Last night, Toronto FC knocked off Mexican soccer giant Cruz Azul to kickstart Group A of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League.

Cruz Azul, often nicknamed the Real Madrid of CONCACAF due to their record five championships (tied with Club America for most in tournament history) and back-to-back finals appearances, just couldn't keep up with Toronto, looking sluggish in the opening half which allowed TFC to get out to a 2-0 lead that the Mexico City squad just couldn't recover from, eventually falling 2-1.
The win marks the first for Major League Soccer's only Canadian team in tournament history, though realistically, TFC nor the "league" style tournament is not old enough for that to be considered a big deal. Why it is a big deal, however, is that last year TFC fell in the preliminary round to the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USSF Division 2.

The win is already being called the greatest victory in the club's short history, and it very well may be. The early win gives TFC a good chance to advance out of the group, as many believe that Cruz Azul are the favourites to claim the group. The other teams in the group are Panama's Arabe Unido and Real Salt Lake, also of MLS.

Since CONCACAF changed their championship system to the current league structure, just two MLS teams have advanced to the championship round (quarterfinals): Houston Dynamo in 2008-09, and Columbus Crew in 2009-10.

Now that TFC have earned an important and early three points in their group over the toughest opponent, they look poised and ready to advance out of their group. Two wins should be easy against the Panama squad, while the matchups against RSL will be tough. The Reds lost the first regular season match between the two sides this year, and both teams are sitting in the top three of their respective MLS conferences.

Regardless, a win for the Canadian side over the Mexican superpower has huge meanings for Canadian soccer and the MLS. Though Montreal Impact advanced to the quarterfinals in the inaugural year of the Champions League, their run went virtually unnoticed by the media, while TFC is branded as "Canada's team", and a run could bring national attention and support to the team.

The win is also huge for MLS. The league has struggled to earn respect among other major domestic leagues, but if their clubs can continue to produce wins over Mexican Primera division clubs, respect is sure to go up.

As American and Canadian teams continue to be more competitive with those of the Mexican league, it is inevitable that an MLS team will claim the Champions League (possibly as early as this year), which allows them to travel to the FIFA World Club Cup, where they could really put MLS on the map by taking on the best club teams from the other football conferences of the world.

Should a team like TFC or Seattle or RSL make it to the World Club Cup and defeat the UEFA or CONMEBOL representative, it would bring international attention to the league, and to teams aside from Galaxy or Red Bulls.

While the tournament is still very early, the Toronto FC victory is no small feat, and could lead to much greater things for the club, Major League Soccer, and Canadian soccer in general.

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Photo belongs to the CBC.

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy could have been in contention for a CONCACAF Champions League title and a US Open Cup.

But pratfalls in Tukwila against the Seattle Sounders and the Home Depot Center against the Puerto Rico Islanders put the Galaxy on Easy Street.

And while the opponents the Galaxy will face are not pushovers by any stretch of the imagination (a road contest against the Chicago Fire combined with home stands against the Columbus Crew and New York Red Bulls are still on the cards), a manageable calendar is a manageable calendar. It's what we informally call a breath of fresh air.

“It’s strange,” Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant said on the reduced slate of remaining matches. “Our schedule suddenly went from crazy-hectic to pretty good. Now we have one game a week from here on out. We’ve played as many games as any team in the league. It’s going to set up well. I think we only have four more road trips. The league is definitely our focus now.

"You want to win those competitions [like the US Open Cup], you want to do well, but when you’re out, that’s definitely less games. Especially the Champions [League]; that’s six games that would have been jammed into the second half of our year.

“No question about it, we wanted to be there, but when you’re out, you look at the bright side and say, ‘Our schedule is a lot more favorable.’”

Of course, if the G's do win the MLS Cup, at least they will not have to deal with those opportunistic Islanders until the group stages of the 2011-12 edition.

“[The Supporters’ Shield] is in our sights,” Dunivant added. “We’ve kind of been in first all year and we don’t want to relinquish that. Now you look at other teams that will have those [Champions League] games – that should be an advantage for us.”



The Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, August 21 at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT and will be televised locally by Fox Sports West and Telefutura.

A.J. or the highway!

Galaxy defender A.J. De La Garza has been earning his stripes, according to Arena. The second-year man out of Maryland has filled the shoes of Todd Dunivant quite nicely in stifling the chances of players like the Red Bulls' Dane Richards in LA's 1-0 shutout win.

“When there is an opportunity to get him on the field, we want to get him on the field,” Arena said of De La Garza. “He does give us a lot of versatility in the back. He’s been great.”

De La Garza started 21 games on the right and left sides of the Galaxy defense as a rookie in 2009 and has also been used in central defense so far this season.

“I was surprised it happened so late,” DeLaGarza said regarding the start against New York. “I don’t know whether this is something that had been bothering Todd for a while. It was something that wasn’t expected but I was real excited for it.

“At first I wasn’t that comfortable using my left foot, but after I got a few touches and settled in the game I was all right. I felt good.”

Assistant coach Dave Sarachan was equally pleased with De La Garza's performance.

“The first thing about A.J. is he’s a defender and knows what his job is,” Sarachan said during training. “Whether you play him in the middle, right or left he understands the defending concepts. As far as the pure defending goes, the alertness and the awareness, we didn’t hesitate to use him there.

"[De La Garza] understands what it means to be a professional every day. He comes to work every day; even though he’s a young player his background put him in the position to where he didn’t miss a beat at this level. When you come and work every day and hone your craft, only good things will happen. For a kid like that, it’s sort of proven out.”

