It was a highly anticipated match last night at Robertson Stadium between the DYNAMO and PACHUCA. In their short history the two teams have put together some extremely entertaining games.
Last night the DYNAMO behind second half goals from BOBBY BOSWELL and CORY ASHE knocked off the defending champions 2-0. The 17,000 fans that were in attendance were treated to a night of passionate soccer and the environment at Robertson was great to be a part of. Here are my thoughts:
*Dynamo clearly were the better team in the first half and created the better chances. They had the better of the ball possession yet when advancing into good crossing positions were consistently let down by poor delivery from wide areas.
*PACHUCA came out and owned the opening 15 or so minutes in the second half and produced some great combinations and got the short end of a refereeing decision when Gabriel apparently scored. The goal was called back for offside…..but clearly looking at replay when I was calling the game Caballero was onside……the goal should have stood.
At this stage Pachuca was getting the better of the Dynamo.
*DOMINIC KINNEAR pulled off a great coaching move pushing GEOFF CAMERON into midfield and bringing on CORY ASHE and KEI KAMARA. The additional man in midfield plus the freshness of Ashe and Kamara helped the Dynamo regain control of the game…..a volume of corners on the night finally paid off when Craig Waibel re-directed a DeRosario corner and Pachuca lost BOSWELL at the back post for the 1-0 lead. TUZOS losing their legs at this stage and the fight.
*BRIAN MULLAN on the second DYNAMO goal looked like the MULLAN of old out wide. Getting past a PACHUCA defender and delivering a great cross to the far post that ASHE met off his head for the two goal win.
Two goals from players that just 5 and 2 years ago were playing collegiately.
The DYNAMO were clearly the better team on this evening and deserved the win………..So the Dynamo are only one game away from potentially winning an international tournament for the first time. My prediction is that NE will oust ATLANTE and the final will be played in NE……….My preference would be for an ATLANTE win and the final back in Houston like most of you feel I assume.
*PACHUCA missed Chaco GIMENEZ in a big way……DAMIAN ALVAREZ is brilliant, get him to MLS. DOMINIC KINNEAR was extremely passionate and emotional after the win as I interviewed him. Catch it this FRIDAY night at 9:30 on Channel 55 during the DYNAMO SOCCER REPORT with GLENN DAVIS. Thanks to all the fans who have been watching both the radio and tv show. Your input is important.
* THE BAD……..The field conditions throughout this tournament have been poor. They could alter Mexican teams and their desire to participate in this tournament. If you want to have a credible tournament the last thing that can be in poor condition are fields. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE…..AND MLS NEEDS THIS TOURNAMENT AND THE MEXICAN CLUBS TO HELP GROW THE LEAGUE ……Take away Superliga and you go back to some CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAMES and “FRIENDLIES”.
The poor fields also provide a built in excuse for clubs and is an extremely poor projection on television. These field conditions also do not take the players into consideration nor the type of soccer that can be played in order to grow the sport…….Mind boggling and it makes soccer in the states look amateurish.
Don’t for one minute believe that these games don’t mean anything to MEXICAN squads….results will be conditioned by fans of both MLS and Mexican teams….and that is ok.
THANKS to all the fans that stopped by to talk soccer last night! It is great to see this sport mean so much to so many people.
Great game!!!! Poor sportmanship on the part of Pachuca after the game, but during the game, hard fair, classy exhibition by Pachuca. Pachuca’s goal should have stood, but for once the Dynamo had a real home field advantage, with the field conditions, the crowd and the unfortunate call. It sure felt like a lot more than 17,000 last night. Bring on the last victim.
Comment by Larry — July 30, 2008 @ 9:46 am
This match was hardly worthy of praise.
The officiating throughout the match was horrible, the condition of the pitch is a joke, and the character of many on the Dynamo squad is questionable.
Tell me, why was there the need to physically assualt Pachuca’s Meza? Ridiculous! Until the Dynamo can take a win and a loss with grace, they won’t be winning the respect of many outsiders. The scuffles in game after game (vs. Atlante, Chivas, and now Pachuca) speak highly of issues that the club’s coaches and management need to address and figure out.
