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Friday Kickoff: Crew beat Union, Morelia knock out Houston and more

Lenhart

By TRAVIS CLARK

Two goals from Steven Lenhart was enough for the Columbus Crew, as the Eastern Conference leaders won on the road 2-1 over the Philadelphia Union.

Lenhart struck first in the 43rd minute, heading home off a Guillermo Barros Schelotto free kick. The Union grabbed one back during injury time, when Frankie Hejduk tripped Sebastian Le Toux in the box. Le Toux dispatched the ensuing penalty.

Just five minutes into the second half, Columbus took the lead again. Crew forward Emilio Renteria, playing in the midfield for the injured Eddie Gaven, sent in a tantalizing cross towards Lenhart, who sprawled out in the box to head past Chris Seitz in the Union goal. The Crew defense held firm in front of a boisterous crowd at PPL Park.

Here are a few other stories for this morning:

MORELIA DROPS HOUSTON IN SUPERLIGA

The Houston Dynamo were thwarted in their attempt to make the SuperLiga final an all-MLS meeting, losing to Mexican club Morelia 1-0 at Robertson Stadium. Miguel Sabah's 47th minute tally was the game's only goal of the evening, as the Dynamo failed to unlock Morelia's defense, who advance to face the New England Revolution in the SuperLiga final. The good news for Houston was the return of Geoff Cameron, who saw 20 minutes as a substitute.

DALLAS TIES INTER 2-2

FC Dallas twice fought back from a one goal deficit, earning a 2-2 tie against Champions League winners Inter Milan Thursday night. Diego Milito gave Inter Milan the lead in the 24th minute, before defender George John equalized off a David Ferreira cross. The Italian club jumped on top once again thanks to a long range effort from Samuel Eto'o. Marco Materazzi's foul on Jeff Cunningham in the box gave Ferreira a chance to equalize from the spot, which he did in the 74th minute. Here are the highlights:

FABREGAS PUBLICLY COMMITS TO ARSENAL

Cesc Fabregas, who returned to Arsenal training yesterday, publicly committed to the club for the first time since the speculation about a move to Barcelona began prior to the start of the 2010 World Cup.

"I can assure all the fans that now the negotiations have ended I will be 100 percent focused on playing for Arsenal," he said in a statement on the club's website. "I am looking forward to the start of the season and putting this speculation behind me."

Comments

  1. The second header in by Lenhart and the lead-up passes to it was very entertaining.

    I wouldn’t watch MLS matches in the past on TV but they are getting better and better.

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  2. Agreed. Eric Avila got the assist on the first Dallas goal rather than Ferreria. Ferreria played a short corner to Avi who crossed back post. George John need a look at the January camp.

    Great game FCD!

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  3. Actually Ives spoke about the photo shoot that he heard about…

    I also wouldn’t take his “injury” all that seriously too. It’s silly season remember.

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  4. First of all that would be the second biggest signing in MLS history, even if Dinho is injured……

    Secondly Milan’s official website clearly states that Ronaldinho is not for sale. Don’t know where you heard about the “marketing pictures”, but not sure I would put much into them…..

    On all that I would still give a Dinho transfer at 10%, but we shall see

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  5. There have already been reports that Ronaldinho has had marketing pictures with LA. It’s him but sadly he’s injured and we may not see him this season haha.

    Oh LA, how you love to waste money.

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  6. I’ve notice that my dislike of Lenhart was entirely attached to that horrible hair he had for so long. Now that its gone I actually enjoy watching the guy play.

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  7. I’d like to apologize in advance to all Chivas supporters, who will now have to endure clumsy ball skills, lazy runs, missed opportunities, and shots into the umpteenth row. Congrats on your new signing though, and from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for taking Alan Gordon away from us.

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  8. I watched the game online last night. I thought the same thing. I saw some good possession last night from Philly, unfortunately they weren’t as killer in the final third as Columbus was who really took their limited chances well. A big improvement on the field over MLS games from years ago, even though most MLS naysayers may choose to disagree. I still think that the final third killer instinct/creativity needs to improve. I have also noticed recently that the MLS REALLy lacks crossing ability. I am sick of wide players lumping the ball into the box without thought or precision. Please take the ball to the end line and then cross it once you have numbers crashing the box every now and then. Why all the early crosses 20-30 yards from the end line to nobody or to just one lone striker marked by 2-3 defenders(exception for Renteria’s inch perfect cross to Lenhart’s sprawled out header)? It just isn’t a high percentage option. Take it to the end line and get off a good cross into a dangerous area like Henry’s first assist to Angel against Houston. Hopefully that starts to catch on with the younger guys.

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  9. Missed the Crew/Union game last night. The Crew keep getting it done and Lenhart is putting them on his back. Does he deserve a call-up to the MNT in October or January?

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  10. Joe, they are good now. They are certainly well ahead of the reborn Quakes who were absolutely painful (outside of Huckerbee–sigh) until this year. The Crew is a good team and the goals they made were top quality. And how you didn’t equalize on that mad scramble late in the game is beyond me…

    Half way through your first year your guys push the conference leaders to the brink. You should be pysched, not heartbroken.

    I’m already planning to visit back East next summer and catching games at Red Bull Arena and in Chester. Looking forward to it

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  11. With Mathis retiring, and trading Gordon for allocation money, the Galaxy should now have some room to sign a player. I am not sure it is Ronaldinho (though I hope it is), but it looks like they are clearing space for somebody.

    Ives, any thoughts on who LA will sign?

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  12. In other news…the Ronaldhino to Galaxy rumor is starting to pick up some serious speed in the Italian press. LAG is clearing some serious cap space too…hmmm.

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  13. Thanks. Yeah, the whole setup is pretty good so far and getting better all the time. Every game, I notice some improvement they’ve made since the last game. It is a little hard leaving most games thinking “man,those guys could be really good in a couple years” though. Crew won fair and square. Both goals were professionally taken…if heartbreaking to me. Oh well…maybe we can get the heartache over in the early years? Wishful thinking I know. If we had more guys who could kick a ball accurately while under pressure, I’d be even happier. In time…

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  14. Don’t think I’ve seen it on this site yet, that the Galaxy traded Alan Gordon to Chivas USA for some allocation money. With Mathis and Gordon out, and a little money to do it, it would seem that a new striker would be coming in soon, yes?

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  15. The Union – Crew game was very entertaining and well played. As a native New Yorker, admitting that Philly has done anything right is against my nature, but…good lively crowd, good stadium and fun team to watch. Well done.

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  16. I’m glad that Dallas was able to earn a draw, but there is no question that Jeff Cunningham took a dive in the box. I hate to see that in a friendly game…but it’s still pretty cool to see an MLS side get a result against the European champions.

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