Don't be surprised to see De La Garza make an impact on the backline during the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs should they punch their ticket later this season.


On the topic of Un-Designated Success...

The 2010 Major League Soccer transfer window was a hectic whirlwind for the rest of the league.

D.C. United took a gamble on Montenegrin Branko Boskovic, Toronto FC welcome Spaniard Mista. The Chicago Fire saw Nery Castillo enter the fray. The Seattle Sounders sgined Uruguayan Alvaro Fernandez and Swiss international Blaise Nkufo to deals.

The San Jose Earthquakes brought in Brazilian Geovanni. Omar Bravo will be playing in the strip of the Kansas City Wizards next year. And the New York Red Bulls are hoping to make a come back into contention for the big postseason prizes in the duo of Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez.

As for the Los Angeles Galaxy, well...they chose to thumb their noses at signing new DPs. After all, they already have their star DP in local product Landon Donovan and David Beckham is inching closer to match fitness.

Plus, they are still at the top of the overall ladder, so if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Then again, the defending MLS Cup champs Real Salt Lake also won without designated players and are chasing the Galaxy for the Supporters Shield.

So, yes, teams in MLS don't really need to go the DP route to gain leverage on the competition. Or at least purchase new ones.

Case in point: RSL and the G's.


Bruce Almighty still feeling the bite?

One week after induction into the US Soccer Hall of Fame, Arena was still feeling the effects of dengue fever.

“It’s likely that. I was obviously bit by an infected mosquito,” Arena said after training. “The blood work is still days away but that’s most likely the case.

“It certainly wasn’t the flu – I can promise you that. re very ill. You have no appetite. You’re exhausted. You have fevers. The other part of it is that if it’s not caught appropriately, it impacts some of your major organs. It impacts your liver as the starting point, and that’s not ever good.

“I’m already treated for it. That mosquito is probably dead anyway, the one that bit me. I have the medication in me for that particular...fever and a couple of others that they’ve concluded are probably the culprit. It will be like any other flu or fever at this point, that it’ll take you a couple of days to recover. It shouldn’t have any long-term effects."

“Those things happen. I got the one mosquito that was infected in Puerto Rico. I got the one in a million.”

Get well soon, Bruce. After all, optimists with a savvy for managing teams the right way are Hall of Fame material.

In fact, when this does follow the route of King Solomon, the medical minds and moguls of the world may need to consider placing him in the Dengue Fever Survivor Hall of Fame.

A little resume booster, if you will forgive the bad puns...

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A "parity league", "Minor League Soccer", or even a "footballing joke" are just a handful of the names that the international community, as well as the handful of hardcore American soccer fans label Major League Soccer.

For the past two or three years, Major League Soccer has tried every maneuver known to mankind, in an attempt to gain global recognition and be recognized as a noteworthy league. MLS has done this by straining its modest budget through importing aging stars. All in part to really bring attention to the globe that MLS is a serious league. The most notable addition is evidently, Theirry Henry signing with New York Red Bulls last month. While it may look nice on paper for an MLS club to herald the arrival of a superstar, that specific club is going to need prove on the pitch that they're a top-class soccer club.

If the league, as well as its clubs, want to gain respect in the international world, they are going to need to excel, emphasize and take seriously in the CONCACAF Champions League, North America's top club competition.


Modeled after the UEFA Champions League, it's the "Gold Cup" for soccer club teams in North America that has been running under it's current format since the 2008-09 campaign. The competition, as well as previous continental competitions have been dominated by Mexican clubs. Last year's edition had the four Mexican-entrants all compose the competition's semifinal-round.

As for the four MLS clubs? Only one (Columbus Crew) even made it to the knockout stage, where they would fall to Mexican giants Toluca 5-4 on aggregate. Houston Dynamo and D.C. United would finish in third place in their respective groups, and not qualify for the knockout rounds, while Red Bull New York would not even reach the group stage, and lose in the preliminary play-in stage.

Granted, apart from the Crew, those three clubs were not the strongest MLS-ers a year ago, but they cannot take these games as a burden of extra games. It seems to be the reason why MLS teams have done so subpar in the past. The teams only care about one thing and one thing only: qualification into the MLS Cup play-offs, and winning the MLS Cup. It's a great title to behold, but the fact of the matter is this: winning the MLS Cup will only show the World you're the best club in the United States. Having the title saying you're the best club in North America is by far a much more eminent award.

It starts out with the MLS clubs needing to take the competition seriously, which seemed to look like it was going to happen with the Los Angeles Galaxy, but ultimately did not. Members of the LA Galaxy, including Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle emphasized how the strongest club in Major League Soccer should make a run deep into the tournament's knock out stages. However, it seemed like a laid back Galaxy squad as Donovan and Buddle had the MLS All-Star Game on their mind, rather than their preliminary qualifier against one of the worst USSF Division 2 clubs: the Puerto Rico Islanders...and would lose 5-3 on aggregate.

Now as the competitions group stages begin, reports on MLSSoccer.com talk about how the Galaxy members are relieved that there is six fewer games jammed into their schedule, so that they could focus on winning the Supporters Shield and the MLS Cup. Someone ought to remind them that either title will send them into the Group Stage of the Champions League.

Still though, this competition is the ultimate opportunity for MLS clubs to shine. We have two of our three strongest MLS clubs beginning group play this week (Real Salt Lake and the Columbus Crew) as well as Seattle Sounders FC and Toronto FC. All four of these clubs have a realistic chance of qualifying out of their group while RSL and Columbus have a decent possibility of winning their group and making it to the knockout stages. 

