The opening of the PDL season is here and we’ll know in just a few weeks if Ocean City will again be involved in the US Open Cup. After last season’s success and the first ever match with an MLS side (DC United) we can all hope to see them in the tournament again. For the hundreds of fans that were there in suburban DC for that match most of them will never believe we didn’t score to tie the game at 1 just ahead of stoppage time. We came that close. The first four games of the PDL season double as Open Cup qualifiers so we’ll have the answer to that shortly as the adventure began on Saturday night with a match against the Piranhas who lost at last season’s regular season champs (Reading) in their opener.
A beautiful evening and a nice crowd was on hand for the opener but the Piranhas refused to be accomodating rallying in the late stages to score twice for the 2-2 final scoreline. Ocean City took the lead on a Fletcher header at the back post from a Chapman corner (17) and Terry Gibbs put them up 2-0 in the 71st converting Carmichael’s feed nicely on a counter (71) and they seemed to have the match well in hand. It wouldn’t stay that way. The Hampton Roads side changed the tenor of the game late on and they fashioned their two goals from determined attacking play which was not in evidence for most of the match. The Nor’easters will lament dropping the points in that fashion but timely tactical substitutes for the Piranhas changed the game and several good chances for the Nor’easters that were not taken earlier made the result possible.
Ocean City faces a tough test in the mid-week with an away match against unbeaten Ironbound before returning home to face the Northern Virginia Royals on Saturday.
In Europe Fulham faced off against Atletico in the Europa League Final with hopes that they would shake off the dregs that affected their final games of the EPL season. Roy Hodgson is gathering a lot of deserved respect from his peers in the league but we need to keep in mind his team slipped from the top half of the table to finish 12th. Not a finishing place that usually warrants accolades. The season ended with a 1-2-3 (W-D-L) run in their final six in the league and they failed to score in 4 of them as they slipped from 8th to finish in the bottom half of the table. They need to be far better here.
And they were for the most part. A Forlan strike (32) put Atletico on top but just five minutes later Simon Davies leveled for the Cottagers. Both sides traded barbs for a long, long time taking the game into Extra Time. Forlan’s deft touch in the 116th minute made it a 2-1 victory for the Spanish side ending Fulham’s bid for their first ever major trophy in the 131 year history of the club.
Chelsea, on top of their world at the moment surely had the inside track in their quest to complete the double (league title and FA Cup) in Ancelotti’s first season in charge. The Blues started the season in very good form winning their first six before the shock 3-1 defeat at Wigan. Yes, the very same Wigan that they ran off the pitch in the final game in that 8-0 win. Chelsea’s record goal production (103) saw them score 7 or more 4 times. Golden boot winner Didier Drogba (29 league goals) was special all season long and consider too that he missed several games for the African Cup of Nations but this team is not dependent on any one player.
A big key for the Blues season was the depth and quality of the club as evidenced by them losing their best all around player (Essien) in early December as well as Ashley Cole for over two months and still having enough to finish the job. Their loss to Inter and their former boss in the Champions League was disappointing of course but again they had what was needed to get the job done despite the dip in form after losing Essien and then Cole. Malouda’s production (16 goals) and Lampard’s 32 in all competitions were huge.
So, the FA Cup Final comes down to the title winner versus the bottom side Portsmouth and one-time Chelsea boss Avram Grant versus the man that took his seat at Stamford Bridge. An unlikely final but frankly Pompey’s performance against Spurs was inspriational as they did the job on the pitch in spite of the club coming apart at the seams. Could they, would they make a game of it against the Blues?
In the opening half Chelsea were unfortunate as they hit the woodwork instead of the back of the net a half dozen times. The dominance continued but the match remained scoreless as Chelsea escaped retribution for not taking their chances when Boateng missed a penalty in the 56th. Just three minutes later Drogba’s well placed free kick eluded James and the Blues had their cup winner. Lampard would miss a penalty in the 87th but it wouldn’t matter as the Blues hit the tape 1-0 winners. Portsmouth made a game of it in spite of generating little offensive threat and only one shot on goal while Chelsea fired 24 shots, 10 of them on frame. Deserved winners are these Blues and the domestic double (league title and FA Cup) proves the point.
Ahead of the weekend Gianfranco Zola’s contract at West Ham was terminated. A bevy of experienced managers have been mentioned to fill his shoes such as Mark Huges, Avram Grant, Martin Jol and a fistful of others.
