MLS round-up, April 20 & 21
State rivals Columbus Crew sit fourth after a 2-2 draw with Portland Timbers at Lower.com Field. Phil Neville's unpredictable visitors looked happy to soak up pressure and hit Crew on the break, opening the scoring in the tenth minute when Felipe Mora latched onto Eryk Williamson's through ball, and they defended resolutely through to half-time, restricting Columbus to half chances at best, even going close to extending that lead with a Williamson header in stoppage time. Their defensive efforts lasted just six minutes into the second-half before Cucho Hernandez equalised for the home side, but their lead was restored against the run out of play just before the hour when Evander set up Santiago Moreno to score in the 57th minute. Crew went in search of a second equaliser, firing shots wide and having them blocked by the Timbers defence, and Steven Moreira finally found a way through with a shot from outside the area into the top corner for 2-2 with a quarter of an hour to go. Both sides had chances to win the game after that, with Hernandez hitting the post in the seventh minute of stoppage time, but Neville's side again constructed another unlikely result. With just four points from seven games, New England Revolution's season badly needs a kickstart and their fans might have hoped a visit to an inconsistent Toronto FC could be the spark that ignites their undoubted fire. Both goalkeepers were called into action in the first half, which ended goalless, and Toronto's Sean Johnson had to make the first save of the second-half when he turned Giacomo Vrioni's effort away for a corner. It was the Reds, though, that found the net first when Prince Owusu finished from Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty's headed pass on 66 minutes, and they had a chance to double that lead ten minutes later when the referee - assisted by the new PA-explained VAR decisions - gave them a very soft penalty for handball. Ferderico Bernardeschi stepped up but his effort was saved by Henrich Ravas. Tomas Chancalay missed a good chance to level a few minutes later but the Reds saw the game out for a 1-0 that leaves the Revs firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.
Also north of the border, CF Montreal hosted an Orlando City side in indifferent form of late, with both sides already suffering three losses in seven games so far this season. The home side took the lead sixteen minutes in with the first chance of the game, Mason Toye scoring from a tight angle past Patrick Gallese following good work from Samuel Piette, but the Lions hit back six minutes later when Facundo Torres converted a penalty given for a Jonathan Sirois foul on Luis Muriel. The rest of the first-half passed without incident and Ariel Lassiter, Raheem Edwards, and Bryce Duke all had chances to restore Montreal's lead as the second-half unfolded, with Lassiter eventually finding the net two minutes from time, shooting into the bottom corner after a fast breaking move. That should have been game over but substitute Duncan McGuire was making a nuisance of himself up front and went close before Ivan Angulo scored from close range two minutes into stoppage time to give Orlando a share of the points. That result allowed Montreal to move above DC United in the table after United lost away at New York City FC. After a shaky start to the season, the Pigeons had taken eight points from their last five games and even the prospect of keeping United captain Christian Benteke quiet seemed within their grasp at Citi Field on Saturday night. That proved to be the case as the City defence restricted DC to just one shot on target all night while forcing visiting 'keeper Alex Bono into three saves before Santi Rodriguez finished a fast break started by Hannes Wolf. That sole DC effort on target came just before the hour mark but it was New York's game throughout, their win confirmed when Julian Fernandez made it 2-0 a minute into stoppage time.
Austin FC already had a win in this year's Copa Tejas before they travelled to Houston Dynamo on Saturday night and had been grinding out results of late, with only match this season finishing with more than a one-goal advantage to either side. They looked content to let Dynamo come at them, soaking up pressure and relying on Brad Stuver to make saves when needed, although Sebastian Driussi, Guilherme Biro, and Alexander Ring also managed to test Steve Clark in the Houston goal before the break. A cagey start to the second-half evolved into some heavy Houston pressure, with Stuver saving from substitute Hector Herrera and Ibrahim Aliyu as the game moving into its final quarter, but it was the visitors who grabbed what would prove to be the winning goal four minutes from time when Emiliano Rigoni fired home to silence the 20,000 crowd. Los Verde picked up two yellow cards in stoppage time defending their lead but rode it out to go two for two in Copa Tejas ties this season. It was also local derby time in Missouri, where Sporting Kansas City and St Louis City met at Children's Mercy Park. The game was played at a furious pace, with ten fouls in the first quarter of an hour before Kyle Hiebert went close to giving the visitors the lead, his header saved by Tim Melia. In the seventeenth minute, KC did take the lead when Alan Pulido finished off a fast break, which sparked City into action, going close again through Anthony Markanich and Joao Klauss before Klauss scored his third of the season to level the scores on the half-hour. Klauss again went close to putting St Louis into the lead with a header before setting up Celio Pompeu to do just that two minutes into first-half stoppage time, the visitors deservedly ahead. St Louis also had the better of the game after the break, which made Daniel Salloi's equaliser in the 65th minute even more surprising, the Hungarian international latching into the end of a free-kick. Twelve minutes later, Sporting took the lead again when Erik Thommy scored another pearler of a goal and looked to play out the game, dangerous tactics when Klauss is in lively form, good work off the ball allowing Tomas Totland to make it 3-3 in injury time. There was still time for Thommy to have an effort saved by Roman Burki in the St Louis goal but it ended all square in the Show-Me State.