The pitch has been an eyesore for the entire tournament now. You mentioned that the field conditions “could” alter the desire of Mexican clubs to play in the US, but you forget that damage has already been done. Club America, Cruz Azul, and Pumas all decline and in some cases, refuse, to play in the US for this very reason!
And to add credibilitiy to this tournament, you have to have a proper format to the tournament. It’s laughable that the tournament only provides home field advantage to the US clubs. There should be a two leg, home and away, format.
There was much discussion in the media last year whether this was a tournament worthy of continuing. While the FMF ultimately decided to continue with the tournament, I won’t be surprised if it is decided to place a bigger emphasis (and perhaps the only emphasis) on the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League.
While I agree that this tournament is an opportunity for football to further develop and expand across both countries, there is much work to be done. And please stop romanticizing the competition between these two sides. While you’re not as guilty as your colleague, Bernardo Fallas, it seems as though a rivalry is trying to be created, rather than witnessed. While the matches between these two sides have been entertaining and memorable, it’s far too early to tell whether it’s the birth a classical rivalry. Let the competition flourish and the respect will come naturally. An artificial rivalry will never be a true rivalry.
Comment by Qaboos — July 30, 2008 @ 10:01 am
Not to be rude or anything but please make the attempt to properly use an ellipses. It’s not difficult, I promise…
Comment by Gary — July 30, 2008 @ 10:07 am
It looks as though there might have been some error in my attempt to post a comment. Surely it wouldn’t have been deleted on purpose. So if this is a double post, my apologies.
————————————
This match was hardly worthy of praise.
The officiating throughout the match was horrible, the condition of the pitch is a joke, and the character of many on the Dynamo squad is questionable.
Tell me, why was there the need to physically assualt Pachuca’s Meza? Ridiculous! Until the Dynamo can take a win and a loss with grace, they won’t be winning the respect of many outsiders. The scuffles in game after game (vs. Atlante, Chivas, and now Pachuca) speak highly of issues that the club’s coaches and management need to address and figure out.
The pitch has been an eyesore for the entire tournament now. You mentioned that the field conditions “could” alter the desire of Mexican clubs to play in the US, but you forget that damage has already been done. Club America, Cruz Azul, and Pumas all decline and in some cases, refuse, to play in the US for this very reason!
And to add credibilitiy to this tournament, you have to have a proper format to the tournament. It’s laughable that the tournament only provides home field advantage to the US clubs. There should be a two leg, home and away, format.
There was much discussion in the media last year whether this was a tournament worthy of continuing. While the FMF ultimately decided to continue with the tournament, I won’t be surprised if it is decided to place a bigger emphasis (and perhaps the only emphasis) on the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League.
While I agree that this tournament is an opportunity for football to further develop and expand across both countries, there is much work to be done. And please stop romanticizing the competition between these two sides. While you’re not as guilty as your colleague, Bernardo Fallas, it seems as though a rivalry is trying to be created, rather than witnessed. While the matches between these two sides have been entertaining and memorable, it’s far too early to tell whether it’s the birth a classical rivalry. Let the competition flourish and the respect will come naturally. An artificial rivalry will never be a true rivalry.
Comment by Qaboos — July 30, 2008 @ 10:13 am
WOW!! The game was amazing!! After watching the Caballero goal again on ESPNDeportes he was clearly onside. What really upset me was the commentators were saying that the whole tournament has been biased towards the MLS. To me that is taking an amazing win away from the Dynamo who played great and who out coached the Tuzos. LETS GO ATLANTE!!!!
Comment by adrian c. — July 30, 2008 @ 10:19 am
a couple a years ago it was like:
we’re better, we’re the concacaf giant, you know nothing about futbol, etc
now is like: it’s getting harder to beat you, your field is in bad condition, the ref is on your side, you still suck, i want my mommy
Comment by jorgito barrabrava — July 30, 2008 @ 10:32 am
Qaboos, while there is some merit to some of your statements regarding the officiating, field conditions, Mexican Club participation desire and Superliga in general, I find it amazing that you have issues with the character of the Dynamo Players. How quickly we forget that some of the altercations witnessed during this Superliga between Dynamo Players and Players from FMF teams were instigated by the FMF players. Of course all that just testifies to the superb character of those players as you seem not to have an issue with that.