While the likes of Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna, Toluca and Monterrey have the most likely odds of winning the competition, this is most likely the first Champions League in over a decade where we have MLS clubs that could seriously make a noise in the tournament. We'll just have to wait and see if the clubs take it seriously or even more seriously than the domestic honors.

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The next two matches for the Rave Green focus on the international landscape. During its league bye week, the Sounders visit Honduras for the group stage opener of the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday against CD Marathón. First kick is 7 p.m. PT.

Seattle hosts CF Monterrey of Mexico August 25 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field to begin a three-match home stand across all competitions. League play resumes August 28 as the Chicago Fire and former Sounder Freddie Ljungberg come to town.  

Seattle Sounders FC is in a shifting competitive mode with activity being balanced between the Major League Soccer race along with that of international competition.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Open Cup semifinal with Chivas USA occurs September 1 at Starfire Sports Stadium in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila.

Unbeaten in nine matches with a 6-0-3 mark and allowing only three goals since July 7, Sounders FC had its four game MLS win streak snapped with a scoreless road draw at Chivas USA last week. Seattle is 10-8-7 overall and fourth in the Western Conference at 8-8-5  with 29 points.

This week’s foray marks the second trip to Central America this month. Sounders FC secured a place in Group C by drawing, 1-1, in a preliminary round game against Metapán in San Salvador on August 3 and winning the overall aggregate 2-1.  

Three of the first four group games are on the road. Marathón visits Seattle September 29.

Sounders FC has yet to lose a non-MLS competitive match, winning all six of its Open Cup-related contests en route to the title in 2009 and going 1-0-1 in both the Open Cup and CCL so far this summer.

Marathón began the Honduran Apertura campaign by drawing twice, 1-1 at home to Deportivo Savio and 2-2 away to Platense El Monstruo Verde (the Green Monster).

After Monday’s training session, coach Sigi Schmid discussed some important issues, including Seattle star scorers Fredy Montero and Steve Zakuani.  

Montero sustained a thigh contusion in a collision with burly Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton.  Zakuani stayed home in Seattle and missed the Chivas USA encounter due to a pelvic injury.

“It’s sort of a day-to-day thing with both of them,” Schmid explained.  “With Fredy obviously today we wanted to keep him away from impacts and things like that. But his quad is coming along and we think he is okay. He hasn’t had any real symptoms, so we think he’s okay that way. With Steve it’s just that we wanted to see what he could do today and see how he responds tomorrow.”

Seattle’s mentor waxed enthusiasm about the challenge of international competition.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for our club,” Schmid said.  “For our players, it gives them an opportunity to get exposure internationally, for the first time in Honduras for many of our guys, guys on our team who have aspirations of maybe one day going on to play for the national teams of their respective countries.

“Anytime you get into international competition it allows that national team coach to see how you measure up, how you deal playing away from home, how you deal playing against foreign competition. So there are so many pluses to it. As a club, we want to go as far as we can in any competition we enter and we view it as an honor and a privilege, not as a burden.”

Coach Schmid also discussed the transfer window issue.

“I think we’re good,” Schmid concluded.  “Obviously adding [Blaise] Nkufo up front has been helpful.  Even though he doesn’t have a goal yet he’s still a very key player and an important player for us.

“Then the addition of [Alvaro] Fernandez has already paid dividends with the couple of goals he has gotten. I think we were able to make a couple of good additions that have helped our team and we also got ourselves on a roll a little bit in July and August. Now we just have to continue to go forward and build on that.”

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With fresh wind at their sails and a renewed confidence to delivery crucial wins on the road, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will look to add to their overall league lead as they face the San Jose Earthquakes in the second leg of the California Clasico.

In the previous meeting, held on July 22 at the Home Depot Center, both the Galaxy and Quakes played to a 2-2 draw. Landon Donovan salvaged a point late in stoppage time to force the decider at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.

Coming off a 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls, the Los Angeles Galaxy are 13-3-4 (43 points) and have a game in hand over Real Salt Lake, who are four points back from the top spot in the Supporters' Shield standings.

Frank Yallop's Earthquakes also came off a 1-0 win against the Kansas City Wizards last Saturday and are in a race with Toronto FC for the final MLS Cup Playoffs spot with a 7-6-5 record (26 points).

Edson Buddle regained his scoring touch at the Red Bull Arena with his league-leading 13th goal of the season. The Galaxy will need to not rely too much on their scoring ace, as they have other competent midfielders that cam step up.

Landon Donovan leads Major League Soccer in assists with 11. Together, the Buddlevan Connection will look to pierce through a Earthquakes defense that has its reliable playmakers in Jason Hernandez and Brandon McDonald.

McDonald's second goal in the match for San Jose nearly proved to be the game-winner until Donovan's last-second heroics.

Bobby Convey is another player that will look to add to his success against the Galaxy. His first goal of the year came against LA, and don't be surprised if he enters the score sheet again.

Another question to ponder is whether or not Chris Wondolowski will play a deciding role in this second leg.

Wondo was responsible for the game-winning goal against the Wizards. He leads the team with seven goals this season but was a non-factor in the first leg in Carson.

Defensively, Joe Cannon will need to earn his stripes on Saturday at Buck Shaw. He currently has a 1.17 goals against average with 38 saves and a 6-4-2 record.

His counterpart, the Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts, has a 13-3-3 record to go with a 0.68 GAA and 51 saves mades on the season.

