Sweet. Really sweet. Taking full advantage of the odd MLS first round playoff structure giving the lesser team of the pair the home game first, San Jose came out running and ran the entire 90. Dwayne Derosario opened in the 40th minute with a beautiful drive dribbling the ball the length of the offensive half and then lofting a hard angled ball over two defenders and keeper Bo Oshiniyi; our other score came from a long corner Jeff Agoos that landed on Craig Waibel’s leg before going past an out of position Oshiniyi.
Though thanks go to ESPN for giving this match a national showing, I was thoroughly sick of announcer Rob Stone’s constant mention that “this might just be Landon Donovan’s last game at Spartan Stadium.” He’s right to the extent that even if the Quakes win the series with KC that they wouldn’t have a chance for hosting the second round matchup against Colorado or Los Angeles (Colorado won the opener in that series 1-0). Will LD be called over to play for the German team that owns his contract rights, Bayern Leverkusen? No one knows because no one who could know is talking. Uggh.
Speaking of the poor playoff round setup: three of the four opening games were won by the lower ranking home clubs. New England and San Jose, two teams that squeezed into the post-season with the results of the last regular season match, both beat teams that finished the season with long undefeated streaks and there were no draws. So where is the reward for doing well? Mark it down as another change MLS needs to make to get in synch with the world game.
Meanwhile, props to the Earthquakes for winning when they had to, and not dropping back into a defensive block after the first goal. Because they kept on for the second score, next Saturday’s game in Kansas City will see all the pressure on Western Conference champion Wizards. Three rings for Landon would see him off well.
BillSaysThis 