MLS
Kansas City 1, Columbus 0
Jose Burciaga, Jr. hits on an injury time thriller to dispatch of pesky Columbus. Guillermo Barros Schelloto made his debut, coming on in the but scoring problems continue for the Crew unabated. Kansas City would have been disappointed if there was no goal and three points. Kansas City kept firing away but nothing was getting by Greuenebaum. It took a solo run by Burciaga to get the win (consider this his first of several this year, after all he had 8 last season).
Because I Think...'s MVP: Jose Burciaga, Jr.
KCW: Burciaga Jr. (1)
CLB: NONE
Real Salt Lake 3, New York Red Bulls 3
First off, how nice is it to see Clint Mathis back at the top of the scoring charts? Mathis had a two goal day with an assist tacked on. For Jeff Cunningham or Taylor Twellman's sake, Mathis' goals were somewhat of the 'silver platter' type. Rookie Dane Richards got his first with a nice toe-flick by Chris Seitz. There were two goal of the week candidates in this match-up coming from RSL. They came from Chris Brown and Chris Klein respectively and helped RSL pull out the tie. Overall, the Bulls will be disappointed with this tie considering they were 3-1 up with 2 minutes to go. Credit RSL and new coach Jason Kreis for finding that point somehow.
Because I Think...'s MVP: Clint Mathis for his solo performance.
RSL: C. Klein (1), J. Cunningham (3), C. Brown (1)
RBNY: D. Richards (1), Mathis 2 (3)
Houston 3, Colorado 1
Colorado looked poised to establish DSG Park as a tough place for opponents to win away at, but defensive lapses in the second half led to three unanswered goals for visiting Houston. Roberto Brown scored his third of the season to put the Rapids in front, but the two Houston sleeping giants, De Rosario and Ching, woke up and kept the Rapids backpedalling. Houston's defense also kept Brown and Herculez Gomez rather quiet except for the little scrum in front of the goal that led to Colorado's first goal.
Because I Think...'s MVP: Dwayne DeRosario, I've been waiting to long this season for this to happen.
HOU: De Rosario 2 (2), Ching (2)
COL: R. Brown (3)
English Premiership
Manchester United 1, Manchester City 0
United comes out on top in the Manchester derby yet again, but this also pushes Man U one step closer to a Premiership title. A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty conversion outshined a missed Darius Vassell penalty, allowing the Red Devils to a 1-0 victory the City of Manchester Stadium. Damarcus Beasley played all 90 minutes but couldn't influence the Manchester United dominance. Possession was extremely lopsided as Man U controlled the ball for 3/4 of the game without real Citeh pressure. Regardless, United only could muster 6 shots.
MANU: C. Ronaldo (pen 34)
MANC: NONE
Everton 3, Portsmouth 0
Pompey was stomped upon by a well-charged Everton squad. So charged that even Scottish fullback Gary Naysmith got in on the scoring (the exact minute he came on). The match-up showed distinctly who deserves a spot in European competition next season. Timmy Howard manned the nets for Everton and made quite a few saves to ensure a clean sheet for the home team at Goodison Park.
EVE: M. Arteta (pen 59), J. Yobo (62), G. Naysmith (90)
POR: NONE
Fulham 1, Liverpool 0
What a sweet win for Fulham, effectively putting the Cottagers in place to avoid the relegation drop. The man of the hour (and a half, if you will) was former New England Rev Clint Dempsey as he was scored his first Premiership goal to beat Liverpool no less. Finally, a little bit of spotlight on the MLS' most "profitable" export. Amidst a relatively even game and a thunderous atmosphere, Dempsey was able to put one in with about 20 minutes to go. Carlos Bocanegra went the full 90, McBride was subbed off with 5 minutes to go, and Dempsey came on in the 53rd minute for a somewhat ineffective Vincenzo Montella. For your viewing pleasure and thanks to a Ms. Ella Field (who attended the game), we have some pictures for you from the Fulham/Liverpool clash.
