Harrisburg City Islanders vs. Richmond Kickers
8pm, University of Richmond Stadium
TV: 10pm, Fox Soccer Channel (delayed)
Not so much a preview, but more of a prediction from TWG. The first goal will be crucial. This may seem obvious but for the most part championship matches are pretty tight, as teams look to defend and avoid making mistakes that lead to goals. Richmond has scored in the first half of the last two games, which forced their opponents to commit more numbers forward, leaving them vulnerable to quick counterattacks. The Kickers were unable to capitalize on those opportunities in last week's semifinal and ended up conceding a late goal. Harrisburg is known for its physical approach and generally commits more fouls than its opponents. This will make it harder for Richmond's attack to break them down. The Kickers, however, boast one of the top defenses in the league and can depend on goalkeeper of the year Ronnie Pascale to keep things organized and come up with the one or two big saves a team needs to win a big match. TWG sees Richmond scoring midway through the second half, then sitting back and absorbing Harrisburg's attack, waiting for the chance to break. This time the Kickers will get the bounces to go their way and put away the crucial second goal, sealing the side's second straight USL2 title.
Should the match go into penalty kicks, TWG gives the edge to Richmond and spot-kick expert Charlie Howe.
Your thoughts?
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Other Player Moves
It appears as though Real Madrid will finally get winger Arjen Robben from Chelsea after a long, drawn-out transfer process. The Spanish champions are also set to sign Gabriel Heinze after the Argentine defender's attempted move from Manchester United to Liverpool was blocked by the Premier League. Meanwhile Chelsea have signed defender Juliano Belletti from Barcelona. Looks like Dani Alves won't be making the switch from Sevilla to Stamford Bridge.
Keller Joins Fulham
Kasey Keller has signed for Fulham, becoming the fourth American to play for the Premier League side. He joins Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey and Brian McBride, who is currently out with a long-term knee injury. Keller did not re-sign with his last team, Germany's Borussia Moenchengladbach, at the end of the 2006-2007 season and was a free agent. Fulham will be his fourth team in England, after playing for Millwall, Leicester City and Tottenham.
The question is, is Keller being brought in as backup for Tony Warner, or will he compete for the starting job right away? Warner had a huge mistake that led to a goal last weekend, although he made several other excellent saves in the same game. Fulham's usual first-choice goalkeeper, Antii Niemi, is currently injured. Don't be surprised to see Keller in the nets sooner rather than later.
Speaking of goalkeeping mistakes, The World's Game (TWG) finally got to some highlights last night, and while Paul Robinson's blunder for England was bad, TWG argues that Warner's error on saturday for Fulham, and Jens Lehmann's for Arsenal against Blackburn were even worse. Those two critical errors led to both teams losing points (Arsenal ended up drawing 1-1, Fulham lost 2-1). Robinson's came in a friendly match, and although it was an extremely high-profile game, no points were at stake. You could even go as far as saying that England's attack should have made up for the error but wasted several excellent scoring opportunities (looking at you, Kieron Dyer and Michael Owen). So, Robinson is suspect, but the real time to judge players is when points and trophies are on the line.
The question is, is Keller being brought in as backup for Tony Warner, or will he compete for the starting job right away? Warner had a huge mistake that led to a goal last weekend, although he made several other excellent saves in the same game. Fulham's usual first-choice goalkeeper, Antii Niemi, is currently injured. Don't be surprised to see Keller in the nets sooner rather than later.
Speaking of goalkeeping mistakes, The World's Game (TWG) finally got to some highlights last night, and while Paul Robinson's blunder for England was bad, TWG argues that Warner's error on saturday for Fulham, and Jens Lehmann's for Arsenal against Blackburn were even worse. Those two critical errors led to both teams losing points (Arsenal ended up drawing 1-1, Fulham lost 2-1). Robinson's came in a friendly match, and although it was an extremely high-profile game, no points were at stake. You could even go as far as saying that England's attack should have made up for the error but wasted several excellent scoring opportunities (looking at you, Kieron Dyer and Michael Owen). So, Robinson is suspect, but the real time to judge players is when points and trophies are on the line.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Mr. Lalas, Your Thoughts...
...On David Beckham playing the full 90 minutes against Germany on that ailing ankle? Will you be waiting until tomorrow to call Steve McClaren, or have you rung him already to pick his brain on that decision for a friendly match? Granted, Beckham had only played for England 96 times before tonight, so the coaching staff probably needed to get a good, long look at him to make a decent evaluation. Hey fellas, apparently he hits a pretty good free kick. Hope that helps. Now Beckham will attempt to make it back to LA for the Galaxy's Thursday night match against local rival Chivas USA. Will he make the lineup? And what about McClaren playing him for the full 90? Let's hear your thoughts...
Results
Some surprising and some not-so-surprising results from today's matches.
First, the surprising results:
Hungary 3-1 over World Cup winner Italy
Switzerland 2-1 over Holland
Norway 2-1 over Argentina
Armenia holds Portugal to a 1-1 draw- in an actual Euro 2008 qualifier, which makes it all the more surprising
And we'll throw in Ireland's 4-0 drubbing of Denmark in as a bit of a surprise as well
And the not-so-surprising results:
Sweden 1-0 over USA
Germany 2-1 over England
Brazil 2-0 over Algeria
France 1-0 over Slovakia
Spain 3-2 over Greece
And DC United regains the Atlantic Cup with a 3-1 victory over Red Bull New York in a match that saw three goals in the opening 20 minutes. Jaime Moreno also set a new MLS scoring record, getting his 109th career goal with a penalty kick in the second half.