The Galaxy's backline of A.J. De La Garza, Gregg Berhalter, Sean Franklin, and stopper Omar Gonzalez stepped it up again the Red Bulls and will need to reprise their heroics at Santa Clara University.

In the midfield, Juninho wreakes havoc on the Red Bulls and will be a key player to watch. When he has space, he will utilize his options and pace to create chances for LA.

I expect the Galaxy to use the lessons learned and come away from Buck Shaw Stadium with a win. No flash in the pan, please, that was so last month.

Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, August 21 at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports West and Telefutura.

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Under-16 and Under-18 teams are back in action on October 9 when they travel to Cupertino, California to take on the De Anza Force.

The View from Victoria and the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue will give you updates throughout the offseason on the LA Galaxy Youth Academy's 2010-11 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaigns.


On the importance of Designated Players

David Beckham, during training last week at the Home Depot Center, spoke about the importance of designated players to MLS.

“I heard someone say the other day that it’s a bad thing for European players are coming over, give the young lads a chance,” Beckham said regarding the DP rule.

“When I was a young kid at Manchester United, I was playing with players like Eric Cantona who had come over to England to play. You learn from these players, and it’s going to make the league grow, it’s going to make the sport grow in this country and it can only be a good thing.

“That’s what we hoped for when the league started up, that you continue to have that progress and that’s gone on each year. It’s continued to get bigger, it’s continued to grow. More franchises are coming into the league and the league is in a healthy state at the moment.”

Here's hoping that Beckham as player will soon be in a similarly healthy state come match day...

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With fresh wind at their sails and a renewed confidence to delivery crucial wins on the road, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will look to add to their overall league lead as they face the San Jose Earthquakes in the second leg of the California Clasico.

In the previous meeting, held on July 22 at the Home Depot Center, both the Galaxy and Quakes played to a 2-2 draw. Landon Donovan salvaged a point late in stoppage time to force the decider at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.

Coming off a 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls, the Los Angeles Galaxy are 13-3-4 (43 points) and have a game in hand over Real Salt Lake, who are four points back from the top spot in the Supporters' Shield standings.

Frank Yallop's Earthquakes also came off a 1-0 win against the Kansas City Wizards last Saturday and are in a race with Toronto FC for the final MLS Cup Playoffs spot with a 7-6-5 record (26 points).

Edson Buddle regained his scoring touch at the Red Bull Arena with his league-leading 13th goal of the season. The Galaxy will need to not rely too much on their scoring ace, as they have other competent midfielders that cam step up.

Landon Donovan leads Major League Soccer in assists with 11. Together, the Buddlevan Connection will look to pierce through a Earthquakes defense that has its reliable playmakers in Jason Hernandez and Brandon McDonald.

McDonald's second goal in the match for San Jose nearly proved to be the game-winner until Donovan's last-second heroics.

Bobby Convey is another player that will look to add to his success against the Galaxy. His first goal of the year came against LA, and don't be surprised if he enters the score sheet again.

Another question to ponder is whether or not Chris Wondolowski will play a deciding role in this second leg.

Wondo was responsible for the game-winning goal against the Wizards. He leads the team with seven goals this season but was a non-factor in the first leg in Carson.

Defensively, Joe Cannon will need to earn his stripes on Saturday at Buck Shaw. He currently has a 1.17 goals against average with 38 saves and a 6-4-2 record.

His counterpart, the Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts, has a 13-3-3 record to go with a 0.68 GAA and 51 saves mades on the season.

The Galaxy's backline of A.J. De La Garza, Gregg Berhalter, Sean Franklin, and stopper Omar Gonzalez stepped it up again the Red Bulls and will need to reprise their heroics at Santa Clara University.

In the midfield, Juninho wreakes havoc on the Red Bulls and will be a key player to watch. When he has space, he will utilize his options and pace to create chances for LA.

I expect the Galaxy to use the lessons learned and come away from Buck Shaw Stadium with a win. No flash in the pan, please, that was so last month.

Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, August 21 at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports West and Telefutura.

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Under-16 and Under-18 teams are back in action on October 9 when they travel to Cupertino, California to take on the De Anza Force.

The View from Victoria and the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue will give you updates throughout the offseason on the LA Galaxy Youth Academy's 2010-11 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaigns.


On the importance of Designated Players

David Beckham, during training last week at the Home Depot Center, spoke about the importance of designated players to MLS.

“I heard someone say the other day that it’s a bad thing for European players are coming over, give the young lads a chance,” Beckham said regarding the DP rule.

“When I was a young kid at Manchester United, I was playing with players like Eric Cantona who had come over to England to play. You learn from these players, and it’s going to make the league grow, it’s going to make the sport grow in this country and it can only be a good thing.

“That’s what we hoped for when the league started up, that you continue to have that progress and that’s gone on each year. It’s continued to get bigger, it’s continued to grow. More franchises are coming into the league and the league is in a healthy state at the moment.”

Here's hoping that Beckham as player will soon be in a similarly healthy state come match day...

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The good news was that American goalkeeping legend Kasey Keller had another clean sheet and his eighth shutout of the season.  He had three saves on the evening.

The good news was that the Seattle Sounders kept their MLS unbeaten skein alive, extending it to six games.

The good news was that the Sounders’ FC defense has conceded but one goal in the last 450 minutes of MLS play, dating back to July 15.

The good news was that the Sounders went on the road and achieved one point, which enabled them to hopscotch into fourth spot in the Western Conference.