Superliga is what it is, a tournament that has its flaws due to many factors and you will never make all sides happy. If you participate you play the hand your dealt and inform yourself on the rules beforehand, no matter if you are happy with them or not. Unless your Chivas, then you complain after the fact.
The Caballero goal should have counted, no idea what the linesman was thinking.
This is a rivalry born of memorable matches between two excellent clubs and I personally have much respect for the Tuzos. It may not be a Superclassico, but then again it is early on.
Comment by Offebacher — July 30, 2008 @ 10:59 am
It was a great game, We won the game clearly not because of what the ref call, or didn’t.We were the better team even thought mexicans clubs are never going to accept or respect when they lose, Just respect and recognize when you weren’t the better team that’s all. Go DYNAMO.
Comment by Jose a — July 30, 2008 @ 11:00 am
Qaboos
“character of many on the Dynamo squad is questionable. ”
Forget that Pachuca was clearly fatigued and de-moralized by a bad call and subsequent Dynamo goals, the Dynamo players are the classless ones. I find it very hard to believe (and common sense will back this one up) that the team that won at home would be instigating fights at the end of the game.
We see this crap at the end of every game in which we eliminate an FMF team from a tournament. Its more of their “tactics”. They’re out of the tournament so they try to get revenge by coaxing Dynamo players (a few of who are KNOWN to push back when pushed) into a scuffle in the hopes of getting our players extra cards.
Its no different than the classless time wasting “tactics” all FMF teams employ. If I had a dime for every minute wasted for fake injuries I’d be a rich man.
Overall you just need to quit making excuses for having to swallow the loss this time.
Maza ahead of Tuesday’s game:
“we choose to compete in the tournament, so there is no excuse,” Meza said. “If you feel your team is at a disadvantage, then don’t play.”
Comment by Jeremy — July 30, 2008 @ 11:39 am
Qaboos,
Agree with the assement of fields etc. No one is trying to romanticize a rivalry but the few times Pachuca and the Dynamo have played they have been entertaining matches.
To use the word assault on Enrique Meza is a large stretch….sportsmanship works both ways don’t forget it has been the downfall of the Mexican national team against the U.S. Emotional control……..No one can create rivalry and history over night, the U.S. is trying to grow the game with the competition of three other major sports…so keep it in perspective.
I would be careful conditioning the results ……you have made some good comments and you have also provided alot of excuses.
Accountability is needed on all sides…….Thanks for the post.
Comment by Glenn Davis — July 30, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
I’ve played in Mexico a LONG time ago. And even then, they were poor losers. The post-match scuffles were all insitgated by Pachuca players and coaches. Notice that there all in front of the Dynamo bench. That means they came at the Dynamo coaches and players. Typical poor sportsmanship — no hand shakes after the game. Just like the Mexican national team’s crybaby attitude when the US national team beats them.
The quote from their player that they were the better team is laughable. But don’t underestimate the power of self-delusion (again like their national team). They had short spells that they couldn’t sustain more than 10 minutes. The Dynamo was the stronger team in all phases of the game.
Oh, and isn’t the CONCACAF tourney a pre-season trial for the MLS teams? You don’t hear them using that as an excuse. Didn’t Pachuca open the gates for free admission when we played them there in order to get the most intimidating atmosphere they could? Isn’t the officiating tilted towards the Mexican teams when we play there? Actually, I thought last night’s ref was the best and most even-handed of them all. He had several opportunities to red card #9 and chose to ignore his attempts to intimidate him. I’d have sent him off after his antics at half-time. Their goal was good. But that’s the linesman’s call to make, not the center ref’s. So get over it. It’s not the ref’s fault the Dynamo won. They were the better team. Period.
I was right behind the Dynamo bench the whole match. And there were no taunts, no racist comments and no nonsense from the home side. Also, Dom played several years in the Mexican league with success. He’s not going to all of a sudden turn into some racist jerk and if he has been all along, he’d have been dealt with during his playing days there. Those claims are only from Pachuca fans looking to justify the scandalous behavior of your players and coaches. You should be embarrassed, not trying to make up reasons their actions were justified.
