A couple of weeks ago, big nights from goalkeepers carried the day for several MLS clubs. Round 13 of MLS matches brought the opposite as a few goalkeepers got seriously crossed up while trying to deal with the crosses.
Columbus' William Hesmer left Landon Donovan with the easiest of finishes at The Home Depot Center when he bobbled David Beckham's sublime centering pass. (It really was a wonderful bit of improvisation from Beckham, who reached high from a spot one step from the touchline, one-timing a sharp ball into the six-yard box. Most players wouldn't even think of attempting such a cross; Beckham actually pulled it off.)
Hesmer got a little tangled up Donovan but still had a good opportunity to hold onto Beckham's cross. Or, if he was unsure to any degree, Hesmer should have elected "punch" over "catch" and eliminated the risk for a costly bobble. A few times this year (like this one) Hesmer has demonstrated that he might need to develop a bit more strength in his hands to move to the next level as a goalkeeper.
As it was, the ball fell, Donovan pounced and L.A. had an early lead at home.
At Giants Stadium, Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala was nowhere to be found as a Red Bulls corner kick dropped right at his back post, where a much-obliged Kevin Goldthwaite had only to redirect it home for the game's only goal.
Sala took two quick steps out of goal, then watched Sinisa Ubiparipovic's crisp corner kick sail over his head. FCD's veteran goaltender was completely out of the play.
It was a bad moment for Sala, who was pretty good otherwise as he kept goal in Schellas Hyndman's professional managerial debut for the Hoops. Moments before the goal Sala had saved spectacularly on Ubiparipovic's sharp volley from inside the penalty area.
But they pay the goalkeepers to perform all the routine functions in addition to making the occasional blinding save. So, Sala will surely have better days.
United's Zach Wells dropped a cross Sunday against San Jose, briefly keeping the West Coast expansion side in the thick of things at RFK. Wells stepped out to meet James Riley's short cross but made a mess of it, bobbling it as he fell forward to the ground. The ball dropped conveniently to John "On the Spot" Cunliffe, who barely sneaked a rebound shot past a gaggle of D.C. defenders.
Wells' continues to mix good performances with occasional lapses in form or concentration, which could haunt a D.C. United side that otherwise has things going in the right direction.
Tom Soehn's men, perfect in three MLS appearances in June, have a high-profile match ahead Sunday on ABC against the Galaxy. And don't you know Wells will be seeing his share of crosses from David Beckham and Chris Klein, among others?
Even the usually reliable Matt Reis wasn't at his best on one particular sequence in the Revs' weekend setback in Utah. The veteran goalkeeper got stranded in what broadcasters love to call "no man's land" as Javier Morales' free kick came swinging in dangerously.
So Reis gave himself little chance to react as Jay Heaps inadvertently deflected the ball past his goalkeeper for an early RSL goal.
Finally, Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin will wince at his own costly bobble, although his wasn't on a centering pass.
The young Galaxy goalkeeper couldn't handle Frankie Hejduk's shot from 20 yards in the late-going in Carson on Saturday. Instead of catching it cleanly (or choosing to punch it safely away) he left it to bounce inside the "six." Crew rookie Steven Lenhart, in just his second professional appearance, made no mistake with his late equalizer, as Sigi Schmid's men collected four points from a two-game road swing to get themselves going in the right direction.
TACTICAL CORNER
How about Steve Ralston? He began Saturday's contest in Salt Lake as an attacking midfielder but later switched to the left side of midfield as Nicol saw something he didn't like happening at Rice-Eccles. Ralston has also played at times this year as a forward (scoring his team's only goal in last week's match against the New York Red Bulls from that spot.) And all this from a guy who made his mark in MLS as one of the league's premier right-sided midfielders.
Try to keep up here:
Columbus was in its usual 4-4-2 (or 4-4-1-1, depending on how you see Guillermo Barros Schelotto's role) to begin Saturday's match in Los Angeles. Down 2-1, manager Sigi Schmid maneuvered his side into a 3-5-2.
Mission accomplished. Tie game. Well done. Schmid settles his team back into the 4-4-2.
But wait! L.A. scores! The Crew is down, 3-2.
No problem. Back to the 3-5-2 for the Crew.
Steven Lenhart, brought in because he's good in the air and expected to supply a lot of energy, manages to knock in the equalizer and ... voila! Tie game.
That's a lot of coaching for one night from Schmid.
As expected, Schellas Hyndman removed the 3-5-2 look preferred by managerial predecessors Steve Morrow and (interim man) Marco Ferruzzi. FC Dallas instead returned to the four-man back line it had used extensively over the last few years.
Expect Dallas to stay with the 4-4-2 now, although Hyndman will surely tinker with personnel as Drew Moor and Adrian Serioux return from international duty.
Robbie Rogers didn't show up on Saturday's scoresheet, but he had another outstanding night for the Crew with a hand in two goals during the 3-3 road draw. Interestingly, he didn't really assert himself until late in the first half as he seemed to probe studiously before that. Once he found the right spots to get the ball, he was able to successfully run at Galaxy defenders Chris Klein and Abel Xavier, giving Los Angeles problems aplenty to solve.
The two best quotes from MLS Round 13, both related to individual tactics:
This from Red Bull manager Juan Carlos Osorio, referring to midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic, who was outstanding Saturday for a second consecutive match: "We have been working a lot on trying to convince him that when he plays effective football, meaning no back-heels, no outside flicks, just play simple football ... he can compete, and he can play at this level."
And this from Columbus Crew rookie Steven Lenhart, who provided his team with the late equalizer in Saturday's exciting 3-3 draw in Los Angeles: "I don't have the most skill or anything, so [he wanted to] just mix it up a little bit, win the headers and hold the ball, just try and hold the defenders off and be active in front of goal. I think it paid off."
You gotta like an honest man.
Stoic Moreno providing Crew big lift
Disastrous stretch dooms Crew
Late blow for Arminia
DAVIS IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LEAD