There was conflicting news of a different nature as well, leaving the Sounders’ Saturday night venture into Home Depot Center in Carson, California before a crowd of 13,839 one of mixed results with a 0-0 deadlock with host Chivas USA.

The tie left the Sounders at 8-8-5 with 29 points and in fourth place.  The team is unbeaten against all competition for its last nine matches.

Seattle came into action hoping for more, considering that the host Chivas USA squad approached Saturday’s action in last place.  They remained there at the match’s conclusion, one point behind the Houston Dynamo with 19 points and a 5-10-4 league mark.

The Sounders had hoped to accomplish two objectives against the home team, both of which were unmet.  The Rave Green has yet to defeat Chivas USA and has also been unable to score a goal.

The visitors had 10 shots on the evening and there were some narrow misses in the process.

Sanna Nyassi nearly found the net in the 62nd minute. Blaise Nkufo served a cross to the far post.  Nyassi then sent a bouncing header off the frame.

Fredy Montero, coming into the match with a blistering hot streak and MLS July Player of the Month honoree, tested Chivas USA keeper Zach Thornton.

The Colombian Comet delivered a free kick in the 70th minute that the alert Thornton was able to prevent from hitting the net.  

Osvaldo Alonso came close to scoring his first MLS goal with a long-range shot in the 89th minute that Thornton was able to deflect from reaching goal territory.

Chivas USA also mustered 10 shots.

Montero collided with Thornton in the box as he lept to meet a Nathan Sturgis cross in the 38th minute. After a six-minute delay, Montero remained in the game with a thigh contusion.  Considering Montero’s recent value to the club, those six minutes might have been the longest in franchise history.

The physical play continued as Seattle’s Leo Gonzalez and Chivas’ Mariano Trujillo were both sent off with red cards during second half stoppage time.

Recently acquired Uruguayan flash Alvaro Fernandez made his first start for Sounders FC.  Fernandez played 67 minutes before being replaced by Miguel Montano.

The draw left Seattle still looking for its first win over Chivas USA, which holds a 2-0-2 advantage in their series.

Sounders FC now begins CONCACAF Champions League group stage play.

The Sounders travel to Honduras to face Marathon on Thursday.  They will then host Mexico's Monterrey on August 25th.

League play resumes August 28th against the Chicago Fire on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, which marks Freddie Ljungberg’s first return to Seattle since his recent trade to the Windy City club.

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Fresh from their recent battles with the IFA and the SFA, the Football Association of Ireland are turning their guns towards U.S. Soccer over the services of 18-year-old Conor Doyle.

The Texan recently signed for Championship side Derby County after impressing Nigel Clough in a three week trial during the summer. Clough Jr. was so impressed with the physique and technique of the youngster that he awarded the player with his debut against Crewe Alexandra just four days after Doyle signed on the dotted line.

Doyle began his career in Texas with the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. The club have a huge standing in American soccer and were named second in America's Top 40 soccer clubs for boys and in first place for girls.

Always one of the most progressive clubs in the states, the Dallas Texans recently agreed a coaching exchange with Manchester United where the two clubs will send ideas and advice each others way. It has caused great excitement in Texas, where Manchester United will offer advice and expertise on the development of junior players.

Likewise, players and coaches that are identified by Manchester United as having great potential will also be invited to Carrington for exclusive training sessions with the Red Devils.

During Manchester United's recent Tour of North America, they played against the MLS All-Stars. Before the game, players from the Texans got their chance to train with the Red Devils first team. The video can be seen here.

Over the last 20 years, Texas has become synonymous with American soccer with the state producing many players who have gone on to the professional ranks of the game. Names like Clint Dempsey (England), Jared Jeffries (Germany), Gregory Garza (Portugal), Lee Nguyen (Holland), Hunter Freeman (Belgium), and Conor Doyle (England). In addition to these, countless Texans players have also gone on to play professionally in the MLS.

Doyle played for the Texans at schoolboy level before moving on to play for McKinney Boyd High School. The school only opened in 2006 but has already become a major player in volleyball, American football, wrestling, and cross country. With Doyle's move to England, the reputation of the school has only been enhanced.

The Kansas-born youth only graduated from McKinney last year and went on to earn a scholarship with Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. However, upon the news that Derby County were willing to offer him a two-year deal, the striker understandably decided to give up on his studies.

Conor had this to say on the decision, "It was a big decision to make and I talked to my parents and a lot of family members about it," he said. We decided that school will always be there but this is my dream and I need to follow it.

"It was tough at the beginning but, in the end, it was an easy choice to make. It's always been a dream of mine to play over here, since I was about two or three. Now it's come true and it's unbelievable that it's happened at 18.

"I'm hoping to push on now and move on to bigger things."

Creighton University Bluejays head-coach Jamie Clark could understand the decision completely saying,

"It's our job to help student-athletes prepare both on the field and for a career after school. Conor has been offered a job in the same division as World Cup starters, so this is a big opportunity for him.  We will continue to sign and bring in student-athletes that will have the opportunity to move on and play at the highest levels of professional soccer when they leave Creighton."

The Bluejays also have something of a fantastic reputation for producing professional soccer players, with the college contributing 45 players to the professional ranks since 1993 with 10 of those coming in the last four years alone.

With the move to Derby County, young Conor Doyle came into contact with Irish international Paul Green, who has immediately alerted the FAI of the youngster's eligibility.