It's really not working for Frank Klopas in his second spell in charge of Chicago Fire but even his harshest critics probably wouldn't have predicted a 4-0 win for visitors Real Salt Lake at Soldier Field on Saturday, the Fire defence just falling apart under an attack marshalled by Chicho Arango. It was Fire, though, who had the first chances of the game, Chris Mueller twice forcing rookie 'keeper Gavin Beavers into making a save, but Real scored their first soon after, Andres Gomez firing home from outside the box on 24 minutes, the home side losing Xherdan Shaqiri to injury shortly after. Arango added a second with a smart turn nine minutes later, and made it 3-0 in the 37th minute when he headed home from a corner, Fire at least limiting the damage through to half-time. Gaston Giminez came on for the home side at half-time to try and get something going, and Fire did have a couple of chances, Hugo Cuypers and Fabian Herbers again calling Beavers into action, but Real finished things off in stoppage time when Arango put Diego Luna through for his first of the season to end a dismal night for Fire fans. The mood at Soldier Field is in stark contrast with that at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, where Colorado Rapids are playing some surprisingly effective soccer, FC Dallas the latest team to leave with zero points from an encounter with Chris Armas's side. Rapids sit joint third in a Western Conference many tipped them to prop up after a 2-1 win on Saturday, the Rapids goals courtesy of Dallas players. Own goals by Sebastien Ibeagha and Sam Junqua either side of half-time meant the visitors were chasing the game throughout the second-half, only managing to find a way past Zack Steffen in the Colorado goal in the 87th minute when Petar Musa shot home. Bernard Kamungo had a shot blocked for Dallas in stoppage time which could have given them a deserved equaliser, but Rapids held firm for their fourth win of the season.
Saturday's final two games came from the West Coast, with the Cascadia Cup game between Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps probably the choice for many hoping to experience a hard-fought encounter. Sounders have struggled for form this season, having started with a batch of injuries to key players, but evenly matched the high-flying Caps in a quiet first half in terms of goal chances. A key moment came two minutes from half-time when Jackson Ragen was shown a yellow card for a foul of Vancouver's Ryan Gauld, a decision VAR upgraded to a red card. It seemed harsh but Sounders allowed it to completely ruin their game, their heads elsewhere when a defensive error allowed Gauld to put the visitors ahead just before the hour mark, and when another gave Brian White a clear chance to make it two in the 71st minute, an invitation he did not turn down. Things got even worse for Seattle three minutes later when Alex Roldan also saw red for a foul on Ali Ahmed, and Brian Schmetzer will really need to look at things when his side travel to DC United next week. The prospects for the game down in Los Angeles at BMO Stadium have taken an unlikely turn in recent weeks as New York Red Bulls' great form has found them sitting high in the Eastern Conference, while Los Angeles FC inconsistency sees them in mid-table in the West, positions that are usually reversed. But for an own goal in the eighth minute by Eddie Segura that gave Red Bulls a 1-0 lead, the first-half belonged to the home side, Illie Sanchez and Kei Kamara having good chances to equalise, and the Black and Gold came out fighting in the second-half, carving out a couple of decent chances before Sean Nealis was adjudged to have fouled Denis Bouanga in the New York box to give Bouanga a chance to level things from the spot in the 67th minute, a chance he took in his usual style after almost five minutes of VAR deliberation. Mateusz Bogusz and Sergio Palncia forced saves from Carlos Coronel in the Red Bulls goal as LAFC went in search of a winner, but it was Red Bulls who took the lead again, an unmarked Emil Forsberg slotting home from a corner on 81 minutes. LA brought on Luis Muller, who had a shot saved as the clock ticked away, and the resulting corner led to another corner, which in turn led to Bouanga scoring his brace to level things at 2-2 five minutes into stoppage time, which is how it finished.
There were two games on Sunday, the first of which came from North Carolina as Charlotte FC hosted a Minnesota United side that relegated star striker Teemu Pukki to the bench in favour of young upstart Tani Oluwaseyi. Erik Ramsey's side were content to allow Charlotte to control possession of the ball but defended resolutely, restricting the Crown to just one shot on target, a Bill Tuiloma header from a corner midway through the first-half. By contrast, United were in free-flowing counter-attacking form, Oluwaseyi and Will Trapp having chances to put them ahead before Oluwaseyi ran onto a Robin Lod ball to give the visitors the lead on the half-hour, an advantage doubled four minutes after the break when Lod grabbed his third of the season. Charlotte introduced Patrick Agyemang, who scored their winner against Toronto FC last week, but he came on just in time to see Hassani Dotson head the Loons' third from a corner. Pukki did come on and brought a decent save out of Kristijan Kahlina in the home goal, but 3-0 was how it ended, a frustrating night for Charlotte head coach Dean Smith. The weekend's final game was the first California Clasico of the season as high-flying Los Angeles Galaxy faced basement side San Jose Earthquakes in Carson. Quakes have been generally woeful this season, with just one win over Seattle Sounders for their efforts, and the exciting attacking play of the home side saw them race into a 3-0 lead on the half-hour, a quality goal from Gabriel Pec and a Joseph Panitsil penalty leading to Maya Yoshida's header from a corner for a commanding lead. Well, kinda, because the visitors went right up the other end and grabbed one back, Rodrigues heading in from a free-kick. Riqui Puig restored Galaxy's three-goal advantage in the 56th minute with a smartly taken goal after Pec put him through, but San Jose scored again just two minutes after that, a Benjamin Kikanovic header from Cristian Espinoza catching the LA defence by surprise. Still, at 4-2, Galaxy's quality should have seen them home but Erik Zavaleta - who'd only been on the field for eight minutes as a substitute - fouled Jeremy Ebobisse in the box and was shown a red card, Ebobisse converting the subsequent penalty to make for a nervy last twenty minutes for the home side. Kikanovic, Espinoza, and Jack Skahan all had chances to equalise for the Quakes but Galaxy managed to see the game out and leapfrog back over Vancouver Whitecaps to top the table a quarter of the way into the season.
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