Friday, July 4, 2014

MLS Friday July 4th, 2014

Five matches on to celebrate America's independence. We begin in...

Houston, as the Dynamo host the New York Red Bulls. Luis Robles and Tally Hall are the keepers. Houston began with a Giles Barnes goal in the first minute, coming off of Kofi Sarkodie and Ricardo Clark. New York tied it in the thirteenth minute as Bradley Wright-Phillips scored, via Eric Alexander. The Dynamo's A.J. Cochran was given a yellow card in the fiftieth minute for a foul. The Red Bulls gained the lead as Wright-Phillips scored again in the seventy-second minute, with the help of Ambroise Oyongo Bitolo. Houston tied it as Brad Davis converted a penalty kick in the eighty-second minute. New York picked up a yellow card on a Jonathan Steele foul in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but the score held. The final was 2-2, and the man of the match was Wright-Phillips with his brace.

Up north a bit, FC Dallas welcomes the Philadelphia Union. Zac MacMath and Chris Seitz make the starts in goal. Dallas opened in the twenty-sixth minute as Tesho Akindele scored, assisted by Blas Perez. Philadelphia tied it in the forty-third minute on an Amobi Okugo goal, made possible by Cristian Maidana. Dallas retook the lead as the Union's Sheanon Williams put the ball in his own net for an own goal. Philadelphia was frequently in the referee's book after this, with Conor Casey getting a yellow card for a foul in the sixty-fifth minute, followed by Sebastien Le Toux getting a yellow card in the sixty-eighth minute for dissent. In the seventy-second minute, Seitz had to come out of the game, replaced by Raul Fernandez. The Union's rough night was capped off by a Maurice Edu red card in the eighty-ninth minute, and the final was 2-1. The man of the match was Akindele.

Northwest to Colorado, as the Rapids host the Columbus Crew. Steve Clark and Clint Irwin are in the six-yard boxes. Colorado had the game's first yellow card as Drew Moor committed a foul in the thirtieth minute. The Rapids were also first to score, although not by their own doing, as Columbus' Eric Gehrig put the ball in his own net for an own goal. The Crew overcame this error with an Ethan Finlay goal in the seventy-sixth minute, an unassisted goal. Colorado picked up two more yellow cards in the seventy-ninth minute for a Vicente Sanchez foul, and again in the first minute of stoppage time for a foul by Shane O'Neill. The final was 1-1, and Irwin's seven saves, preserving the draw, earned him honors as man of the match.

Over in Salt Lake, Real brings in the New England Revolution. Bobby Shuttleworth and Nick Rimando are guarding the nets. The teams traded yellow cards for fouls in the first half, as Chris Wingert had one in the nineteenth minute for Salt Lake, followed by Lee Nguyen getting one in the thirty-second minute for New England. Real started the scoring in the thirty-fifth minute as Javier Morales converted a penalty kick, but he soon followed up with a yellow card for a foul a minute later. The Revolution tied the score in the thirty-seventh minute on a Darrius Barnes goal, assisted by Chris Tierney. Tierney had a transgression in the sixty-fourth minute, a foul that earned him a yellow card, and led to a penalty kick goal by Real's Joao Plata. This was the game winner, with the final being 2-1. The man of the match was Plata.

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Galaxy host the Portland Timbers. Donovan Ricketts and Jaime Penedo are protecting the nets. Portland's Diego Valeri got a yellow card in the twelfth minute for a foul. Los Angeles had the next yellow card as Dan Gargan fouled in the fortieth minute to get the referee involved. The Galazy led off in the sixty-fifth minute with a goal by Marcelo Sarvas, assisted by Landon Donovan. Portland answered in the sixty-seventh minute as Valeri put the ball in the net to tie the game. The Timbers gained the lead in the seventieth minute on a Jorge Villafana goal, an unassisted effort. Portland took another yellow card in the seventy-sixth minute as Diego Chara committed a foul. The Galaxy got one back as the Timbers' Rauwshan McKenzie put an own goal into his team's net, tying the game. This was the final event, leaving the score even at 2. The man of the match was Valeri for offensive effort and a goal.

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