Doyle's father was born in Ireland before he moved to America to take up a professional soccer career in the now defunct Major Indoor Soccer League. Between 1987 and 1998, David Doyle played for the Kansas City Comets, Dallas Sidekicks, St. Louis Rush, and Wichita Wings, where he scored an incredible 637 goals in 520 games.

His father went to college in Campbell University where he excelled at soccer, making the All-American side in 1986 and setting records that stand to this day. 

Doyle now has a coaching role with the Dallas Texans.

With the Irish links, and passport, Derby County did not have to go through many of the formalities they would normally have to travail to sign the American born youngster. As he carries an Irish passport, he is a UK resident as far as the FA is concerned.

The FAI are watching the youth's progress as we speak and with the news that he already has an Irish passport and has so far been overlooked by the USSF's youth set-up it is believed that the FAI may approach the youngster for an U-19 or U-21 international in the near future.

Paul Green only came to the FAI's attention after Giovanni Trappatoni ordered a search of England and Scotland for eligible players. The 27-year-old midfielder is Yorkshire-born and has only been with Derby since 2008. The central midfielder has been one of the Rams' most impressive players over the last two seasons and has won the man-of-the-match award twice in just three internationals for Ireland.

Over the last couple of seasons, the FAI have become embroiled in a number of disputes with rival federations over players.

The SFA took umbrage with the FAI over how they "poached" James McCarthy and Aiden McGeady even though the SFA only started to take notice of the prodigious youths after they had been called up to Sean McCaffrey's underage teams.

Both players may have been born in Scotland, but they were both raised in the Irish way of life and never even considered declaring for the land of their birth.

Back in the '80s, Ray Houghton declared for Ireland after what he described as poor treatment by the SFA who purposely refused to pick players who were not 100 percent Scottish.

More recently, the FAI ended up in the Court of Arbitration of Sport after the IFA deemed their Southern counterparts as poaching their best talent.

Over the last couple of years, three players born in Northern Ireland who have represented the land of their birth at underage level—Darron Gibson, Marc Wilson, Shane Duffy, and Daniel Kearns—have all either declared or stated their desires to declare for the Republic.

This forced the IFA to take a landmark case against the FAI over Daniel Kearns' inclusion in one of McCaffrey's U-19 squads.

The FAI have taken advantage of FIFA's new ruling which states that players who have not played at senior level, regardless of how many underage caps they have, can declare for a country in which they are eligible to play. Shane Duffy captained Northern Ireland through every rank and even sat on the bench for an international, but never played.

The ruling by FIFA came into play after countries like France, Italy, and Germany began playing youth footballers from Africa to tie their nationality up.

The new dictate has left a political loophole open for the Republic of Ireland that they have so far pursued. After the Good Friday Agreement in 1999, it was declared that any person born on the island of Ireland could hold an Irish passport.

Since Northern Ireland has a hugely nationalist population, it immediately opened the door for such declarations.

The landmark ruling by CAS has come as a huge blow to Northern Irish football and could effectively reduce their playing pool by up to 40-percent.

After the case CAS said, "The ruling upholds the right of individual choice on this matter for players born north of the border. I would like to recognise the determination of Daniel Kearns and his family to uphold his right as an Irish citizen to play for his country."

Following the Irish food shortage in the late 1840s the population of Ireland was reduced from almost nine million to around four million through deaths and mass emigration.

As a result, Ireland is now the only country in the world whose population is lower than the figure it had in Napoleonic times. The mass emigration also means that Ireland has one of the widest diaspora's of any nation on Earth.

In some cases such as Kilburn, Liverpool, and Manchester, there is a larger Irish population in these areas than in many major cities in their home country.

For instance, there are an estimated 700,000 people in Argentina of Irish ancestry, approximately 16 percent of Ireland's current population.

That figure grows substantially when you reach the USA. In the last census, around 41 million people declared themselves as either fully or part Irish.

These figures have had a major say in the way the FAI will scout potential Irish players in the future and they have already declared their intent to scout the MLS.

It would seem that Conor Doyle may prove to be a test case between the FAI and the USSF.

"To be honest, I was expecting to have two weeks here before going back to college," he admitted.

"But then I started playing in more and more games and they started talking to me (about signing). It was only then that I started to realise that this really could happen. It's a lot more than I expected.

"My expectations have been raised and now I will be aiming to get on the field a little bit longer," he added. Being young and coming in the team only a couple of weeks before the season starts, you don't necessarily expect to play much.

"But to train with the squad every day is a great experience. I am just hoping to get some games and when I do play, to take that opportunity."

One thing is for sure, he will be given the opportunity to play international football sooner rather than later.

But for whom?

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The energy drink Red Bull, based off a Thai formula of the same name, is known for its slogan, "Red Bull gives you wings."

Unfortunately for the New York Red Bulls, it was the Los Angeles Galaxy's Edson Buddle who stole the wings and helped the visitors fly away from Harrison, New Jersey's Red Bull Arena to the tune of a 1-0 victory.

Finally, Los Angeles supporters can breathe easily. The best team in Major League Soccer is playing like the best team in Major League Soccer.

And lo and behold, speak of the pink cow: the Galaxy backline did something right for once. The 25,000 who came out to the Red Bull Arena on Saturday can't say that they didn't see this one coming: the defense ending its slump of poor form and horrid results.

Never mind that Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez and Juan Pablo Angel underimpressed against their distinguished guests. Bad breaks off the volleys combined with a plethora of offside calls made this nothing short of a miserable night out.

This is a Red Bull side that was hoping to utilize Henry as a boost to New York's chances. Ultimately, it was nothing more than a sad foil to Buddle's 13th goal of the season.

