Tuesday, November 08, 2005
and then there were two
The game itself wasn’t noteworthy in a SportsCenter sort of way. In the 4th minute the Revs play a quick restart from about 40 yards out: pass into the box, muffed shot to the far post, a sliding Clint Dempsey knocks the ball in with his fanny. It’s hard to recall an uglier goal, but it served the dual purpose of putting the home team in the lead and making the whole Chicago back line look foolish, so it was alright with me. And that was how it ended up. 1-0 Revs. Eastern Conference Champs (2nd time in 4 years) and on to MLS Cup.
But of course something must have happened during the 86 minutes of the match which remained following the goal, and indeed it did. What was most interesting about this matchup on paper was that these two teams are among the few in the league who can actually stroke the ball around and give you some sense of what the phrase “the beautiful game” is all about. So where you might see a lesser team (or any Italian team) bunker in and throw 10 men behind the ball, content to defend the 1-0 lead for the balance of the match, we saw the Revs endeavor to play the same style that they have played all along. And Chicago must have felt that they had the entire game to nab the tying goal and it would only be a matter of time until they managed to break through.
What resulted was some sort of odd hybrid of a game, where neither team was able to gain the upper hand. It was like two dyslexics battling it out for the debate club title. There was plenty of passion, and each side clearly knew what they were supposed to do but could never put the pieces together and craft a coherent argument.
To be fair, a vast majority of this back and forth took place in the Revs' half of the field as Chicago dominated possession, especially in the second half. But that possession never translated into dangerous scoring chances. The best chances they had were always shots from outside the box, not from decisive passing to tear open the Revs defense. And when the Revs gained control of the ball they were consistently clattered to the ground by the Chicago midfield and defense. The persistent fouling was left largely unchecked by the officials and definitely served its purpose, allowing the Revs little time on the ball and hence no rhythm upon which to compose an attacking melody.
There was some drama at the death, where Chicago had a goal disallowed due to an offside call which thankfully, was correct. And we also saw Fat Zach Thornton (the Chicago goalie) charge into the crowd of Revs players who were celebrating at midfield just after the closing whistle. Early speculation suggests that the thought of missing out on a free trip to Pizza Hut Park was just too much for old tubby to handle.
The Revs will play the final against Landon Donovan this Sunday at 3:30pm. The game is on ABC.
The game itself wasn’t noteworthy in a SportsCenter sort of way. In the 4th minute the Revs play a quick restart from about 40 yards out: pass into the box, muffed shot to the far post, a sliding Clint Dempsey knocks the ball in with his fanny. It’s hard to recall an uglier goal, but it served the dual purpose of putting the home team in the lead and making the whole Chicago back line look foolish, so it was alright with me. And that was how it ended up. 1-0 Revs. Eastern Conference Champs (2nd time in 4 years) and on to MLS Cup.
But of course something must have happened during the 86 minutes of the match which remained following the goal, and indeed it did. What was most interesting about this matchup on paper was that these two teams are among the few in the league who can actually stroke the ball around and give you some sense of what the phrase “the beautiful game” is all about. So where you might see a lesser team (or any Italian team) bunker in and throw 10 men behind the ball, content to defend the 1-0 lead for the balance of the match, we saw the Revs endeavor to play the same style that they have played all along. And Chicago must have felt that they had the entire game to nab the tying goal and it would only be a matter of time until they managed to break through.
What resulted was some sort of odd hybrid of a game, where neither team was able to gain the upper hand. It was like two dyslexics battling it out for the debate club title. There was plenty of passion, and each side clearly knew what they were supposed to do but could never put the pieces together and craft a coherent argument.
To be fair, a vast majority of this back and forth took place in the Revs' half of the field as Chicago dominated possession, especially in the second half. But that possession never translated into dangerous scoring chances. The best chances they had were always shots from outside the box, not from decisive passing to tear open the Revs defense. And when the Revs gained control of the ball they were consistently clattered to the ground by the Chicago midfield and defense. The persistent fouling was left largely unchecked by the officials and definitely served its purpose, allowing the Revs little time on the ball and hence no rhythm upon which to compose an attacking melody.
There was some drama at the death, where Chicago had a goal disallowed due to an offside call which thankfully, was correct. And we also saw Fat Zach Thornton (the Chicago goalie) charge into the crowd of Revs players who were celebrating at midfield just after the closing whistle. Early speculation suggests that the thought of missing out on a free trip to Pizza Hut Park was just too much for old tubby to handle.
The Revs will play the final against Landon Donovan this Sunday at 3:30pm. The game is on ABC.