FUL: C. Dempsey (69)
LIV: NONE
Blackburn 2, Newcastle 0
Brad Friedel and the Rover defense frustrated the hell out of a strong Newcastle attacking duo in returned from injury Michael Owen and Nigerian star Obafemi Martins. Gooch Onyewu and the Newcastle defense, on the other hand, had trouble with the strike partnership of Benny McCarty and Jason Roberts (who both tallied a goal). Newcastle's troubles continue and Glenn Roeder (Newcastle manager) should be approaching the "I might have no job soon" stage (in fact, after this was written it was released that Roeder had in fact resigned). Also, I don't think we'll be seeing Onyewu in a Newcastle jersey next season. Who wants to be a Magpie anyway?
BLA: McCarthy (14), Roberts (73)
NEW: NONE
West Ham United 3, Bolton 1
Bolton must be hurting from Sam Allardyce's resignation as seen from their play against WHU. Or...it could have been that Carlos Tevez and the Hammers refuse to see themselves in the Championship next season. Tevez scored two (and has certainly fully adjusted to the Premiership) and young'un Mark Noble added a solid volley to ice Bolton and put WHU out of danger. The damage was done early as West Ham went up 3-0 in the first 30 minutes. Gary Speed managed to pull one back in the 67th but for the most part, by then, the fight was gone.
WHU: C. Tevez (10, 21), Noble (29)
BOL: G. Speed (67)
Other Scores:
Reading 0, Watford 2
Hahnemann and Reading get their European hopes dented by a pesky Watford team.
RDG: NONE
WAT: Shittu (60), M. King (85)
Middlesbrough 1, Wigan 0
Wigan lose again sliding closer to relegation as Gareth Southgate and M'Bro profit from the lack of Wigan finishing.
MID: Viduka (29)
WIG: NONE
Aston Villa 3, Sheffield United 0
Villa caps a dominating performance with three goals - two from young'uns and one from a former MLS transfer target.
AVI: Agbonlahor (25), A. Young (42), P. Berger (59)
SHE: NONE
Sunday, May 6th
MLS
D.C. United 2, Chivas USA 1
Tom Soehn and D.C still did not look like the CONCACAF version of United, but they certainly played well enough to beat a tough Chivas USA team. Both teams were at each others' throats - with four cautions a piece the game began to look like a toned down version of last year's World Cup match-up of Holland and Portugal. Justin Moose had several chances to convert and missed on all of them prompting his exit early in the second half in favor of Kasali Yinka Casal. It was Guy-Roland Kpene's flick on that led to Gomez's side volley putting DC up 1-0. Gomez's goal capped a weekend of great goals (joining strikes by RSL's Chris Brown and Houston's Dwayne DeRosario).
Because I Think...'s MVP: Christian Gomez.
DCU: C. Gomez (2), J. Moreno (2)
CHV: Galindo (3)
New England 3, Chicago 1
No one has an answer for Steve Ralston on the wings. Ralston picked up 2 more assists and his first goal of the season against the Fire no less. Chris Rolfe tallied again but couldn't keep the Fire in it himself. Chicago, to regain momentum, need Mapp to get healthy again and the presence of Blanco (granted, who knows how he's going to play). New England played well without the play of Shalrie Joseph and had great performances by rookies Well Thompson (who scored a goal) and Adam Cristman (who is starting to show a great deal of consistency). The Revs are a young team now, but you can already see traces of Steve Nicol's youth magic starting the pay its' dividends. Thompson and Cristman, barring any injuries, will be mainstays in the line-up this year.
Because I Think...'s MVP: Steve Ralston, one of the most consistent performers MLS has ever had.
NER: Larentowicz (1), Ralston (1), W. Thompson (1)
CHI: C. Rolfe (3)
English Premiership
Chelsea 1, Arsenal 1
Chelsea's tie clinches a Manchester United Premiership title. A Khalid Boulahrouz last-man tackle earned him an early bath and an Arsenal penalty which was converted. Chelsea fought back with an amazing cross onto Michael Essien's head which was nestled in the far post side panel. Chelsea threatened the rest of the game, but the real chances were had by Arsenal but none were put away. After the tie, Mourinho walked to the Chelsea supporter section clapping and pointing to his players making sure that the fans realize his appreciation for the support and his player's fight. No matter what people say about Jose, the guy has class and knows how to manage a team. With that said, Man Utd still deserves the title. Congrats Red Devils.
CHE: Essien (70)
ARS: Gilberto Silva (pen 43)
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