Playoff picture takes shape
There are still at least five regular season games for MLS clubs but three teams, all in the Eastern Conference, could secure their post-season spots with victories this weekend.
DC United would be assured of playoff football if they beat Columbus Crew on Saturday, the New York Red Bulls would make it into one of the 12 spots if they beat the Portland Timbers on Sunday while the New England Revolution are assured of a run at MLS Cup if they can defeat the Montreal Impact, also on Saturday.
There are other scenarios, involving results from other games that would see those three clubs qualify for the playoffs. Columbus would also become one of the 12 teams to enter the knockout phase if they beat DC United and Orlando lose or tie with the Chicago Fire.
While the Red Bulls might find themselves in the position of having made it into the playoffs with six regular season games still to negotiate, it is worth remembering that there is still plenty to play for in terms of getting seeded positions. The first round in each conference has the third seed hosting the sixth seed, and the fourth hosting the fifth. Finishing in the top two, and getting a bye to the conference semi-finals, brings a real advantage.
Toronto need to stop their slide – and quickly
The big-spending Canadians are fifth in the East but after a run of three defeats on the bounce their passage to the playoffs has suddenly turned from near certainty to slightly questionable. The Reds are five points clear of seventh-place Orlando but can ill afford to let that advantage be narrowed further this weekend – while TFC are at home to Colorado, the Lions will fancy their chances at bottom-placed Chicago.
If there was any complacency about Toronto’s position, Wednesday’s 2-0 loss at NYCFC seems to have ended it.
“It’s frustrating for sure. We let a few more points slip away,” said captain Michael Bradley said after the loss. “It’s a difficult moment for us. The last three games haven’t gone the way we wanted. There’s no sugar-coating that. It’s in moments like this that you find out the true character and strength of the group.”
“We don’t need to worry about teams above us or teams below us. We just need to figure out how to get ourselves back on track.”
Coach Greg Vanney knows that too although he couldn’t resist a pop at the under-sized field at Yankee Stadium.
“It’s borderline ridiculous. It would be a perfect field for 12 year olds.”
Earthquakes look to cut back Timbers advantage
San Jose sit just a point outside the playoff places in the West and with Houston five points behind them, at the moment the ‘Quakes look the only team who could worry Seattle, Sporting KC and the Portland Timbers as they look to hang on to their places in the top six.
The fourth-place Sounders are only two points ahead of seventh-place San Jose and it should be a close battle down to the wire.
Like Toronto though, San Jose, need to halt a stutter in form - they haven’t won in their last three outings - and if they are to get back to winning ways they will need to do what the Canadians couldn’t: win at Yankee Stadium in their first ever meeting with NYCFC.
Striker Chris Wondolowski has 14 goals this season, taking his career tally to 107. One more and he will tie NYCFC coach Jason Kreis for fifth on the MLS all-time list.
The Timbers also face New York opponents, with Sunday’s home game against the Red Bulls as they look to end their own three game winless run.
Whitecaps v Sounders: the game to watch
The cross-border skirmish promises to be the most exciting game of the weekend with the Whitecaps, top of the Supporters’ Shield standings and looking to maintain momentum as they head towards the playoffs, while the Sounders need points to even make sure of a post-season berth.
Vancouver have won their last four games at home and have not even given up a goal in 270 minutes at BC Place.
The Sounders suffered a bitter blow with central defender Roman Torres rupturing his ACL in the 1-1 draw at San Jose. The strapping Panamanian centre-half made an instant impact after joining the club just four games ago and he will miss the rest of this season and a chunk of the next campaign.
It has been a year of injuries for the Sounders who had to cope without their two main strikers Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey and Cuban midfielder Osvaldo Alonso for a significant stretches of the campaign.
US international Brad Evans is likely to slot back into a defensive role.
“To be honest, I’ve felt comfortable moving positions regardless if I’ve wanted to or not,” Evans said. “It’s what the team needed and it made us a better team I think in this last stretch. For me it’s plug in where needed with five games left and go get after it.”
Galaxy need to get back on track
The Galaxy are heading into the post-season and with Giovani dos Santos and Steven Gerrard bedding into the team, they remain the clear favorites to win MLS Cup, but Robbie Keane and co won’t want to let their little wobble turn into a mini-slump in form.
A 1-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes and a goalless draw with the Montreal Impact are hardly going to worry the phlegmatic Bruce Arena, whose teams have traditionally saved their best for when it really matters.
Games against Saturday’s opponents Real Salt Lake have in recent years been the top match-up in the West and they have met three times in the last four years in the post-season. But with RSL struggling this season, LA will expect nothing less than victory at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Dos Santos has recovered from a groin injury and should feature in the game with Arena clearly looking for an improvement in attack from a team which struggled to create opportunities against Montreal.
“Bad passing, inability to beat players one-on-one, bad crossing, not aggressive looking at the goal” was how Arena described his side’s play in the final third.
With Dos Santos, Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes as attacking options and Gerrard pushing from midfield, LA should be too much for an RSL team in a year of transition.
