Daily news roundups

“Confidence boost”: Recaps & reaction to Union win over the Fire, HCI draws, Reading & OC win, more

Philadelphia Union

John Hackworth said after the Union’s 1-0 win over Chicago on Saturday, “I think anytime you can win 1-0, obviously get the shutout, it’s a huge boost for your team. These kinds of games, whether you’re playing good soccer, whether you’re grinding it out, whether you’re just knocking the ball around like we did at the end of the game, they’re always tough. And they’re always confidence boosters.”

Jack McInerney, who scored his league-leading 8th goal of the season in the third minute off of an assist from Sebastien Le Toux, tied for the lead in assists with 4, said, “It was a good start for us. Seba played a good ball off my head. It’s extremely hard to beat a team two times like that. It’s a good accomplishment and it’s a game we needed to get three points out of.

So, how about the growing partnership between Jack McInerney and Sebastien Le Toux? McInerney said,

He just knows where to find me, really. He plays a lot of good balls in the box. His service was really good today. And his work-rate creates a lot of space for me. I think we’re both kind of similar where we’re pulling guys out wide and creating space for each other, and I think we combined very well today…Me and Seba kind of have that work-rate where he’s doing a lot of running and I’m trying to sit on top and wait for him to pick one off,” McInerney said. “Conor stays up top and battles the guys and lays balls off. Those are the differences…Whoever goes out there is really fun to work with.

Match reports and recaps from PSP, Philadelphia Union.com, MLSSoccer.com, The Inquirer, Delco Times, The Daily Journal, CSN Philly, Philly Soccer News, Union Dues, Chicago Fire.com, CSN Chicago, Chicagoland Soccer News, Hot Time in Old Town, SBI, ProSoccerTalk, Goal.com, Sports Mole, Sports Xchange, The Sports Network, UPI, and the AP.

Also, check out our post featuring video of John Hackworth’s postgame press conference, locker room interviews with Ray Gaddis, Leo Fernandes, Brian Carroll, Jack McInerney and Bakary Soumare, and a postgame quote sheet. Player ratings will be up later this morning.

Matthew De George says that the team’s performance over the last three games shows that it has made strides, showing effective roster depth as well as character in bouncing back from the loss to LA to gain a second win over Chicago in a week.

ProSoccerTalk’s big crush on Jack McInerney continues its public airing with this reminder that if Mac wins the MLS Golden Boot, he would be the youngest player to do so.

Zach Pfeffer will be the guest on this week’s 90th Minute radio show, which will be broadcast live from Chickie & Pete’s in Drexel Hill.

It looks like Community Day in the Northeast was a great success.

Local

Harrisburg City Islanders drew 2-2 with league-leading Orlando on Friday night at Skyline Sports Complex. The Union’s Don Anding assisted on Harrisburg’s first goal and Yann Ekra scored the equalizer after a great display of individual effort. Harrisburg are now looking at a three game series of league games on the road in Richmond, Charleston and Charlotte. Click here for a video report from CBS 21 on Friday night’s draw.

Orlando’s Dom Dwyer, on loan from Sporting Kansas City, scored both goals for the visitors to bring his season tally after nine games up to 12, a new franchise record.

Ocean City Nor’easters defeated Central Jersey Spartans 2-1 in their season opener on Saturday, Abraham Keller and Ken Tribett tallying in the first half for the home team. A certain Maxime Hoppenot from the Spartans was ejected in the 90th minute.

Reading United defeated New Jersey LUSO Rangers 3-0 on Sunday with goals from Steve Neumann, Stephen Baker, and Jason Plumoff. After two games, Reading have outscored opponents 11-0.

Reading United’s Mario Pinto Neto was named PDL Player of the Week last week after scoring a hat trick against Westchester. Manolo Sanchez and Ben Sweat received honorable mentions.

Harrisburg will travel to face Reading on Tuesday in the second round of the US Open Cup while Ocean City will host Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

After losing their season opener 1-0 on the road to Greater Birmingham FC on May 11, Junior Lone Star fell 0-4 to Clarkstown SC Eagles in their home opener on Saturday. On Sunday, they bounced back with a 1-0 win over local rivals Cavalla in the final of the Battle of the East Soccer Tournament.

MLS

In Eastern Conference play, New York Red Bulls remain in first place after a 1-0 win over LA Galaxy. Kansas City moved into second place after drawing 1-1 with last place DC in a match in which a Kansas City goal was incorrectly called back. Houston Dynamo are in third place after a surprising 0-2 home loss to seventh place New England. Fourth place Montreal had the weekend off ahead of next week’s game against the Union. The Union are in fifth place after defeating eighth place Chicago, 1-0. Columbus move into sixth place with a 1-0 road win over ninth place Toronto.

Gabriel Farfan made his Chivas USA debut on Sunday, coming on at the start of the second half in Sunday night’s loss 4-1 to Real Salt Lake.

Chivas USA head coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola says the team isn’t good enough for MLS. “We don’t have the weapons to win. This is just what we have right now. The lineup is limited, very limited…Today we definitely played better, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough for this league.”

Bobby Convey knew his time was up at Kansas City and is looking forward to his time in Toronto. “I know that Sporting KC wanted to get rid of me, so it was more of a difficult situation. They just didn’t take care of the issue at the beginning of the season, so I was just sitting there waiting. I’m very happy to be here. I was kind of just waiting to come here…For me, [the trade] is just going from somewhere I wasn’t wanted and wasn’t playing to somewhere I am wanted. You get instant confidence from that and from a coach who tells you that he wants you to come in and play tomorrow.” Convey came on at the start of the second half in Saturday’s loss to Columbus.