If I were running Super Liga, I’d simply leave Pachuca out. They don’t want to play, and when they do, they humiliate themselves and the league they represent. So let them stay home looking into a mirror telling themselves they are better than any MLS team.
Comment by HouTex — July 30, 2008 @ 12:24 pm
The Dynamo/Pachuca rivalry has indeed become at least a mini-clasico. Four wildly entertaining and dramatic games with results even on both sides. More years and more games like this and we’ll be on the verge of a superclasico. The events at half time and after the end of the game were weird to say the least. I have the utmost respect for Meza and Calero, who came over by themselves to speak to Dom at halftime after the scuffles.
No one will defend the field conditions. No one will deny the need to have home and away legs. But still, Meza’s comment Jeremy wrote above is the telling one. Be a pro. Play your hardest and stop your whining. How many times have Dynamo been on the receiving end of bad officiating? The offsides call was a snap judgment and the linesman’s positioning was better than the TV cameras could provide. It was borderline as the player was neither on by 20 yards nor off by that much. In the end, as Sparky Anderson said, if you put yourself in position to let the umps take the game from you, then you have to take it like a man.
Great game. Great result. Go Atlante!!!
Comment by Martin Hajovsky — July 30, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
Okay, first off…
it was a great game, The Field conditions honestly weren’t great, but it was better than LAST TIME!!! lol…
There were times when Pachuca seemed to just take over and posses the ball with ease, making the Dynamo work harder on Defense.
Then the Pachuca Goal was disallowed. This obviously threw a monkey wrench in their system becuase they didn’t seem to recover from it. Yes, the goal should have counted, i saw it after i got home from the game, he was onside.
after our first goal, Dynamo just seemed to get fresh legs with the subs. btw, Kamara looks VERY promising! after we scored the 2nd, the game got more physical than usual, and we know that our players don’t back down. but I mainly saw some cheapshots coming from Pachuca, which suprised me becuase that’s normally not their style.
Overall I feel the game, even thought was probably dominated by Pachuca, Dyanmo made the most adjusting to the game and eventually making the most of their limited opportunities, and that was the difference. Pachuca could have scored from the 6 yrd line, but Onstad had other plans! (GREAT GAME by Onstad)
The Refs had no control of the game at the end, which lead to all the madness at our bench, I’m not sure what started it, but is it true Cory did some gesture towards the Pachuca Bench? is so, Cory probably shouldn’t have, but then again Pachuca shouldnt have reacted that way too.
Watching the postgame onfield interviews on Telefutura, there were some Pachuca Players that did acknowledge the Dynamo for playing a great game, which at least shows me that SOME of the Pachuca players are still class acts (the GK Calero, spoke highly of the Dynamo). but then it seemed that some Pahuca players showed to have more class when losing than their OWN coaches! what a shame. I know Coach Dom can get fired up and involved in some “discussions”, but he has never put on a spectacle like that (that I know of! lol).
I’m sure the tournament WILL continue, people have to remember that this tournament is ONLY 2 yrs old, and is ALREADY a huge hit (17k-28k people on a WEEKNIGHT!). It can only get better with the adding of other countries or a few more teams.
Teams DO want to win, especially the FMF teams, they still want to prove their dominance in the region, and MLS teams want to prove that even with a tiny budget, we can compete with the “big boys”.
The Home and Away idea I like, but timing might be an issue. Besides, if they could only play it in one place (US or MEX), where do you think the FMF teams WILL get the most promotion ($$$) from? we have a HUGE FMF following here, and you combine that with OUR passionate fans for MLS, it just works.
Things will get better, i love the concept of the tournament and it seems to be heading towards a very Competitive status where both Leagues will benefit from, one way or another.
