By the end of the first half of the first game of the playoff series against Houston it was
clear that the Philadelphia Union's defense was not adequately familiar with the new formation
deployed by Peter Nowak against the Houston Dynamo at PPL Park. In the second half, the Union
reverted to the tried and tested four man backline that had been so instrumental in seeing the
Union advance to the playoffs in the first place.
Photo: Nicolae Stoian
Soccer's tactical development over the past two decades unfurls, ironically, as a seemingly
endless battle for the part of the field furthest from the goals. When Inter Milan wanted
championships, they imported Jose Mourinho to teach the team how to play defense further up the
pitch.
Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Union
It didn't end the way we wanted, but, oh, what a season. As Adam Cann wrote in our match report
for Thurday night's loss in Houston, "After ten months, the Union ended their season where it
began. In their wake they leave every reasonable expectation, and in the city they represent they
will find nothing but love.
The First Leg Was Feisty. Don't Expect Anything Different Tonight. (Photo by Dan
Dickinson)The 2011 New York Red Bulls have to be accustomed to "must-win" games by now. They
certainly faced enough of them during the final weeks of the MLS regular season. Yet each time fans
expected the team to plunge over the precipice they somehow found a way to keep their postseason
hopes alive.
Photo: Courtesy of the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo's Dominic Kinnear is the guest on the latest installment of the KYW Philly Soccer
Show podcast as KYW's Greg Orlandini and Philly Soccer Page writer Eli Pearlman-Storch sit down
with the two-time MLS Cup winning coach to discuss the Philadelphia Union's series with
Houston.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Union
Faryd Mondragon said, "If we play the way we know how to play, we can beat anyone."
Sebastien Le Toux on Houston: "We know we can beat them."
And, as Marc Narducci reports, Danny Califf knows it can be done. Califf was on the LA Galaxy
team that, in the 2003, beat San Jose 2–0 in the first leg, was up 2–0 in the second half, and
lost 2–5 in extra time.
Photo: Nicolae Stoian
Injury report
PHILADELPHIA UNION OUT: GK Thorne Holder (concussion); FW Levi Houapeu (L ankle
strain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Michael Farfan (R foot contusion); FW Veljko Paunovic (R hamstring
strain); PROBABLE: MF Justin Mapp (L quad strain)
HOUSTON DYNAMO OUT: FW Cam Weaver (R hip)
The Union are hopeful Paunovic will be ready to go on Thursday.
Photo: Nicolae Stoian
When asked on MLSsoccer.com's Extratime podcast what he thought when Peter Nowak introduced the
five man backline to the team, Danny Califf said, "To be honest, you know, I was a bit surprised.
Most of the time, come playoff time, it's not the time to be experimenting and trying out new
things and new personnel and things like that.
The River End belts out the National Anthem.
Zombie-mode in full effect as Corey Furlan gets the beat going.
The header from a Brad Davis free kick begins to make its way into goal...
...and moments later Faryd Mondragon celebrates Seba's beautiful goal.
Playoff Intensity - On and Off the Pitch (Photo by Dan Dickinson)In a hard-fought, intense
game played on chilly Sunday afternoon in Harrison, the Red Bulls ceded the advantage in their
Western Conference semifinal playoff series to the Los Angeles Galaxy, losing 1-0 on a goal by (who
else?) former Red Bull Mike Magee.
Photo: Nicolae Stoian
Philadelphia Union v Houston Dynamo watch
Peter Nowak says, "The playoffs are not about worrying who won their last 10 or 20 games, it's
going to be who wins this series.
So, we don't need to worry too much about how the Union played against New York, right?
Mehdi's Moment of Brilliance Eclipses Brek Shea: Hold the Phone! (Photo by Dan
Dickinson)Here's a head-scratcher: by defeating FC Dallas 2-0 last night in a Wild Card playoff
in Frisco (my full match report on Once a Metro can be found here), the Red Bulls have arguably
ensured themselves of a more "successful" season than they enjoyed in 2010.
Photo: Nicolae Stoian
Philadelphia Union v Houston
All time record: 2–0–2
At PPL Park: (2 meetings): Union 0–0–2, 2 goals. Dynamo 0–0–2, 2 goals
At Robertson Stadium (2 meetings): Union 2–0–0, 4 goals. Dynamo 0–2–0, 2 goals
In 2010
On May 29, 2010, the Union earned their first-ever win on the road as an expansion team against
Houston.
Photo courtesy of The Original Winger
In the latest edition of the Philly Soccer Show podcast, KYW's Greg Orlandini and PSP's
Eli-Pearlman Storch are joined by Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl.