I don't believe Buddle will catch Roy Lassiter's career mark for the most goals this season (and once again, I blame Bob Bradley and the FIFA World Cup for this), but he may get second-most all-time, so we'll have to wait and see.

But this is a game where I have to tip my hat to the Galaxy backline without a doubt.

After matches upon matches of inepititude and poor form, the combo of Sean Franklin, A.J. De La Garza, Omar Gonzalez and Gregg Berhalter pulled it all together. I was very impressed with Gonzalez's dispossessions.

Chris Birchall will also get some plus points from yours truly with his defensive abilities and clearance skills. Perhaps this is why he's still in the lineup as a central defending midfielder. Hah. I see what you did there, Bruce.

By the way, Arena was not on the sidelines due to recovery from a viral infection, but he did speak to the players at the break. That's recovery right there. More on Bruce Almighty later on the ins-and-outs.

The Galaxy had their best chance to break open the scoring early in the second half, when Buddle whiffed on an easy tap from Landon Donovan in the 50th minute.

Six minutes later, the Galaxy were stumbling on the pitch and had a golden opportunity to get a second past Bouna Coundoul.

And in the 77th, Buddle was just a fraction offsides. This is a team that is improving on their perfection of the offsides trap, but it needs a bit more polishing.

Needless to say, the Galaxy needed this victory. I can't stress this any further. With the likes of the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake pressuring the G's, it was important that the defense awaken, and that's what this backline did.

And for their efforts, three points and a successful Red Bull wing heist courtesy of the wingman donning the No. 14 of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

INS AND OUTS:

Streaker on the field

What would a sporting event be without a streaker running down the field unannounced in the 89th minute of play? But that's exactly what happened down at the Red Bull Arena.

I wouldn't be surprised the least bit if his facebook profile is inundated with requests to add [insert random flack's name] to his Friends list.

Well done earning you fifteen seconds of shame, young man...

The Next Three Matches

I will take this time first to apologize for not posting this in my recent Play-By-Play. It's customary for me to indicate the next three matches involving the Galaxy and their opposition. So here it goes.

The Galaxy will conclude their recent road sojourn with the second leg of the 2010 California Clasico against the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium on August 21. They will then return to the Home Depot Center for an August 28 contest with the Kansas City Wizards before a September 4 trip to Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois to face the Chicago Fire.

As for the Red Bulls, they will travel to BMO Field to face Toronto FC next Saturday, host the San Jose Earthquakes on August 28 and hit the road against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on September 4.

Call him "Bruce Hall of Fame Almighty"

Galaxy manager Bruce Arena was named on Tuesday to the National Soccer Hall of Fame at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Arena was named to the Hall of Fame alongside Kyle Rote, Jr., Thomas Dooley and Predrag "Preki" Radosavljevic. Paul Gardner of Soccer America earned the Coline Jose Media Award for his work as a columnist.

Preki's U.S. career included the game-winning goal against Brazil in the 1998 Gold Cup semifinals only months he represented the USA at the World Cup in France.

Dooley was a Bundesliga standout when he joined the U.S. national team in 1992. He played every minute of the USA’s four matches as a midfielder at the 1994 World Cup and captained the USA four years later in France.

Rote was the only American-born player to lead the NASL in scoring. He won the made-for-television ABC Wide World of Sports Superstars competition in three out of the four years he competed, making soccer relevant in the eyes of many during the heyday of the NASL.

“I’m very appreciative of the recognition," said Arena on Tuesday. "It’s a diverse class, for sure. Kyle Rote and I are about the same age and we grew up actually with similar backgrounds.

"We started in the game so late and then you have Preki and Dooley who obviously learned their trade in other countries and have come here to help build the game. So it’s really a diverse and unique class and a class I’m proud to be a part of."

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T-180 minutes to kickoff: Before I begin this play-by-play (and other miscellany) I wanted to note that I will be using "Red Bull New York" for the headlines, and score announcements in my pieces. Otherwise it will be "New York Red Bulls." They are, of course, one and the same, but I wanted to give you this heads-up as you read this piece.

T-170: Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy now enter the home stretch of the 2010 Major League Soccer campaign, and up next is a trip to the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey to take on Hans Backe's New York Red Bulls, a club that used to be called the New York/New Jersey MetroStars until the a company by the name of Red Bull GmbH showed up to purchase the club from the Anschutz Entertainment Groip in 2007.

T-160: A little history on the company. The co-founder of the company with a 49 percent stake is Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur who had the idea to introduce the drink to, and market it in Europe. Mateschitz was international marketing director for Blendax, a German toothpaste company, when he visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng (literally "red bull"), a Thai energy drink, helped to cure his jet lag.

T-150: Between 1984 and 1987, Mateschitz worked with TC Pharmaceutical (a Blendax licensee) to adapt Krating Daeng for European consumers. At the same time Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya, the owner of Krating Daeng, founded Red Bull GmbH; each investing $500,000 of savings and taking a 49 percent stake in the new company. They gave the remaining two percent to Chaleo's son Chalerm, but it was agreed that Mateschitz would run the company. That left the Thais as silent partners.

Red Bull GmbH launched the “Austrian” version of Red Bull in 1987, which is carbonated and not as sweet as the original Thai recipe. It is the Austrian formula that has taken almost half of the U.S. market for energy drinks, and up to 80 percent of the market in some other countries.