Go Dynamo! (& Atlante- lol)
Comment by Luis — July 30, 2008 @ 1:16 pm
I agree with your comments, Glenn. I have to say the field conditions weren’t the only bad thing though. The behavior of some of those from the Pachuca camp wasn’t so great either. Even their fans got into with some of the Dynamo fans as we were leaving the stadium, but eventually coold (Dynamo) heads prevailed. I posted pics of it on my blog at http://nohandsball.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/dynamo-2-pachuca-0-the-fights/
Comment by JeffSoccer — July 30, 2008 @ 2:37 pm
WAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAA here we go. Cry me a freaking river how many times have I seen when we go to Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatamala, Honduras we don’t get the favorable calls there we get the short end of the stick, so we should get the majority of the calls when we play here right? When we got knocked out last year out of both tourney’s never saw the antics out of the Dynamo that I saw from Pachuca (still my favorite Mexican team), but it happens just add’s to the rivalry (oh I am sorry Quaboos adds to the manufactured rivalry). The ref let the game get out of control with the cheap shots Pachuca started taking at the end of the game, our players aren’t just going to take it and neither would the Tuzos if it were to happen to them. Great game, let go ATLANTE!!!
FOREVER ORANGE
Comment by brent — July 30, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
Good comments amigo mio. I look forward to hearing Dom’s reactions after the big victory.
Glenn, the North End was a freakin’ moshpit buddy! We brought the noise and never stopped singing for the 90 minutes. Rico was a mad man last night and I am loving me the rook Geoff Cameron. He is a Jack of many Trades. Well done son! DALE DYNAMO!!!
btw, I have always told the boys and young me I coached over the years one simple understanding. The game is a cruel game and yet the way to get past poor refs you encounter is to put more balls in the net than your opponent, then he is always eliminated from the conversation.
Comment by CeltTexan — July 30, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
Seriously - the Quaboos comment was pretty lame about Houston’s character. Think of all the MLS games in the season with rough tackles, fouls, some slight pushing. Rarely, if ever, does it degenerate into what Pachuca instigated last night. If his assertion that Houston’s character was an issue, then we would expect to see similar behavior to last night in several of Houston’s MLS games….but we never have. Clearly, the issue lies with Pachuca, the poor sportsmanship of some of their players and coaches, and this bizarre cultural issue (not just in Mexico, but in European football, too) where coaches and players whine about refereeing. Seriously — look at US football, basketball, etc. Any coach or player that blames the ref is usually (a) fined (b) criticized by the press, and (c) generally thought of as a complete, whining baby. Yet look at any post-match comments from a Mourinhno, or from a losing SuperLiga side, and you see this pathetic ref-blaming. I don’t disagree that the refs were bad, but C’MON! Life’s not fair. Grow a pair and get on with it!
Comment by Chucho — July 30, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
Great Match! I was most proud of Corey Ashe. Last year, with the early red card and playing a man down, Houston hung tough. I thought they had it, when Corey gets knocked over by a Pachuca player and kicks out at him right in front of everyone. Then, he gets the red and the rest was history. This time, he scores a great goal after bringing great energy to the game. Then, when he was knocked out by a Pachuca player this time, he just got up and walked away! Regardless of what he may or may not have said to the Pachuca bench, that is infinitely better than grabbing someone by the throat.
BTW, Glenn, why don’t the Telefutura ever interview the MLS team players? I’m quite sure there is enough passable Spanish on the Houston side. If not, English broadcasters seem to have no trouble interviewing Blanco, Guevara, etc through interpreters.
Great call of the match as well, Glenn.
Comment by socmin — July 30, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
I cant hold my tounge anymore Glenn. After watching the match lastnight live and then watching the Atlante v NE match i am sold that FMF teams are horrible people and down right sore losers! 5 red card tonight all in the last 5 minutes most of the for reckless fouls or violent conduct! The Staff member that basically assaulted Albright at the end of the match show be brought in on charges seeing that he pretty much made an atempted to poke his eye out.
Comment by Brandon Cooper — July 30, 2008 @ 9:12 pm
Quabos, I don’t know what game you were watching, but your clearly are delusional. In no way did the Dynamos provoke or attack anyone on Pachuca. What I saw was at the end of the game the Pachuca players were the ones truly making the classless act. I saw them push and shove and grab people by the neck. I saw them come over the the Dynamo’s bench and try to provoke a fight. Instead of offering congratulations they showed what punks they are. Your comments show you to be of the same ilk - you think that Mexican soccer teams are better than American teams, not by skill and effort, but by some right you think you were giving. It is attitudes like what you and Pachuca have shown that make the victory that much sweeter. There will be many more wins like last night.
