By Ridge Mahoney
Senior Editor
The MLS Preseason, also known as the Time of Posturing and Prognosticating, is over. Let the real games begin.
D.C. and Houston won’t have to wait until next weekend for their liberal doses of reality. They play away to CD Guadalajara (Tuesday) and Pachuca (Thursday), respectively, in the second legs of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals. No matter the outcomes, they should be relatively sharp, if a little dinged up, by the time they begin league play.
Houston polished its game by winning the Carolina Challenge Cup. It needed to beat the New York Red Bulls Saturday night to take the title, and it did so, 2-1, in the same fashion it won the league title last year: by coming from behind. Brian Ching and Alejandro Moreno connected in the second half to overcome a Dave Van den Bergh goal scored in the sixth minute after the Dynamo defense had failed to clear a loose ball. Freshly traded Clint Mathis replaced John Wolyniec at halftime and looked lively enough yet was unable to produce a goal. Dema Kovalenko is already in top form, getting hit with a second yellow three minutes after his first one. RBNY was allowed to replace him at halftime so the teams played most of the match 11 v. 11.
Toronto FC routed host team Charleston, 3-0, after it had picked up its first preseason win against MLS opposition three days earlier by beating the Red Bulls. Alecko Eskandarian‘s long-distance blast in the third minute disconnected the Battery, and Abbe Ibrahim and Edson Buddle tacked on the second and third goals.
Ibrahim, though, must remain in the U.S. because of visa issues. The Togolese native is unable to enter Canada and thus can only join up with his team when it plays on the road, which it will for the first three weekends of the season. The uncertainty over his status and injuries that sidelined Conor Casey for most of March are complicating trade talks between Toronto and RBNY regarding Eskandarian, whom the Red Bulls tried to acquire before D.C. United sent him north of the border in late December.
Argentine midfielder Pablo Richetti, who has reached an agreement with FC Dallas but won’t be eligible to play in league matches until he receives his work visa, came on as a substitute in a 1-0 loss to Paranaense at Pizza Hut Park Saturday night. Carlos Ruiz hit the post from a Bobby Rhine feed and narrowly missed on a bicycle kick, yet looked sharper than he had a few days earlier as Guatemala and the USA played a turgid 0-0 tie. Ramon Nunez drilled one blast just wide, and goalkeeper Vinicius Barriviera saved smartly on another Nunez effort.
Mexican international Cuauhtemoc Blanco is in Chicago Monday and Tuesday to meet his new teammates, sign autographs, and put his name on an MLS contract. An insane gamble he may be, yet the Fire desperately needs attacking punch, having lost Andy Herron and Nate Jaqua during the offseason. Chicago wound up preseason play by losing, 1-0, to Chivas USA in Ridgeland, Miss. Ante Razov scored against one of his former MLS teams to notch victory for Chivas USA.
Rocky Mountain Cup rivals Colorado and Real Salt Lake rolled into Las Vegas to conclude their preseasons but both tapped out in a 0-0 tie. RSL failed to exploit a man advantage when defender Brandon Prideaux earned his second yellow card in the 58th minute. Kenny Cutler‘s shot off the woodwork in stoppage time punctuated a series of Real near-misses.