MLS round-up, May 11-12
Atlanta United went into Saturday's game with DC United having not won in the league since March 31, but with confidence-boosting US Open Cup win in midweek (admittedly against third-tier opposition) would have given them hope that they could get it right this week, especially with their three deisgnated players all fit and named in the starting line-up and with over 42,000 in at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They got off to a good start in the sixteenth minute when Thiago Almada converted a penalty kick given for a foul on Giorgios Giakoumakis, but that advantage lasted for just three minutes before Christian Benteke headed Jared Stroud's cross home for an equaliser confirmed by VAR. Both sides had chances a few minutes before half-time, with Sasa Lobjanidze and Theodore Ku-DiPietro forcing the goalkeepers into saves, but it was DC who went into the break with a smile on their faces, courtesy of Benteke's second headed goal, again from a Stroud cross, the Black & Red suddenly 2-1 to the good. It looked like the second-half might be sung to a different tune, though, with Dax McCarthy brought on and good Atlanta pressure forcing Matti Peltoia to put through his own net just three minutes after the break for a leveller. However, that seemed to be the cue for DC to up their game, Benteke twice going close before completing his hat-trick in the 55th minute with another header, this time from a Mateusz Klich corner. The game was wide open from that point and both sides had chances to either equalise or go further ahead but there were no further goals, the 3-2 scoreline ample reward for Benteke's efforts.
There were probably a few who fancied that Charlotte FC versus Nashville SC might finish 3-2 to the visitors on Saturday, even after the Crowns decided that Enzo Copetti would soon be joining Karol Swiderski and Kamil Jozwiak as former-DPs. Copetti wasn't named in the squad for the game, with head coach Dean Smith opting to go with a front three of Patrick Agyemang, Brecht Dejaegere, and Kerwin Vargas. The first half was light on chances, with Djaegere firing wide for Charlotte and Crowns 'keeper Kristijan Kahlina saving from Nashville's Anibal Godoy and Dru Yearwood, but the home side started brightly in the second, opting to hold the ball in midfield and look for fast runs for Agyemang and Vargas. This nearly paid off when Vargas fired just wide in the 51st minute, a situation put right when Agyemang strong-armed his way past the Coyotes' defence and shot into the bottom corner a minute later. From there, Charlotte locked up, robbing Nashville of any further chances and ultimately keeping hold of that 1-0 win, their fifth in eight games at the Bank of America Stadium.
Also escaping the 2-3 curse were New York Red Bulls, who welcomed New England Revolution to Harrison, New Jersey, for the 97th game between the two teams. The Revs won only their second game of the season at Chicago last week, while Red Bulls' 6-2 defeat at Inter Miami was put down as a bad day at the office by head coach Sandro Schwarz, something that seemed to ring true when Lewis Morgan put the home side ahead in the sixth minute. It was almost 2-0 in the twelfth minute when Emil Forsberg hit the bar but it was the Revs who got on the scoresheet next, equalising through Carles Gil's header on eighteen minutes. Tomas Chancalay, who'd crossed for Gil to score, brought a save out of home 'keeper Carlos Coronel, and the visitors went close again when Esmir Bajraktarevic fired just over, but Red Bulls regained the lead two minutes before the break when VAR spotted a handball by Henry Kessler in the New England box and Forsberg dispatched the penalty. Chances for both sides flowed throughout the second-half but there were no further goals until the 84th minute when Elias Manoel extended New York's lead. To the Revs' credit, they went searching to get back in the game and reduced the arrears in ninety minutes through Giacomo Vironi's shot, confirmed by VAR, although Morgan did grab his second in stoppage time to make it 4-2 for Red Bulls, who move up to third in the East.
That's because Toronto FC - who were third - lost 3-2 at home to New York City FC, the Pigeons bouncing back after a 2-0 home loss to Colorado last week. Toronto were boosted by the return of Lorenzo Insigne to the bench and had Jonathan Osorio go close in the third minute, City 'keeper Matt Freese saving well. Thiago Martins and Malachi Jones had chances for the visitors as the game opened up and another New York attack saw Matty Longstaff adjudged by VAR to have handled in the box. Santi Rodriguez stepping up to put City ahead midway through the first-half, and it was two a minute from the break when Jones - who started the season with the club's MLS Next Pro side - scored his first MLS goal with a pinpoint finish into the bottom corner. At that point, the game had been fairly even but the Reds just hadn't converted their chances, something they put right ten minutes into the second-half when Federico Bernardeschi finished from a difficult angle. Six minutes later, Kevin Long had a header tipped over by Freese, but there were no further goals before Insigne was introduced with a quarter of an hour to play. He almost scored straight away, his effort turned away for a corner by Freese, but the Pigeons went right up the other end and restored their two-goal advantage through Andres Perea. Raoul Petretta did manage to make it 2-3 a minute before time but New York saw the game out, with Bernardeschi receiving a second yellow after the final whistle and the two benches clearing for a bit of push and pull that fell somewhat short of a rumpus.
