Daily news roundups

Reaction to Union draw with TFC, HCI wins 2 on the road, USA Sunday funday, more

Philadelphia Union

It was ugly. And, once again, Jack McInerney was the man who saved the day—and for the second time this season against Toronto.

The Union managed only nine shots on ninth place in the Eastern Conference Toronto, seven of which came after the 41st minute when Doneil Henry was sent off. Only two shots were on target, one in the 79th minute and one in the 91st. Both came from McInerney. With the goal, McInerney is again the league’s leading goalscorer with ten goals in 14 games.

provisional Gold Cup roster? Damn straight!

McInerney said of the goal, “It’s just one of those situations where you get one chance and you have to take your opportunity. I just have an instinct to drift away and hope for the ball that no one else expects is going to get there.”

John Hackworth said after the game, “Well, he just every single game finds a way to get on the board. He just continues to score and it’s fantastic. Any time a young player does that, especially after the notoriety that he has gotten, I hope he gets the attention of the national team and he certainly has.”

Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen said of McInerney, “He’s a good player, he’s able to find holes. That is what good players do.” Yep.

So, about the game…

John Hackworth said, “Full credit to our guys, because they were great in trying to fight back, and even though it wasn’t pretty, it was effective. To get one back and get a result here on a day like today is good for us.

Hackworth explained, “They came at us and we were going to have to weather the storm one way or another. And we did. We dropped our line knowing they were going to come at us. They’re a team that has to get points right now. In the end, the fact that we made a sub so early in the game and we were still able to push is a credit to our fitness.”

Fitness certainly is a consideration when you recall the the Union have played seven games in 28 days.

Hackworth concluded, “When you go on the road, no matter who you play, you’re going to have these kinds of games.”

Match reports and recaps from PSP, Philadelphia Union, MLSsoccer.com, Philly.com, Philly Soccer News, TorontoFC.com, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Waking The Red, SBI, Goal.com, Gant Daily, Sports Mole, The Canadian Press, The Sports Network, and The AP.

Jonathan Tannenwald talks to Roger Torres, who wants everyone to know how much he appreciates the support he gets from Union fans.

I love Philadelphia. I love this team – this team was my first team in this league. I really love it. I don’t want to go to another team, I just want to wait for my opportunity.

And I appreciate all the fans who are there all the time supporting me, and saying my name. That’s the thing that makes me think, and not get that frustrated that badly. Just thinking that they believe in me, that gives me the confidence that when I go practice, I believe in me too.

Like I said, the thing that I can do is just wait. When the coach decides to put me in, I’ve got to do what I always do – the best thing for our team, to help our team get a win. That’s the point.

Philly Soccer News has more quotes from last week’s press conference from John Hackworth on Roger Torres.

Dave Zeitlin talks to Amobi Okugo and Rob Vartughian about Robbie Rogers returning to MLS.

Local

Harrisburg City Islanders, looking to bounce back from a 2-0 loss in Richmond, had back-to-back road games on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, they came back (lots of “back” here) from a goal down to win 2-1 against Charleston Battery, with goals from Sainey Touray and Stephen Basso. It was their first road win against the Battery. They followed that up with a big 4-0 win over Charlotte Eagles. Each of Harrisburg’s goals were scored by Union loanees with Cristhian Hernandez’s opening goal and Jimmy McLaughlin’s closing goal sandwiching a brace from Aaron Wheeler. It was Charlotte’s first home loss of the season and Harrisburg’s first road sweep in six seasons. With the wins, the City Islanders move into second place in the USL PRO standings.

More on the win in Charleston from The Patriot-News, The Sentinel, Live5News (includes video), Our Sports Central, and The Post and Courier.

More on the win in Charlotte from The Patriot-News and Charlotte Observer.

In PDL play, Ocean City Nor’easters topped Westchester Flames 4-3 on the road on Saturday. Reading travel to face Long Island Rough Riders on Wednesday.

In NPSL action, Junior Lone Star defeated Pocono Snow SC 2-1 on the road on Saturday.

MLS

In Eastern Conference play, Montreal Impact (26 points) move into first place with a big 2-1 road win over fourth place Kansas City (22 points). New York (25 points) drop to second place after losing 2-1 to Vancouver. Former Union man Jordan Harvey scored the equalizer for the Whitecaps with this screaming volleyed goal. Houston (22 points) is in third place after drawing 1-1 with seventh place Columbus (17 points), who the Union will host on Wednesday. The Union (19 points) remain in fifth place after their 1-1 draw with ninth place Toronto (8 points). New England move into sixth place and level on points with the Union after walloping LA Galaxy 5-0 on Sunday. Eighth place Chicago (11 points) defeated last place DC (5 points) 2-0. DC are now winless in 11 games.

The Empire Supporters Club started an online campaign to pay for the fine the league levied against Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke for comments he made criticizing officials after last week’s 2-2 draw with Columbus.

The LA Times explores whether the number of foreign players in MLS—some 45 percent this season—hinders the development of US players.

Now hear this! Now hear this! Home Depot Center is now StubHub Center. As you were.

Yossi Benayoun to MLS? Benayoun said, “I finish my contract on 30th June. At the moment I’m in talks with several European teams. I’m checking my options but, to tell you the truth, America is one of my favorite options. I’m trying to do everything I can to come to America and play in the MLS, and hopefully it works out in the next few weeks.”