Comment by Matt Simpson — July 30, 2008 @ 11:26 pm
I love the passion brought by Superliga, but I have to say this…I don’t think this tournament is going to be back next year…
Every FMF team has now complained, and pretty much stated that they will no longer attend this tournament. FMF has power and SUM and Superliga officials NEED the mexican teams to attend the tournament. If they go back inviting teams like last year, the success will no longer be the same.
I heard all the complaints by Pachuca today, and I’d have to give them the fact that the ref was horrible, all the refs actually. He made everyone in Pachuca and FMF think that the Dynamo were “pre-destined” to win this match, even if Im 99.9% sure that’s not the case here. Actually Im a little upset at the fact that this ref created an excuse for the mexican teams to continue their lack of respect for the Dynamo, or maybe not the Dynamo but MLS in general.
On the other hand, it really doesn’t matter, the fact is that all the “BIG” teams are needed for Superliga to work. America has denied ever participating in it. Chivas stated they probably won’t do so either. Pachuca’s president was very upset as well, the only team that really shouldn’t complain is Atlante. They just didn’t bring it against the Revs tonite despite the ref loosing control of the match as well.
If all these teams get together and complain at the same time that means Superliga is probably done, since these teams have lots of POWER down in Mexico. They have the three most powerful club presidents in the Mexican league in Azcarraga, Vergara and Martinez.
hint for SUM and Superliga officials:
You might need to start changing some of the tiebreakers, add a home-away format, and please get some better refs…somewhere…spend a little and get maybe someone from Conmebol, since this is not a Concacaf tourney…
and hint for the Mexican league teams:
MLS has grown, a lot, so stop thinking you can come up here put on a “big team” jersey and win by just showing up. Stop the complaining, fields, refs, rules are bad for all teams not just FMF teams…
peace
Comment by Moises V. — July 31, 2008 @ 12:10 am
The reality is that the FMF teams are acting the exact way that they acted when they first started participating in the libertadores and copa sud americana cups. Every year was the same excuse, they dont let us practice, they the refs are biased, once they started winning the crying stopped. The owners threatened not to come back, $$$ keeps them coming back to international events in south america, the same will hold true with coming to USA. I beleive most of the teams that participate in the international cups are the teams in mexico with the most history and tradition, that is why they are invited to attract fans and $$$. These \
Comment by mario — July 31, 2008 @ 7:50 am
The reality is that the FMF teams are acting the exact way that they acted when they first started participating in the libertadores and copa sud americana cups. Every year was the same excuse, they dont let us practice, they the refs are biased, once they started winning the crying stopped. The owners threatened not to come back, $$$ keeps them coming back to international events in south america, the same will hold true with coming to USA. I beleive most of the teams that participate in the international cups are the teams in mexico with the most history and tradition, that is why they are invited to attract fans and $$$. These “elite teams” are pampered by the media, FMF, not to mention The Giant televisa and TV Azteca, and why not the refs in mexico. so when these teams leave the country and they dont receive that treatment they are acustomed to in Mexico they cry like little pampered kids. I didn’t hear no cry from pachuca on the way to the bank last year.
Comment by mario — July 31, 2008 @ 7:52 am
Qaboos, what gives the FMF teams the sense of entitlement to picture perfect fields? maybe you’ve never been to Mexico or the Mexican neighborhoods in almost every major city in the US? Every field I’ve played on in Mexico or in the local latino rec leagues in Houston is a safety hazard. Most of the fields are dirt and the little grass there is usually grows in clumps (anyone remember Memorial Park in the late 80s?). I bet most of the FMF players grew up playing on dirt fields while most of the US MLS players grew up playing on the private fields of the youth premier leagues. In any case, the US players would make a better case that their game requires manicured fields than the Mexican players. Play the game on dirt, barefoot, and with a vinyl ball and I bet Pachuca beats us by a dozen goals. Summary: the whining about the fields is just an excuse for not coming home with a resounding victory over the amateur americanos.
Comment by Frank — July 31, 2008 @ 9:23 am