After losing two on the trot at home, Philadelphia Union steadied the ship with a 2-2 draw at DC United last week and would have been confident of getting their home record back on course with the visit of a lacklustre Orlando City on Saturday. Everything looked in place in the twelfth minute when Mikael Uhre poked home Nathan Harriel's corner, but the Florida men had had the first chance of the game when Facundo Torres hit the post after Nico Lodeiro's shot was blocked, and they scored an equaliser nine minutes later through Duncan McGuire's close-range header from a Lodeiro cross. Union took control for the next period of game, firing three shots wide, but Orlando came back in the five minutes before the break, Wilder Cartagena shooting over just before Luis Muriel scored his first goal for the Lions since his winter move from Atalanta, an absolute cracker from outside the area. The second-half was barely a minute old before Muriel got his second, less good this time but from another good pass by Lodiero, leaving Union absolutely shellshocked. Just past the hour, VAR awarded the home side a penalty for a punchball by Lodeiro missed by the referee, and Daniel Gazdag stepped up to take it, having never missed a penalty in MLS. That run continued to reduce the arrears to a single goal and Union went in search of an equaliser, again having VAR to thank for Damon Lowe not receiving a red card in the 78th minute. It looked like they had the perfect chance to draw level with just four minutes to go when Ivan Angulo was ruled to have fouled Harriel in the box and Gazdag stepped up again. This time, his run came to an end when Pedro Gallese guessed right and Gazdag fired the rebound over. There was still work to do for Otrlando, however, with the referee adding on eighteen minutes of stoppage time, during which Philadelphia saw six efforts go wide of the goal to keep the score at 2-3 and an away win for the Lions.
"Rivalry week" brought The Hell is Real derby to Columbus on Saturday, where reigning MLS champions Columbus Crew faced state rivals FC Cincinnati at a jumping Lower.com Field. The media billed it as Cucho versus Lucho and both men were lively in a scoreless first half, although the best chance fellin stoppage time to the visitors' Yuya Kubo, saved well by Patrick Schulte. Luca Orellano brought another save out of Schulte early in the second-half and some Cincinnati pressure finally got its reward in the 74th minute when Lucho Acosta found Kevin Kelsy in the box, a close-range header giving the Garys the lead. It was 2-0 two minutes later when Acosta grabbed his sixth of the season and even though Max Arsten managed to pull one back a minute before time, the points went south for the first time since 2019. It was also derby day in Frisco where FC Dallas and Austin FC met in a Copa Tejas tie. Austin have had the measure of their state opponents so far this season but fell behind to the first attack of the game when a stray back pass from Sebastian Driussi was intercepted by Petar Musa and fired past Brad Stuver in the Austin goal. Diego Rubio brought a pair of saves out Dallas 'keeper Maarten Paes, and Jesus Ferreira went close for the home side before half-time, but it was all Austin after the break, at least until Ferreira got onto the end of a fast break started by Musa to double the Toros' lead. The Verde brought on Gyasi Zardes just past the hour to try and chase the game, but the Dallas defence held firm, at least until the 84th minute when Ema Twumasi fouled Owen Wolff in the area and Driussi scored from the spot. Austin tried vainly to get an equaliser but couldn't get a decent effort on target and - temporarily, at least - lose Texas bragging rights to their northern neighbours.
Houston Dynamo may have lost both of the Copa Tejas games so far this season but they managed to grab a win on the road at Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, buoyed by the return of Hector Herrera in the midfield. Herrera almost had an assist to his name after eight minutes when Adalberto Carrasquilla distance effort was saved by Tim Melia, and then went the whole hog by opening the scoring just past the half-hour, a shot into the top right corner from outside the box. Daniel Salloi and Memo Rodriguez went close to an equaliser before the break, and there was no let up once the game resumed, with Griffin Dorsey firing over, and Johnny Russell had a shot blocked which led to a corner. Rodriguez then found Salloi on the edge of the box and the Hungarian fired home an equaliser. Melia had to save from Ibrahim Aliyu and Amine Bassi as Houston looked to restore their advantage, with opposite number Steve Clark equal to a William Agada effort as the game moved into the last fifteen minutes. Aliyu went one better with twelve minutes remaining when he was put through by Dorsey, squeezing the ball into the bottom right corner, and it was Sporting's turn to go on the offensive, their best chance saved by Clark from Agada with two minutes to go.
