Outside90’s Daniel Fraiz-Martinez breaks down all the action from a packed Matchday 14 of Major League Soccer.
The Impact finally win away as the Crew continue to plummet
Heading into their Saturday fixture, the Columbus Crew would have been forgiven for thinking a home game against an inconsistent Montreal Impact would have been the perfect opportunity to snap their five match winless streak.
The Impact, who have gone 25 away games without a win, clearly did not read the script and produced one of their typically confounding performances to surprise the faithful at the MAPFRE stadium in Coumbus, Ohio, securing an impressive 2-1 victory for Frank Klopas’ side.
Inspired by their talismanic Argentine midfielder Ignacio Piatti, the Impact were more comfortable victors than the scoreline may suggest. A stoppage time Federico Higuaín goal perhaps flattered Crew, who after posting an encouraging start to the season have begun a worrying free-fall.
The result leaves the Crew precariously holding on to the final playoff position in an ultra-competitive Eastern Conference. Indeed, the Impact sit only two points behind Greg Behalter’s side with an astonishing four games in hand on the side from Ohio.
https://youtu.be/p8j-ZkWtHCE
The ‘Giovinco show’ takes to the nation’s capital
Saturday evening also saw an in-form Toronto FC make the long trip to Washington DC to visit perhaps the only consistent side in the Eastern Conference, Ben Olsen’s DC United. United, who comfortably sit atop of the East, would have been encouraged when taking an early lead through defender Steve Birmbaum against a Toronto side missing midfield chief Michael Bradley, away on international duty, and fellow international Jozy Altidore who was only fit enough for a place on the bench.
However, when your remaining Designated Player is a certain Sebastian Giovinco, you always have a chance. The ‘Atomic Ant’ produced another inversely commensurate performance, scoring both goals in Toronto’s come-from-behind win in the US capital, making a statement to the rest of the league.
Giovinco’s recent form has been the toast of the league and has propelled Toronto into contention for top spot in the Eastern Conference and possibly beyond. Indeed, the significance of the win is doubly important as Greg Vanney’s side not only beat a direct rival on its home soil, but did so without two key players that may well miss time when heading off to the Gold Cup to represent the US national team.
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‘MVKeane’ returns, but LA finally loses at home
In a matchday of surprises, you would be hard-pressed not to rank an LA Galaxy home defeat as one of the biggest. The reigning MLS Cup champions, who even had captain and last season’s MVP Robbie Keane back in the starting XI, had managed an impressive 27 games without defeat at the StubHub Center prior to their defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.
Perhaps a mitigating factor in reducing the surprise somewhat would be their opponents. As Carl Robinson’s dynamic, young side had already defeated the Galaxy in Vancouver earlier in the season, and a despite a recent blip in form, it still remains as one of the top sides in the Western Conference.
This result was never really in doubt, however, and brought the first sounding of alarm bells in LA, as Bruce Arena’s men have had a consistently poor away record to match their notable home form. Such slip-ups at the StubHub Center will need to be few and far between if the Galaxy are to keep up their recent successful, distinguished tradition.
Chicago and Orlando highlight the Wild East
The game of the round, and perhaps the one that most accurately surmises the crazy state of affairs in the Eastern Conference was played at Toyota Park, Chicago on Saturday night.
Orlando City came out on top in a five-goal thriller versus the Chicago Fire in a game that highlighted the delightfully unstable nature of the current standings in the East. Indeed, Orlando jumped from eighth on the table to fourth in the space of approximately 10 minutes, propelled on the back of two own goals by defender Adailton.
The Fire twice took the lead through forwards Kennedy Igboananike and David Accam, but a goal from impressive Canadian rookie Cyle Larin, sandwiched in between Adailton’s disastrous double, gave Adrian Heath’s side a morale boosting victory in its quest to make the playoffs in its first ever MLS campaign.
Frank Yallop and Chicago, on the other hand, will be left scratching their heads as to how they lost this match, though the clue may well lie in a defence that has conceded six goals in the space of two games over three days.
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