Robbie Keane wants Richard Dunne to play in MLS.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak says MLS is the place to be.

What do you know, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, proposed site of an MLS stadium for the recently announced 20th league franchise in New York, isn’t as big as it was previously thought to be by about 350 acres.

David Beckham’s visit to Miami last week prompted familiar speculation about him setting up a MLS franchise there. While Beckham described said prospect as “exciting,” and local business and community leaders are doing everything to convince Beckham that doing so would be a great idea, folks in Orlando say their city would be a better home for a new club.

FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller said of last week’s upset wins by Tampa Bay Rowdies over Seattle and Carolina RailHawks over LA in US Open Cup play, “It’s a great advertisement for our league. The gap between the NASL and the MLS, certainly in one-off situations, is closing.”

NWSL

Sky Blue FC hammered third place Boston Breakers 5-1 on Saturday to claim sole possession of first place. Also on Saturday, Second place Portland Thorns fell at home 2-0 to seventh place Chicago Red Stars. It was Chicago’s first win of the season.

US

Now that was a US Soccer Centennial celebration-worthy Sunday!

I don’t know about you, but I certainly didn’t foresee a 4-1 scoreline against Germany, let alone the 4-3 final score in the USMNT friendly at RFK, especially after last week’s doleful loss to Belgium. Jozy Altidore opened with a lovely goal, his first for the US since 2011, and Clint Dempsey had two beauties of his own.

Klinsmann said of Dempsey, “Having a player like Clint Dempsey is a privilege, and if I look back, I think this is one of the best players in US history.”

Look for PSP’s take on the game later in the morning. In the meanwhile, match reports and recaps from US Soccer, MLSsoccer.com, ESPN, Soccer America, SI, Soccer Wire, ProSoccerTalk, New York TimesDeutsche Welle, The Patriot-News, New England Soccer Today, FIFA, Reuters. Postgame quote sheet here.

Player ratings from MLSsoccer.com, ESPN, SI, and New York Times,

The San Francisco Chronicle wonders if it is time for US Soccer to have a permanent home stadium built in DC.

The USWNT may have waited a little long in Sunday’s friendly in Toronto but in the end it was a satisfying 3-0 over Canada, the two teams meeting for the first time since their epic Olympic semifinal last summer. Alex Morgan scored a brace with goals in the 70th and 72nd minute with Sydney Leroux providing the final goal in stoppage time. Match reports from Philly.com, US Soccer, ProSoccerTalk, The Canadian Press, and The AP. Postgame quote sheet here.

US Soccer announced on Sunday that the USMNT will host Guatemala in a friendly in San Diego on July 5.

Can’t say I’m a fan of Rancid, but, as a drummer myself, I am a fan of Rancid drummer Brandon Steineckert new snare drum. Very cool, indeed.

Elsewhere

FIFA may have recently passed stronger measures to combat racism in soccer, but it appears moves to combat sexism will remain untried until Sepp Blatter finally leaves. The FIFA president said at the organization’s annual congress in Mauritius,  “We now have three ladies on the board [the executive committee]. Say something ladies! You are always speaking at home, say something now!” Don’t ever change, Sepp.

11 Comments

  1. “Full credit to our guys, because they were great in trying to fight back, and even though it wasn’t pretty, it was effective. To get one back and get a result here on a day like today is good for us.
    This is the most damning thing a coach could have possibly said after that game. I am aghast.

    • I was so mad when I read that. There is no way that anything we did on Saturday could be classified as effective.

    • I was kind of waiting for the coach to talk about how we were going toe to toe with Toronto until the end.

  2. Great One says:

    I wonder if hackworth has any idea of the kind of message quotes like this send to the team or to its fans. Your BARELY tied a horrendous team, while up a man for more than half the game!

  3. The Union effectively made ten men look like twelve; they spotted a goal to a team that couldn’t find the goal for hundreds of preceding minutes with a guide dog; they effectively made me doubt my ability to estimate time of possession, because there is no way that that game looked like 53% to the Union; and they effectively showed me why I can’t stop watching them, because I know that the moment I look away, something funky is going to happen. I will add that it is a good thing that these games are only supposed to be ninety minutes long. I think that Hackworth ought to tell them that stoppage time begins at 75 minutes. Maybe then we wouldn’t need to wait for last minute heroics.

  4. I suspect that Coach may have had different words for his team, in private. I don’t expect him to be too harsh in his official post match comments. We all watched. It was nae a classic.

  5. I wonder if next year’s Rivalry Week will skip the Canada thing, and go with Montreal-KC and Toronto-Union.

  6. Steve l. says:

    The Union are like the talented kid with talent but no self confidence that you want to wring there neck and say “you’re good, and when you realize that you’ll be better”. Think back to the beginning of the season when you looked at the roster and said “they’re not world beaters, but there is talent there and they can get into the playoffs”. But it seems like every game we get the “they play hard and we need to respect that”. Skrew that, we aren’t half bad ourselves, when you realize that people may try respecting you.

  7. Iftangle says:

    Can we bench Hackworth and play Torres as coach? Cant be worse than hackworthless. At least he would get to dress for the game.

    Seriously I hope they trade him so I get to see him play.

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