Chicago Fire made their first ever visit to City Park, home of St Louis City, on Saturday on the heels of a home defeat to New England Revolution, only the Revs second win of the season. In a situation that must be becoming familiar by now, they found themselves behind in the second minute, a Rasmus Alm shot from distance finding its way past Chris Brady just seconds after Brian Gutierrez had a shot saved by Roman Burki down the other end. Fire did have chances to get back into the game in the next few minutes but slowly St Louis took control of the game, although they were unable to add to their lead before the break. Almost straight from the kick-off, Chicago did score, Hugo Cuypers firing into the roof of the net from very close range, but that was as good as it got for Frank Klopas's side, Joao Klauss restoring the lead with his fourth of the season in the 56th minute and then adding a third with a well-placed header eleven minutes after that. Fire did come close in the last few minutes, Roman Burki tipping Tom Barlow's header over for a corner, but it finished 3-1 to CITY, leaving Fire with just two wins on the season so far.
Playing with some confidence and earning results this season, Colorado Rapids no doubt looked at the visit of San Jose Earthquakes as a chance to possibly go top of the Western Conference, depending on results elsewhere, even if the Quakes did manage to grab their second win of the season against Los Angeles FC last week. They thought they'd gotten off to a perfect start in the 26th minute when Omir Fernandez scored, only for VAR to rule it out for offside, but did open the scoring seven minutes later through Rafael Navarro, finishing from close range following a corner. They continued to pile the pressure on a sorry looking San Jose side, going close through Navarro and Keegan Rosenberry before Fernandez got the second, allowed this time, shooting home from outside the box. That should have been it for the half but Quakes found some resolution and managed to grab one back with a minute left on the clock, Amahl Pelelgrino finding the net after Jeremy Ebobisse's shot was blocked. Then, in the sixth minute of time added on at the end of the first half, new signing Hernan Lopez - making his first start since signing from Godoy Cruz - scored a beauty to equalise, twenty-thousand Rapids fans shocked into silence. Both sides had chances after the break but it was San Jose who went ahead, Vitor Costa's pass finding Cristian Espinoza in the centre of the box for a quick finish. Rapids tried to find an equaliser and a Calvin Harris header was turned around the post by Quakes 'keeper William Yarborough in the third minute of stoppage time, but the game finished 3-2 to the visitors, lifting them off the foot of the table for the first time in months.
Saturday's final two games saw both LA teams at home, with Los Angeles Galaxy facing the visit of Real Salt Lake, and Los Angeles FC hosting Vancouver Whitecaps. Galaxy were the only one of the four not in domestic cup action in midweek and will have seen Real's defeat to USL Championship New Mexico United as a sign that they are very beatable. Galaxy had all the early going but Real scored first, Cristian Arango heading home at the very first opportunity in the twentieth minute. Arango made it 2-0 twenty minutes later with a delightful finish from the middle of the area and took his side into the break with Galaxy picking up their jaws, every bit in the game but seemingly not on the same level as Chicho. The second-half picked up the threads of the first, with both sides probing and testing, and this time it was Galaxy who got the goal, Gabriel Pec found unmarked by Riqui Puig in the 54th minute. Gaston Brugman went close for Galaxy fifteen minutes later but the game looked like it was heading for another away win until the fourth minute of stoppage time when Miguel Berry found a way past Zac MacMath to equalise, a share of the points enough to keep Real top in the West. It was a far simpler affair across town at BMO Stadium where LAFC put three past Caps 'keeper Yohei Takaoka with no reply. The hosts dominated both possession and chances at goal, going ahead after eighteen minutes when Denis Bouanga picked out Cristian Oliveira with a cross, the Uruguayan firing home from almost point-blank range. Oliveira made it 2-0 eighteen minutes later when Bouanga again found him free in the box for a close-range finish, and it was three twelve minutes into the second-half, Mateusz Bogusz finishing a fast break started by - yes, you guessed right - Bouanga. Caps' best chances to get back in the came came midway through the second-half but there was no way past Hugo Lloris in the home goal, the Black & Gold bouncing back nicely from last week's defeat to San Jose.
The last game of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon at Providence Park, Portland, where Seattle Sounders were the visitors for a Cascadia Cup clash with Portland Timbers. Neither side has enjoyed the best start to the season and fans will have enjoyed the self-contained nature of the tie, temporary respite from their places at the bottom of the Western Conference. The home side were dealt a blow ahead of kick-off when Evander wasn't deemed fit enough to start the game but still got the go-ahead goal through Felipe Mora after fifteen minutes, a neat finish after a perfect chested pass by Jonathan Rodriguez. Cristian Roldan got the Sounders back on level terms four minutes later, his shot from outside the box finding its way past Maxime Crepeau in the Portland goal, and Crepeau had to save from Jordan Morris just past the half-hour to keep the scores level, which is how they stayed going into the break. Five minutes into the second-half, Raul Ruidiaz put the visitors ahead with a shot into the top corner and then went close to making it 3-1 two minutes later, his attempt to lob Crepeau from 35 yards not quite coming off. Evander then came for the Timbers and sent a free-kick over the bar with his first attempt on goal, with Santiago Moreno cloming close twice in the closing stages, but Seattle saw the game out for their first Cascadia Cup points of the season and - just as important - a leap up to eleventh place in the table.
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