In part one, Wahl talks about how the New York Red Bulls, the Union's regular season opponent on
Thursday night, have underachieved, noting that Philadelphia survived some ups and downs to make
the playoffs and possibly win the Eastern Conference.
So, here we are.
No more games in hand are left, it is all down to the final game of the season.
When we started this series way back on September 29 following predictions PSP writer Eli
Pearlman-Storch made on that week's edition of the KYW Philly Soccer Show podcast, the Union were
in fourth place with 40 points, four points behind first place Kansas City.
Well, Major League Soccer got what they wanted here a season that comes down to the final week
that will decide the final playoff spot. Four clubs are still in contention for the 10th and final
playoff spot and a lot can happen. Right now the New York Red Bulls sit in the driver's seat but
Portland, DC and Chicago all have hopes of catching up and going to the playoffs.
Photo: Nicolae Stoian
Union
In case you missed it, on Sunday we posted an extensive round up of match reports from the
Philadelphia Union's 1–1 draw with Toronto FC and reaction to the clinching of a playoff berth.
We also posted Eli Pearlman-Storch's match report and Nicolae Stoian's photo essay of the
game.
Having had a little time to let the fact that the Union are back in first place in the East sink
in, how did Wednesday night's Chicago and DC United games affect the projected final standings PSP
writer Eli Pearlman-Storch introduced on the Philly Soccer Show a couple of weeks ago?
At the time, as you can see in the chart below, Eli saw the Union finishing in second place
behind Kansas City, with Houston in third, DC in fourth, Columbus in fifth and New York in
sixth.
It is win and you're in for several clubs this week.
FC Dallas will clinch a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs if:
· They defeat Chicago (Oct. 12)
OR
· They tie Chicago (Oct. 12) AND
· There is a winner in the Portland-Houston game (Oct.
With three weeks left there are still seven playoff berths on the line. Many teams can clinch in
the next game while one hopes to hold on to their slim hopes.
FC Dallas will clinch a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs if:
- they defeat Chicago (Oct. 12)
OR
Last week we posted the chart below outlining how Philly Soccer Page writer Eli Pearlman-Storch
saw the season ending, including his predictions for the results of each remaining fixture.
So, how'd Eli do?
Happily, Eli prediction that the Union would prevail over DC proved to be correct. He also
correctly predicted the Union's draw on the road with Chivas USA on Sunday, although he would be
the first to say that he would have preferred to have correctly predicted a win for that game,
too.
Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz
The playoff race
Saturday's 1–1 draw in San Jose put Kansas City in first place in the East with 45 points.
With the opportunity to overtake them and gain a one point advantage, the Philadelphia Union were
unable to prevent Juan Pablo Angel's 90th minute header and had to settle for a 1–1 draw and
second place in the standings with 44 points.
One more team can clinch a MLS Cup Playoff berth this week while a couple others are on the
brink of elimination. The LA Galaxy are also on the verge of winning their second straight
Supporter's Shield as well.
FC Dallas will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs IF:
- FC Dallas defeat Colorado this week AND two of the following occur:
- Portland loses or ties vs.
I've been sitting on this thought for some time now. We all know the new MLS playoff system is a
ten-team deal with wild card games and the whole shebang. We know the advantages right now of some
teams in the wild card zone playing in the Eastern Conference bracket instead of the Western
Conference bracket.
Real Salt Lake could be a wild card team this post season. (Getty Images)
It seems as each season goes in Major League Soccer, the wild card positions in the playoffs
seem to be the ones with the most to gain and the least to lose.
Just taking a gander at the teams who have won a MLS Cup over the last couple of seasons and it
was easy to figure out why the wildcard spots are so valuable these days.
It's time to accept that this is who Philadelphia Union is right now:
They're good enough to beat bad teams, draw mediocre teams, and lose to good ones.
The Union have won one game in the last two months and just two in the last three months. Their
record since June 1: 2 wins, 4 losses and 8 draws.
The LA Galaxy control their own destiny at the moment. (Getty Images)
Wednesday we looked at where each Eastern Conference club stands at reaching the post season.
Today, we head out to the Western Conference.
So I won't waste any more time here with introductions. Here is what each Western Conference
team has left and how many points I think each has left in them.
There are plenty of points left on the table for the Eastern Conference clubs. (Getty
Images)
I'll admit, I wanted to get to this post last week but sometimes time just doesn't play nice.
Anyways, I figure with each club getting into their final eight or nine games that it was a perfect
time to dive into the schedules and see what each club has left to take care of this season.
Not so long ago we were looking at the Union at the season's mid-point. Five game's later and
things look a lot less rosy than they did then.
At the season's midpoint, the 2–2 draw with DC, the Union were 7–4–6. Since then, the
Union have one win, one loss and three draws for a 8–5–9 record.
