The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsThe weekend of Independence Day saw some shocks in the MLS. The Eastern-topping Union lost away in Houston, while in the Hudson River Derby, New York City avenged their 7-0 defeat to the Red Bulls with a comfortable victory.
Friday 1 July
Chicago Fire 1 (Goossens) – SJ Earthquakes 0
John Goossens opened his MLS account to give the Fire a much-needed victory as they look to get something going in their 2016 campaign. Goossens (58’) got the only goal of the game to give the Fire victory, despite Chris Wondolowski returning for the Quakes after his Copa America Centenario exploits with the USMNT. Despite the victory, Chicago still sit bottom of the Eastern Conference, while San Jose are 8th in the West.
Real Salt Lake 1 (Martinez) – DC United 1 (Jeffrey)
DC’s substitutes made a big impact, with Jared Jeffrey scoring in stoppage time to reduce a point for the Washington side. RSL’s main man, Juan Manuel Martinez (57’), gave them the lead with a stunning individual goal just before the hour mark. However, they would not be able to hold on to their lead as Jared Jeffrey (90+2’) got the equaliser late on, heading home from a Fabian Espindola corner kick. It is another two dropped points for the hosts, who sat four behind the Rapids in the West before Colorado played on Sunday. DC sit 5th in the East, still only six points off the top.
Saturday 2 July
Montreal Impact 3 (Salazar 2, Piatti) – NE Revolution 2 (K Kamara)
Ignacio Piatti moved into double figures for the season as 10th goal of the season ave the Impact all three points. The night started well for New England, with Kei Kamara (18’, 33’) finally getting off the mark for his new club, two months after the ugly trade from the Crew. His double put the Revs two goals ahead, but Michael Salazar (40’, 48’) scored either side of the break to level the scores with forty minutes to play. Patti (54’) drew a foul in the box from Revs GK Brad Knighton, before picking himself up to slot the stopcock home to give Montreal the win. They move third in the East, three behind the leaders. The Revs are 8th in the Conference, but sit just a point below the red line.
Toronto FC 1 (Hamilton) – Seattle Sounders 1 (Morris)
Two goals scored within a minute of play meant this game ended up as a draw in Toronto. With Clint Dempsey out for Seattle, and Michael Bradley among others out for Toronto, neither side was at full strength for this one. After a goalless first half, it became a tale of two Jordan’s in the second. First, Jordan Hamilton (60’) put the Canadian side in front, before Jordan Morris (61’) levelled for the West Coast side just moments later. The draw means Seattle stay in 9th in the West, while Toronto have moved above the red line in the East, and now sit in 6th.
Houston Dynamo 1 (Maidana) – Philadelphia Union 0
The Dynamo caused the biggest shock of the weekend with a last-gasp winner against the Union. Despite Philadelphia being top of the East coming in, they were the team that had to defend for large periods of the game, and they went down to ten men when Joshua yard received a second yellow card late on. Cristian Maidana (90+5’) scored a fantastic free kick with virtually the last kick of the game to give the Dynamo all three points. They are still bottom of the West, but they are closer to the red line, whereas the Union have dropped down to 2nd in the East.
Sunday 3 July
New York City 2 (Harrison, Villa) – NY Red Bulls 0
Just six weeks are being hit for seven by their city rivals, NYC shut out the Red Bulls to take a comfortable three points at Yankees Stadium. Jack Harrison (8’) was the main man for the Blues, and he opened the scoring early with a great volley that went under Luis Robles in the Red Bulls goal. They then defended for a lot of the game, but scored the second on the counter with Harrison finding David Villa (66’) in the middle to double the lead. The Spaniard now has 12 on the season and is the league’s top goalscorer. NYC go top of the East with their first ever Hudson River Derby victory, but the Red Bulls drop down to 4th.
Sporting KC 3 (Feilhaber, Zusi, Besler) – Columbus Crew 2 (O Kamara 2)
Matt Besler was the hero for SKC, scoring his first goal for five years to give them victory in stoppage time. After being up against it, the Crew took the lead through Ola Kamara (22’), and carried that lead to half time. Benny Feilhaber (49’) levelled the game for SKC, and Graham Zusi’s (56’) individual effort put the hosts in front soon after. Kamara (75’) then got his second of the night, and sixth in his last five, to make it level once again. However, Matt Besler (90+1’) scored the winner with a back post header on his return from the Copa America to break Columbus hearts. They still sit 9th in the East, but SKC have jumped up to 5th in the West.
Monday 4 July
Colorado Rapids 0 – Portland Timbers 0
The only goalless draw of the weekend was between the table-topping Rapids, and last season’s Champions. Tim Howard played his first game in goal for Colorado, and he was brought into action several times in the second half as Portland were the team that looked like scoring the most, They couldn’t, though, and the point leaves them just below the red line in the West, with the Rapids dropping down to 2nd in the Conference.
FC Dallas 4 (Zimmerman, Barrios, Hedges, Castillo) – Orlando City 0
Four different scorers led FC Dallas to an easy win over Orlando, taking them to the top of the MLS standings. Mauro Diaz was once again influential, with two assists in the game. The first gave Walker Zimmerman (11’) the chance to score the opener, with which he duly obliged. Michael Barrios (21’) then doubled the lead soon after. Another Diaz assist saw Matt Hedges (61’) get the third before Fabian Castillo (90+2’) rounded off the game in stoppage time. The win takes them top of the Western Conference, and the MLS, but Colorado do have two games in hand on them. Orlando have dropped out of the playoff places on goal difference in the East.
LA Galaxy 2 (Keane, Larentowicz) – Vancouver Whitecaps 0
Robbie Keane marked his return from EURO 2016 with a goal to help the Galaxy to victory over the Whitecaps. Steven Gerrard was also on top form, providing the Irishman with the assist for his goal. Keane’s (12’) strike set LA on the way, and was a contender for Goal of the Week. Gerrard then found Jeff Larentowicz (47’) for the second Galaxy goal, and the buffer they needed. It is their first win in eight, and it moves them to 4th in the West, above their opponents, who drop down to 6th.
NYC (27) are the new leaders of the Eastern, with the Union (26), Impact (24) and Red Bulls (23) in close capacity. DC (21) and Toronto (20) take the final playoff spots, with Orlando (20) and NE (19) just below the red line. The Crew (16) and Fire (14) are falling behind slightly. There are also new leaders in the West, as FCD (34) overtook Colorado (33) this week. RSL (28) are third, with LA (26), SKC (25) and Vancouver (24) rounding out the top six. The Timbers (24) fine run has moved them up to 7th, with SJ (22), Seattle (17) and Houston (17) the bottom three.
