offsides, too, but at least he was consistently wrong. He called offside based on the player receiving the ball instead of when it was played. It was painful to watch, but at least it was consistent and the players could adjust.

    The linesman in front of the Nordecke, though, was bollocks. He made a bunch of *very* late calls, and a few inexplicable ones. He even managed to flag an offside call on a defender who stole the ball from the attacker. Just crap.

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  2. Great win for RSL they took toronto out of the match early. great play looks like RSL is now playing up to what everyone thought they would be at the start of the year

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  3. Damnit, I should’ve ended that with Say no to racism!

    My wit is a little slow due to the alcoholic consumption. My bad.

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  4. TommyH

    It’s a good bet you’re spot on.

    I might add:
    As long as it’s only Clark, in the 89 minute, we’re playing really well and neither Kljestan nor Beasley have even dressed for the game.

    Hey FIFA, if we meet those above conditions do you promise to get your refereeing act together for the final?

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  5. What about the blatant foul in extra time by Ubiparipovic on Ekpo? Can anyone explain to me why that wasn’t given at least a yellow card?!
    He absolutely made no attempt to play the ball, he just kicked Ekpo’s legs right out from under him!
    I just do not understand it…, the refereeing in MLS has to profoundly improve or it will remain a bush league. Absolutely piss poor.

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  6. kpugs, it’s not a disgrace to go from an MLS Cup final to missing the playoffs. There are a number of teams that have gone from “First to Worst” and DC United has been one of them. Sometimes teams go through major reversals in just one season and there’s no shame in that.

    No, the disgrace is that RBNY management keeps trotting out crap and producing a product (on the field and in the stands) that makes it very hard to be an MLS fan. Failed to win a single road game in the last 20–that’s terrible. When you forget the win against Houston and the win against RSL despite all the shots off the woodwork, you have a JCO body of work for nearly two years that puts RBNY at consistently one of the worst teams in MLS. And that’s not out of character for RBNY’s history.

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  7. kpugs,
    Why do they give up goals in the last five minutes of almost every first half? Why in a 1-0 game with five minutes to go does Pacheco take a 40-yard free kick and try to score (instead of looking for a teammate)? Why does the team play with little passion? Why do they sign players who can’t play?
    Most of this is connected to the head coach. JCO has shown no indication he knows how to right the ship. I thought that 12 months ago. As a coach, I think he’s a fraud.

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  8. kpugs,
    At 2-12-4, NYRB have 12 games left. If they go 10-2-0 the rest of the way (Insert snarky comment here), they have half a chance at the playoffs. In other words, except for CCL, the season is over.

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  9. So RBNY now has 16 games left, and just to get enough points to be approximately where the bottom playoff teams will most likely be they need 14 more wins.

    In other words, the Red Bulls are going from an MLS Cup final to missing the playoffs. Awesome!

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  10. NYRB: 10 road games. 0-9-1 record. 17 goals against. 1 goal scored. Are you kidding me??? A disgrace. JCO needs to go. Now.

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  11. Rojas gets a perfect pass to drive a shot in, which gets a good deflection from a defender but strikes the top post. Close, but no dice for the Red Bulls in the 57th minute.

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  12. VILLAREAL JUST SOLD NIHAT!!!!

    IN CASE YOU DON’T WANT TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES…. THAT’S ONE LESS FORWARD IN FRONT OF JOZY

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  13. The Red Bulls allow another goal right near the hald, Chad Marshall with a decisive header from a corner. Just before that Pacheco headed away what probably would have been a goal on a corner.

    I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am.

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  14. It took 12 minutes, but the Red Bulls had what I suppose passes for a good offensive movement for them, ending up with someone (Smith, I think) scuffling a shot wide to the left.

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