I keep hoping that we’ll see news of Rafa Benitez being axed at Liverpool too. Maybe they’re waiting for the soccer world to be focused on the World Cup before any move is made, but if Liverpool are to recover their status in the league Rafa must go. Rafa engineered the worst finish for the Reds in 11 years (7th) squandering millions and millions on his very poor player acquisitions while putting the blame for his failure on the hated American owners. Apparently no one in the usually rabid British press will pursue the real truth regarding Rafa until he’s gone and that in itself helps perpetuate his fraud to the detriment of Liverpool FC.
In his six seasons in charge Rafa built a team that turned out to be so utterly dependent on just two players to have spectacular seasons (Gerrard and Torres); that just did not happen this time around. Torres did miss 16 games but still managed a league leading strike rate hitting the net 18 times in only 22 appearances. On the other hand Gerrard had only a serviceable season by his standards. That, and the fact of the very poor return from player purchases by Rafa led to Liverpool scoring 25 fewer goals than last season and losing 11 league games after losing only 2 last year. Chelsea’s winning the league and stopping United from their 4th consecutive title along with Spurs rise were big, but the collapse of Liverpool will be the really big story of the season for many fans.
Man City spending a trainload of money put them on the verge of real success but they have to settle for the Europa League despite all that spending. The message of their season in falling short in spite of all that could turn out to be a blessing in disguise and end the nonsense but don’t count on it. There are already rumours of their willingness to spend even more this summer. Look for them to try to snap up whoever it is that shines at the World Cup. Actually you can count on it.
An interesting off season to watch will take place at Aston Villa. Martin O’Neill’s presence there has done no better than 6th place three seasons in a row. In what could be a warning bell for England, Villa also field a number of Three Lions on their game day roster and yet their best has been 6th in the league and they are stuck in place. Expect changes there.
I’ve already done my selection for a favorite to win the EPL next season and that is Arsenal. Those that know me also know I’m no fan of the Gunners, or Wenger for that matter, but his team is on track to win it all. I’ll make my final selection after the Community Shield match which is played one week ahead of the opening of the season as I do every year but I really don’t see my top choice changing. I also don’t expect to see the Gunners lose players next year for broken legs and so on. Actually if they had not lost Robin Van Persie then Fabregas and Arshavin for much of the season they might have won it this time.
In the playoff to determine the 3rd promoted side Blackpool booked a place in the final match at Wembley at Nottingham’s City Ground in a thriller 3-4 (4-6agg). DJ Campbell’s second half hat-trick turned a match that looked headed Forest’s way. Robert Earnshaw scored early (7) leveling the aggregate score and it stayed that way until Campbell’s first (56) again put Blackpool in command. Earnshaw again leveled matters (66) at 2 just ahead of a blitz from Blackpool where they scored three times in seven minutes (72, 76, 79) to advance to the final playoff match. Adebola pulled one back for Forest in stoppage time to make it 3-4 on the night and the 6th placed side had again defeated the 3rd place finisher in the playoffs to advance.
Cardiff City carried the advantage from the first leg back home to settle the tie with Leicester but it was the Foxes who looked to be on the way to Wembley. Chopra hit the opener for the Bluebirds making their lead 2-0 agg but Leicester rallied hitting for 3 from Fryatt (25), a Hudson OG (36) and what looked to be the decisive goal from Andy King (49). A Peter Whittingham penalty conversion (69) would send the game to extra time and then penalties where the Bluebirds win it 4-3 to set up the final match at Wembley with Blackpool.
In La Liga Barca held their nerve and the title and Inter won their 5th consecutive Scudeto and a domestic double too. Jose can complete his goal in the Champions League Final this coming weekend.
Bob Bradley named his selections for the US Men’s National Team preliminary 30 man roster with a number of surprises and one big loss that was expected (Charlie Davies). Davies recovery from his near death experience in that horrid car crash has been an inspiration, but he’s not yet ready. Freddie Adu was also left off the squad along with Conor Casey of the Colorado Rapids. Edson Buddle returns to the MNT after a 7 year absence on the strength of his stunning start to the MLS season at the Galaxy. Herculez Gomez and Robbie Findley are poised to compete for the role up top that featured Davies and Eddie Johnson earns a look after three years on the outside looking in on the strength of his apparent revival while playing in Greece.
FIFA requires the roster to be pared down to the final 23 by June 1. There are three warmup matches with two of them before the deadline. The first versus Czech Republic on May 25 and versus Turkey 4 days later at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. The June 5 final tuneup will be against Australia just a week ahead of the big World Cup opening match versus England on June 12.
