MLS Mix 11: Crew and Revs left to rue decision-making
A truncated weekend's action in MLS still produced plenty of talking points. From a defender in goal to a coach in meltdown.
Saturday was a difficult day for soccer fans in the US, seeing the national team beaten by Canada on home soil for only the second time in the history of the fixture.
But while it was a weekend to forget for the USMNT, Saturday’s MLS action was much more memorable. There were just six matches due to the international break but there was still plenty of action for us to get stuck in to.
Here’s the headlines…
Christian Benteke tops scoring charts with 18 MLS goals after 2-1 win over Chicago Fire.
MLS Cup holders Columbus Crew lose 4-0 at home to the Seattle Sounders.
St Louis City continue good form with hard-fought 2-2 at New England Revolution.
Seattle beat ten-man Crew
For the last 18 months, it has been easy to assume that Wilfried Nancy’s talents are endless. Since taking over at Columbus Crew he has won MLS Cup and Leagues Cup, reached the final of the CONCACAF Champions League and has imparted a style of play that stands them apart from all other MLS teams.
Nancy has turned good players into great players, turned wingers into central defenders, and even turned a former futsal player into an Algerian international.
But in Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders we finally discovered the limits of Nancy’s coaching prowess: being forced to play an entire half with a defender in goal.
That was the fate that befell the Crew on Saturday. Missing Patrick Schulte (USMNT) and Nicholas Hagen (Guatemala) due to international call-ups, Abraham Romero was the only goalkeeper named in the matchday squad. Whatever instructions the 26-year-old back-up to the back-up was given ahead of his first MLS start, you can be sure that they didn’t include charging out of his penalty box to clatter into Seattle forward Jordan Morris in the final minutes of the first half. The red card was entirely predictable, as was the remaining 45 minutes with 5ft 7in defender Sean Zawadzki in goal.
Despite the low expectations, Zawadzki may actually have underperformed. When play resumed with the defender in nets, Albert Rusnak took the resulting free kick and fired past the helpless Zawadzki. Jordan Morris gave Seattle a two-goal lead on the hour-mark and Rusnak completed his hat-trick with two more goals in the second half.
That result continues Seattle’s impressive run of form - now seven wins in their last nine MLS games - and leaves them fifth in the Western Conference. Columbus will not lose any sleep over this freak result but it does end any lingering hopes of a push for the Supporters’ Shield.
Now seven points clear at the top, and with a game in hand on their nearest rival, Inter Miami have all-but wrapped up the Supporters’ Shield title.
Goal of the week - Andrew Gutman
With only six games this weekend, there was a shortage of goals across the top flight of American soccer. However this strike from Andrew Gutman, coming on his 100th MLS appearance, was very nicely hit.
Not that it made any difference. Chicago Fire lost again, leaving them 14th out of 15 in the Eastern Conference. At least they had a lovely goal to celebrate, I suppose.
Revs rage but Porter’s time may be running out
“We are very disappointed with the officiating,” fumed New England Revolution head coach Caleb Porter after Saturday’s 2-2 draw against a resurgent St. Louis City.
That, it turns out, was something as an understatement. Porter gave a ten-minute post-match press conference in which he raged against decisions made by the referee and the VAR officials. Two decisions in particular, in fact. Let’s take a closer look at them…
Revs punished after Langoni flouts league substitution rule
The first of the two incidents mentioned by Porter happened midway through the second half. With his side leading 2-1, Revs midfielder Luca Langoni opted to take his time leaving the field after being substituted. Why does that matter? This season the MLS has introduced a new ‘timed substitution’ rule, giving players just ten second to leave the field of play or face punishment.
“Initially, he walked, yes, but then he sprinted out of the game as fast as he could,” Porter insisted.
Nevertheless, Langoni’s languorous 14-second farewell caught the referee’s attention and the Revs were hit with a one-minute delay before Langoni’s replacement could enter the field.
Of course, it was in that 60-second window that St. Louis scored the crucial leveller.
Speaking in the post-match, Porter fumed: “The game isn’t meant to be played this way. It’s an absolute joke. You’re supposed to, as an official, use your discretion in those moments.”
No handball awarded against St. Louis
The pain didn’t stop there. With ten minutes of the game remaining and the scores now tied at 2-2, the Revs were on the wrong end of another decision.
New England forward Nacho Gil rose for a header in the St. Louis box, winning the ball and deflecting it onto the hand of defender Kyle Heibert in the process. Of course, the hosts screamed for a spot kick but the referee was unmoved.
The official was called over to the VAR screen to check his decision but was content that the deflection was unexpected. Heibert’s hand was in a “justifiable position”, he later explained.
Porter, not in the mood for justifying, seethed in the press conference: “It is a complete joke. It’s a travesty, and there needs to be some accountability for that decision, because we lost two points because of that decision.”
Were Porter in a more reflective mood, he may have wondered to what extent he should be held accountable for the Revs’ struggles in 2024. He took over a team that finished fifth in the Eastern Conference last year, and has guided them to 12th with just eight games remaining.
The Revs are, by most metrics, underperforming. Far from the playoff contenders that many experts had pegged them for at the start of the year, they are just one point off the bottom of the East. Their wage bill is the ninth-highest in MLS, but they sit 25th in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
There’s every chance that a coach like Caleb Porter - a two-time MLS Cup winner with two different teams - can turn this around. They have a game in hand on the teams around them and the playoffs are still in sight.
But Porter, with his Saturday night rant, unwittingly revealed the extent of the Revs’ underperformance. And perhaps his own.