by Ethan Johnson
April 23, 2008

This match actually took place this past Sunday, but I have been stewing on the recap and plain stalled on writing it. In short, despite the win, I wasn't thrilled. I know, right? Me neither! Oh, totally. Anyway, let's get on with it:

• Come back, PHP attendance figures... all is forgiven. Is the greater LA area aware that there are 2 MLS teams in town?
• Due to strange scheduling, the next time FCD ever meets Chivas USA this season, short of at the mall, will be in the playoffs. The one home-and-away series is complete.
• Chivas USA was missing at least 2 starters for this game, with bookends nicely with FCD being down 2 starters for the home opener.
• Kenny Cooper scored around the 6th minute. Hooray! BUT, and here's one point I have been stewing on, here's how it went down, yo: Dax McCarty crossed a long ball in to Arturo Alvarez, who hoped to head it into the net. He missed. Ricardinho happened to be right behind him, and headed it toward the net, and missed. Cooper happened to be right there and popped it in for the goal. Hooray, it counts, all good, right? Well sure, except this was arguably more kismet than a designed play. More on that story later.
• Keepin' it real: I started to fall asleep around halftime as the remainder of the half was a bunch of noodling around.
• Nagamura is Chivas USA's answer to Carlos Ruiz, minus the scoring.
• More noodling in the second half. Enough so that Dave Dir commented repeatedly during the TV broadcast that FCD wasn't really accomplishing anything - other than keeping Chivas out of the net.
• "Slow Abe" Thompson gets subbed in late in the half, and goes 1-on-3 (!!!) to send in another goal. 2-0 FCD. Chivas is going down!
• Great goal by Abe, BUT, here's what bugs me. TWO Chivas defenders can't stop Slow Abe (as if I wanted them to). Brad Guzan (!!!) can't stop Slow Abe, and he had plenty of time to mount a defense. Instead he half-assed the save and it's 2-0 FCD. So here's my question: Is this an indictment of Chivas USA only, or something bothersome about MLS overall? I hate to come off as all "Euro snob" over here, but once again I'm left with the creeping feeling that there's not really a lot of "there" there with FCD so far this season, but other teams can't seem to pat their asses with both hands. Sheesh, you'd never know that FCD was the only undefeated team in MLS so far this season, the way I'm talking.
• Ballgame. I'm digging the win, but I'm not looking forward to the other shoe dropping. If some team actually strings some designed plays together, it's gonna make for a lonnnnng game. Maybe I'm choosing to ignore it, but as I watched and rewound and re-watched the game footage, I wasn't seeing how FCD was adhering to any set formation, was running any designed plays (other than set pieces), and was sticking to some sort of game plan. Not that there's no room for creativity and improv. But here's where I get all Euro Snob: Any given English Premier League game is rife with actual formations, game plans, and designed plays. Even the crap teams do this. Is MLS super duper fluid and creative, or - hate to ask this - is MLS indeed a "feeder league" and little else?
• What a difference a year makes. Last year, I was thrilled to be in the seats. This year I'm casting a more critical eye. But FCD is my team, win, lose, or draw. I can't imagine following any other MLS team as closely.

Next up: FCD comes home to take on the anemic but not entirely hopeless New England Revolution. I don't have season tickets for that game, so I'll be watching it in HD. <EM>

(Much, much more virtual ink has been spilled by me about Major League Soccer. The fledgling but growing MLS article archive may be found here.)