With David Beckham’s retirement, talk now turns to whether or not he will buy a MLS franchise.

Here’s a look at how the league Disciplinary Committee goes about its work.

NWSL

Sky Blue are in first place after a 3-0 win over last place Seattle Reign, who remain winless after seven games.Portland Thorns are in second place after defeating sixrh place Washington, 2-0. Kansas City moved into third place with a 2-0 road win over now fourth place Boston Breakers. Fifth place Western New York and seventh place Chicago had the weekend off.

US

At Soccer America, Ridge Mahoney says Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster for the upcoming friendlies and World Cup qualifiers shows a team that is still in flux.

Graham Zusi isn’t surprised Landon Donovan was left off the USMNT roster. “I wasn’t completely shocked to be honest, because he’s just coming back and he’s getting back into form,” Zusi said. “I think its a matter of time before he gets back in the group and when he does, that’s fantastic. We’re all on the same team here. It’s not a competitive issue for me. I want the best team out there to help us qualify for the World Cup, so if Landon’s in that group then great.”

The Seattle Times chats with Tom Sermanni.

Elsewhere

I’m gonna miss this partnership.

 

12 Comments

  1. WilkersonMcLaser says:

    Chelis’ comments are incredibly telling and I hope the suits in Guadalajara are taking notice. The whole Chivas USA project was predicated on the notion that the Chivas mothership could waltz into the league and win silverware + make boatloads of shekels with reserve players, MLS castoffs, and their ‘brand.’ Chelis is basically shooting down that entire assumption. Cannot see how Chivas USA stays in this league much longer without major changes soon.

    • Deadspin ran a pretty good article on Chivas Guadalajara and it shows how fucked they are ownership wise.

      http://deadspin.com/what-johan-cruyffs-flameout-says-about-mexican-soccer-505762822

      and XI quarterly did an oral history of Chivas USA but I’m too broke to drop such coin on that magazine. But here is an interview with the person who wrote it.

      http://www.xiquarterly.com/2013/05/08/interview-with-issue-three-contributor-alicia-rodriguez/

    • Dan Walsh says:

      If I’m MLS, I take the team, move it to San Antonio, and try a similar concept without being so explicit or uncompromising about it. Big and rapidly growing market market, 50% Latino, successful so far in NASL, has only 1 major league team in any sport, closest competitor is 200 miles away, will probably do well in drawing homegrown players. Build a good soccer team, and if you just happen to have a lot of Latino players in a heavily Latino community, well great. It’s good to reflect your community. If not, that’s fine too.

      I don’t see this team making it to the 2014 season with the same setup.

      • I always thought the logical place for Chivas to go would be San Diego. Huge metro area, spitting distance from Mexico with tons of Latinos, teams in 2 of 4 major sports, flawless weather suiting an outdoor sport. Plus it’s close enough to LA that they might even be able to keep some of their existing fan base. Have no idea what the prospects might be for a stadium, though.

      • Dan Walsh says:

        I agreed completely — until Tijuana got big and won the Mexican title. They’re just 30 minutes from San Diego, they have a few Americans, and they just poached one from the Galaxy’s academy. From what I gather, they’re getting pretty popular in San Diego. I think MLS may have missed its chance in San Diego, which is a shame, since it would have been the best place for a team.

      • I agree that they should probably move. But I doubt the MLS is gonna move somewhere unless there is a stadium and /or a preexisting fanbase for soccer. And many cities have tried to jump on the MLS bandwagon but no cites in the Southwest. So I think they are in LA for a while. On the other hand I honestly think if they keep Chelis they will be credible in a few years.

      • WilkersonMcLaser says:

        I kind of hope they stay in LA. Not that I have any particular affinity for that city, but it would be (is?) an embarrassment if two MLS clubs couldn’t exist in a city like Los Angeles. The club needs a total rebranding for sure, as well as new owners and probably their own stadium, but there’s no reason it *needs* to leave LA. CD Los Angeles, as is often suggested, seems fine.
        .
        Chivas aside, it kills me that there’s no team in the cultural southeast (JackMac’s old stomping grounds). There should be a team in Florida, but asking someone from Virginia or the Carolinas to root for a Florida team is about as ridiculous as expecting them to care about DC United (aside from some Northern Virginia suburban denizens).

      • Dan Walsh says:

        I don’t think it’s an embarrassment that two MLS clubs haven’t thrived in LA. After all, LA can’t get two teams to thrive in other sports either. The Clippers have always been second fiddle in the NBA. When LA had football, the Rams and Raiders were probably one team too many. (And look what happened.) It’s hard to do, particularly when you consider how young MLS is as a league.

        American sports are just different from what you have in England. Many have this concept of English-style (or Milan/Old Firm) derbies in their heads, but that’s just not how North American sports work. NY-Philly, NY-Boston, Toronto-Montreal, Portland-Seattle, Cleveland-Pittsburgh — Rivalries between nearby regions have always been where it’s at here.

  2. Every time a video autoplays a baby angel kitten cries

    • Dan Walsh says:

      The TV stations like to do that. The video is gone, replaced by a link. We like to make it more convenient to watch the videos, but the autoplays sneak up on us sometimes.

  3. Will miss Drake & Macca as well; they were a class act! Nice compilation!!

  4. Andy Muenz says:

    The league NEEDS a 20th team and to put together a schedule where every team is playing within a day or two of each other. Last week, the U played Chicago who just had a week off. Saturday, it was Chicgo again where the U had a midweek game and Chicago didn’t. Now it’s Montreal coming off a rest week. An odd number of teams doesn’t work!

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