Dallas rebounds from midweek thumping by turning on the styleFor the majority of last season,...

Dallas rebounds from midweek thumping by turning on the style

For the majority of last season, everyone’s second team was FC Dallas. The Texans played with a smooth swagger that made them a joy to watch, with Oscar Pareja nurturing a handful of exciting young talents in the process.

One of those prospects was Fabian Castillo. The Colombian winger has spoken previously of the influence Pareja had on his early career in Dallas. At first Castillo was not desperate to move to Texas, but under the guidance of his current coach and compatriot, (who would often invite him to his home for dinner) he has become arguably the league’s best winger.

Understandably, that has lead to interest from Europe. As we’ve previously discussed, the winger is most definitely ready for a step up and reports recently claimed Castillo opted to spurn an offer from Turkey. Dallas are said to want a big fee, and after the 24-year-old’s performance on Saturday night it’s easy to see why.

The Colombian pulled off a sensational rabona assist to help give FC Dallas the lead over the Chicago Fire. Exemplifying his own unique ability, the winger’s pace was on show for his second assist as he burned past Brandon Vincent before calmly squaring it to Mauro Rosales. A match which reaffirmed Chicago’s dismal away form, (it is over 2 years since they won away) it also served why Castillo is ready for the next step.

It looks unlikely that a move will come this summer. The 24-year-old has never pushed to leave Frisco, and in rejecting the Turkish offer, it suggests he is waiting for an opportunity that feels right. French side Nice and Club America have previously been credited with an interest, and whether more suitors will appear remains to be seen. What is known for sure is that Castillo is a star, and one destined for great things.

9 man Quakes highlight the importance Giovinco’s goal slump

By the end of Saturday night, the 9 men of the San Jose Earthquakes had earned at least a few days off. “The second half seemed to last about six hours, especially after Alberto got sent off,” coach Dominic Kinnear said. “You’re just willing them to win. And I think the thing was, they were willing themselves to win, which is even better.”

The hosts first lost Anibal Godoy to a straight red card just before half-time, and then conceded a goal to former Quake Justin Morrow. As if only making things worse, Godoy’s compatriot Alberto Quintero then departed in the 53rd minute, which handed Toronto FC a great chance to take all three points on the road. Instead, and to the surprise of many, it was the Quakes that took the lead through Simon Dawkins.

“That may be the loudest I’ve heard this place,” Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I think it really made the fans go from being mad [about the red cards] to being really hopeful. You could feel the sense of the stadium and everybody changed by Simon’s goal.”

Admittedly, the goal was largely down to goalkeeping error, but with a 2 man advantage TFC should have earned a route back into the game. Producing 22 attempts on goal, of which only 5 were on target, the lack of potency was typified by Sebastian Giovinco. The Italian took 7 shots against the Quakes, with only 2 hitting the target. More concerning than that, Saturday’s personal shutout saw Giovinco extend his scoreless run in MLS to 8 games in a row.

When asked last week why he wasn’t scoring, the Italian did not have an answer. “I don’t know,” he said. Coach Greg Vanney did not sound too concerned last week when asked, and he repeated that on Saturday. “A lot of things are getting blocked,” Vanney said. “I think that between us as a team and him as a forward we need to keep getting him into as good as spots as possible. A lot of his looks tonight were from pretty deep.”

Vanney’s assessment was fair, with only one of Giovinco’s strikes coming from inside the penalty area. Undergoing the toughest patch of his brief MLS career, Giovinco’s form in MLS has often dictated his team’s success. That alone should concern Vanney, with a week he described as being ‘tough’, made only harder by the continued Giovinco goal drought.

Kamara looking most likely to win Newcomer of the year
In an example that highlights the finite nature of success and failure in MLS, Gregg Berhalter signed two Scandinavians in the off-season.

The first, was Emil Larsen, a Danish winger signed on a free transfer. The second, acquired 13 days later, was striker Ola Kamara. Larsen’s stay in Major League Soccer was brief, and ended recently with a move back to first club Lyngby. Meanwhile, for Kamara, patience has allowed him to replace namesake Kei Kamara in the team and find the net with frighteningly regularity. The former Stromsgodset forward scored again on Saturday evening to give Columbus Crew SC the lead over D.C. United. Perhaps more impressive, his strike against United took him to 9 goals in 9 starts, with no new arrival in the league having scored more than him this season.

However, the Norwegian has little control in how his teammates defend or the decisions referees make. The latter went against Crew SC when Harrison Afful was harshly sent off for a tackle on Marcelo Sarvas, before a kind bobble in the dying minutes allowed Fabian Espindola to score and tie the game at 1-1.

“We’re not happy, we’re disappointed,” Berhalter said. “The effort the guys put in was enough to win that game, and as we were defending with 10 men, I still felt comfortable. I felt like we were going to be able to get it done. It’s too bad the game was changed with that moment, but it was, so we have to deal with it. I thought we dealt with it pretty well. On one occasion we didn’t, and we paid for it.”

A game that served to dent Columbus’ playoff hopes, it once again highlighted their frailties. The team has consistently been wasteful in central areas, with Wil Trapp and Tony Tchani guilty of giving it away in dangerous positions against D.C.. That, plus a lack of goals from elsewhere means that while Kamara may find individual success this season, with the MLS Newcomer of the Year award, but it looks unlikely he will contribute in league’s post-season.

Valeri’s two goal showing holds the Sounders down in the West

To better understand the influence of Diego Valeri, just look at the numbers. During his three game absence for the Portland Timbers recently, the team recorded three draws and scored just one goal.

Contrast that with the 3 games prior, which saw the team record 2 wins, 1 draw, and score 6 goals. “He’s a great player,” Liam Ridgewell said, after training with Valeri midweek. “When you get the ball you are trying to look for Diego or Darlington [Nagbe], so it is an added bonus for us and another worry for Seattle.”

Valeri turned out to be just that on Sunday. The Argentine midfielder delivered a brace for Portland, and has now scored in four consecutive years against the Sounders (2013 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2014 and 2016 regular season, and 2015 U.S. Open Cup). His first, a powerful drive at the end of a counter-attack, was added to with a finish from a narrow angle in the second half that looked impossible at first glance. “I was a little bit lucky,” he said afterwards.

Amazingly, Valeri was left off the All Star roster to face Arsenal, (which was announced late on Sunday night). “He was good,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said of Valeri afterwards. “We needed to get tighter to him. If you give him that much time and space he’ll show you he’s a good player.”

Although the former Porto man scored the vital goals on Sunday, Caleb Porter was eager to commend the group.“It was our best performance of the year,” Porter said. “It was a complete performances and gives up a lot of mojo moving forward. It’s the first time this year that we’ve had everybody healthy,” Porter said. “Today, looked a little bit more like we wanted to look on both sides of the ball.”

Echoing the sentiments that Ridgewell expressed when Yahoo spoke to him last week, it would be fair to say that when healthy, this Portland team look able to retain their MLS Cup.

Meanwhile the Sounders may be debating change, with an MLS Cup never looking further away than when they trudged back to Seattle on Sunday night.

Results

Friday
LA Galaxy 1-0 Houston Dynamo

Saturday
Columbus Crew SC 1-1 D.C. United
Colorado Rapids 1-0 Sporting KC
FC Dallas 3-1 Chicago Fire
Real Salt Lake 0-0 New England Revolution
Vancouver Whitecaps 2-2 Orlando City
San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 Toronto FC

Sunday
Portland Timbers 3-1 Seattle Sounders
Montreal Impact 1-3 New York City FC
Philadelphia Union 2-2 New York Red Bulls