As always, your thoughts on today's results are encouraged. Having not seen any highlights yet, we'll hold our thoughts until later, although word on the street is England's Paul Robinson didn't have the best match of his career....
First, the surprising results:
Hungary 3-1 over World Cup winner Italy
Switzerland 2-1 over Holland
Norway 2-1 over Argentina
Armenia holds Portugal to a 1-1 draw- in an actual Euro 2008 qualifier, which makes it all the more surprising
And we'll throw in Ireland's 4-0 drubbing of Denmark in as a bit of a surprise as well
And the not-so-surprising results:
Sweden 1-0 over USA
Germany 2-1 over England
Brazil 2-0 over Algeria
France 1-0 over Slovakia
Spain 3-2 over Greece
And DC United regains the Atlantic Cup with a 3-1 victory over Red Bull New York in a match that saw three goals in the opening 20 minutes. Jaime Moreno also set a new MLS scoring record, getting his 109th career goal with a penalty kick in the second half.
As always, your thoughts on today's results are encouraged. Having not seen any highlights yet, we'll hold our thoughts until later, although word on the street is England's Paul Robinson didn't have the best match of his career....
Midweek Action
Today brings us a full slate of international friendly matches, with most of the big guns of world soccer in action. The US takes on Sweden in Goteborg, finally giving me an occasion to wear my recently acquired USA jersey, which is good news. It will be interesting to see if Bob Bradley's side can get a victory in a European stadium, where they traditionally have done quite poorly (see World Cup, 1998, 2006). Sweden brings a nearly full-strength side, as they are preparing for the next round of Euro 2008 qualifiers in early September. One notable absence for the Swedes is Freddie Ljungberg, as he is nursing an injury picked up while playing for his new club, West Ham. Kickoff is set for 2:30pm and the match can be seen live on Fox Soccer Channel.
Other matches of interest include England v. Germany in the new Wembley. Surely some in the 90,000 crowd will revive the classic chant, "Two world wars, and one world cup," which is also a favorite of people walking back to their hotel after a Velcro Pygmies show. World champion Italy takes on Hungary, and Brazil faces Algeria.
In MLS action tonight, DC United and Red Bull New York renew their rivalry and both teams will be looking to continue their recent good form. Start time is 7:30pm and the game will be shown on Comcast Sportsnet.
Give us your thoughts on all today's action...
Other matches of interest include England v. Germany in the new Wembley. Surely some in the 90,000 crowd will revive the classic chant, "Two world wars, and one world cup," which is also a favorite of people walking back to their hotel after a Velcro Pygmies show. World champion Italy takes on Hungary, and Brazil faces Algeria.
In MLS action tonight, DC United and Red Bull New York renew their rivalry and both teams will be looking to continue their recent good form. Start time is 7:30pm and the game will be shown on Comcast Sportsnet.
Give us your thoughts on all today's action...
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
New Coach for Adu
Portuguese side Benfica has brought in Jose Antonio Camacho to replace Fernando Santos as head coach. This will be Camacho's second time in charge at Benfica, and the big question for American fans is what effect, if any, this will have on Freddy Adu's place in the squad. Adu, 18, was recently brought to Lisbon by Santos amid much fanfare, but every coach is different and Camacho will be looking to put his own stamp on the team. Will Adu thrive under the former Spain coach and become a fixture in the starting eleven? Will he play a Clint Dempsey-esque role and get 20-25 minutes of action off the bench like the Fulham man? Or will he languish in the reserves? Only time will tell. Let's hear your thoughts...
Monday, August 20, 2007
Kickers Go for 2 in 2
Richmond, VA- The Richmond Kickers go for their second straight USL2 title this weekend against the Harrisburg City Islanders. The local side needed overtime to advance to the finals, using a goal in the 110th minute to defeat the Charlotte Eagles 2-1. Harrisburg also won their semifinal match in overtime, defeating Cleveland 1-0. The match will be held Saturday at University of Richmond Stadium, with kickoff set for 8pm. Fox Soccer Channel will be showing the game on a delayed basis at 10pm. So you can go to the game, then rush home and watch yourself on tv. How perfect. Look for an extended preview of the match in the coming days. Why not now you ask? I have to get back to work.
Richmond, VA- The Richmond Kickers go for their second straight USL2 title this weekend against the Harrisburg City Islanders. The local side needed overtime to advance to the finals, using a goal in the 110th minute to defeat the Charlotte Eagles 2-1. Harrisburg also won their semifinal match in overtime, defeating Cleveland 1-0. The match will be held Saturday at University of Richmond Stadium, with kickoff set for 8pm. Fox Soccer Channel will be showing the game on a delayed basis at 10pm. So you can go to the game, then rush home and watch yourself on tv. How perfect. Look for an extended preview of the match in the coming days. Why not now you ask? I have to get back to work.
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