What Else But Shamrock Shake News

I am in serious full-on pre-St Patricks day warm up mode right now, so I have followed little futbol action today, and thus you will get minimal du Nord. Luckily my beard, hair, clothing and beer are now all green and ready for action. Green eggs and ham for everyone. And if you believe that, then you should stop by my place for a UFO siting conversation. We can listen to some of my old Art Bell tapes together.


CONCACAF Champions Cup was the be all and end all last night!
Houston 2-0 Pachuca
-Houston came out like a monster truck in the second half and rolled over the Mexican powerhouse. What a brilliant performance! Wow. I did not see that coming after the first lifeless 45 minutes they played.
-The first goal came from a nice chip into the box which found Brian Ching completely unattended. Ching had planted his feet squarely and then used his head to precisely place the ball into the bottom corner for a relatively easy goal.
-Their second strike was a thing of beauty. Houston used a quick throw in to spring Brad Davis to the end line where he crossed perfectly on the ground for new sub Chris Wondolowski who slotted home with his first touch of the ball. Teamwork at its best.
-Having Eddie Robinson and Brian Ching both in the starting line up was huge for Houston. The local paper reported they would not start, but luckily that was bad info. Their experience helped keep the team together while they struggled.
-And one of the guys I love to pick on the most, Craig Waibel, made two of the best plays of the game. First he provided the perfect flick into Ching for goal one. And then not long after he saved keeper Zach Wells's bacon by clearing a shot off the line. Awesome game for him indeed.
-Houston Chronicle match report by Bernardo Fallas.
-Two problem players for Houston though: defender Kelly Gray's passing is atrocious, and it nearly cost his team dearly on a couple of occasions. Not to mention the fact that he got away with what looked like several bad tackles. Then we have to talk about Alejandro Moreno - he took a dive in the box in the first half of the kind that makes my blood boil. What a lazy lame cheapass thing to do. Get up and play man!
DC 1-1 Guadalajara
-DC was so damn lucky not to have been blown out. But their resilience showed through when it counted the most. And then they storm back with that goal at the very end and salvaged the game. Of course after the game ended it appeared as though the entire Chivas team tried to kill Ben Olsen. You gotta love that guy!
-Chivas goal was a work of art with Sergio Santana storming down the left wing and whipping in a huge cross for Omar Bravo to smash toward goal with his head, only to see it deflect off defender Namoff and into the goal. I think Perkins may have saved it otherwise. But hey, the play was gorgeous.
-DC got their goal after Olsen was involved in a wrestling match on the end line and won a free kick. Christian Gomez served up a perfect ball which, who else, Luciano Emilio headed home for the draw. Amazing finish.
-Washington Post match report by Steven Goff.
-United could be in big trouble this year if they have to rely on the form that Facundo Erpen, Brian Namoff and Clyde Simms showed in defending the past 3 games. Those three must have turned the ball over in bad positions 20 times between them last night. Let's hope they shape it up, cuz the team appears to have no depth to help them out. And the other DC subs don't look too hot either, but thats another topic. On the other hand, it's preseason.

Jeff Carlisle at Soccernet reviews both matches, and does a nice job of telling all the non-believers just how serious the players take this tournament.

The away legs will be very hard for both MLS team to get success from. Even though Houston has a great lead, they will have to go to the high elevation of Pachuca [thanks to el guero for the correction] , while DC has to travel to Chivas where they rarely lose to anyone. I will not count our teams out, but I will not place money on them to advance either. Of course I will be loudly cheering for them both. As should you.

The US Players Assoc has a Q & A with Houston backup keeper (and so far CCC hero) Zach Wells.

And that's it for today.