In 2006, Forbes Magazine listed Chaleo as being the 292nd richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of over $2.5 billion while Mateschitz was listed at number 317.

T-140: And now it's time for a little discussion on the new stadium in Harrison, the Red Bull Arena. Erected in March 2010, this stadium has has 25,000 seats, all covered by a translucent roof that is intended to protect fans from rain. When the team was acquired from AEG, changes to the stadium's original design were made and after further disagreements with AEG, Red Bull opted out of the plan to construct a stage in the stadium for performances.

T-130: Construction of Red Bull Park began in late December 2007 with an undetermined 2009 completion date. The updated design was completed by Rossetti architects from Los Angeles and was built by New Jersey-based Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC. The new design featured a roof extending just past the field's touchlines with 60 feet (18 m) of the roof being translucent to allow for natural light. The first row of seating is approximately 21 feet (6.4 m) from the touchlines.

Red Bull Arena's design is on par with those of soccer stadiums around the world. It looks similar to the Hypo-Arena in Klagenfurt, Austria in appearance. The stadium has 30 luxury suites and 1,000 premium seats.

For your information, there is another Red Bull Arena, located in Salzburg, the home of Red Bull Salzburg (owned of course by Red Bull GmbH).

T-120: Two hours to kickoff here in Harrison and not a single empty seat can be seen in the house. It's a sellout. Line-ups!

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Manager: Bruce Arena

Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond

Colors: Dark blue tops with gold accents, dark blue shorts, dark blue socks

1 Donovan Ricketts

28 Sean Franklin ---- 4 Omar Gonzalez ---- 16 Gregg Berhalter ---- 20 A.J. De La Garza

11 Chris Birchall

26 Michael Stephens ---- 10 Landon Donovan (C)

19 Juninho

17 Tristan Bowen ---- 14 Edson Buddle

Substitutes:

12 John Saunders GK

2 Todd Dunivant DEF

22 Leonardo DEF

88 Alex Cazumba DEF

8 Dema Kovalenko MID

9 Jovan Kirovski MID

27 Bryan Jordan FWD

RED BULL NEW YORK

Manager: Hans Backe

Formation: 4-1-3-2

Colors: White tops with Red Bull logo and red accents, red shorts, white socks

18 Bouna Coundoul

3 Chris Albright ---- 44 Carlos Mendes ---- 5 Tim Ream ---- 7 Roy Miller

4 Rafael Marquez

19 Dane Richards ---- 23 Tony Tchani ---- 20 Joel Lindpere

14 Thierry Henry ---- 9 Juan Pablo Angel (C)

Substitutes:

24 Greg Sutton GK

6 Seth Stammler DEF

11 Danleigh Borman DEF

12 Mike Petke DEF

8 Sinisa Ubiparipovic MID

33 Carl Robinson MID

10 Macoumba Kandji FWD

T-60: In other action, FC Dallas defeated Philadelphia Union 3-1, Chicago Fire and the Red Bulls were locked in a scoreless draw, Seattle Sounders defeated Houston Dynamo 2-0, the Red Bulls defeated Toronto 1-0 and Philly tied Real Salt Lake 1-1.

T-50: Later today, D.C. United takes on FC Dallas, New England Revolution meets the Dynamo, RSL faces the Columbus Crew, the San Jose Earthquakes face the Kansas City Wizards and in the nightcap, Chivas USA takes on the Sounders.

T-30: 30 minutes to kickoff, and the fans continue to file in. Kobe Bryant is here. David Beckham is here. And several other personalities have stopped by the RBA.

T-15: The series is currently ties at 14-14-5.

T-10: I will concede that NYC has its share of gastropubs and youthful foodies of unbound spirit as well as bums, serial killers and drug dealers. Proportional capitalism, that.

T-5: Mark Geiger is officiating his 70th match today.

FIRST HALF START: 3:06 P.M. PT

1' - And we are underway.

2' - The Big Cat from Montego Bay, Donovan Ricketts, was out on international duty for Jamaica this past week. Of course, the likes of Donovan, Buddle, and Gonzalez were playing against Brazil earlier this week.

3' - Oooh, a dangeous chance came for the Red Bulls.

4' - Here is Thierry Henry, the man, the myth, the legend, resetting the next sequence. And now it's Juan Pablo Angel but he's offsides.

5' - The Galaxy are forced to retreat for their next sequence. Roy Miller with the awareness for New York.

6' - Here's Joel Lindpere. Doesn't amount to much, except for a Sean Franklin throw.

7' - And Donovan Ricketts will grab that one for a goal kick. Not sure why he is choosing to give it back to Bouna Coundoul. Must be one of his idiosyncrasies. That chance bounces off the crossbar.

8' - Interesting pass from Birchall. Edson Buddle is marked. Tony Tchani had to clamp down there. It's a corner for Landon Donovan.

9' - Offsides, Gregg Berhalter after the corner is cleared. Goal kick, Coundoul.

10' - This is A.J. De La Garza. Throw-in forces Juninho to reset the sequence.

11' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy! 14 Edson Buddle

There you go. Breakaway for Edson's 13th of the season. This will force the Red Bulls into a hole. Let's see what happens.

12' - There was a "Edson Buddle Day" in his hometown of New Rochelle, New York earlier this week. Well, they have to be liking this...unless they support the New York Red Bulls.

13' - Here's Dane Richards. That was a good run on the right side from the Great Dane, However, his pass to Henry amounted to nothing. Ambitious one-timer from Tristan Bowen. Sean Franklin should have done better controlling his touch.

14' - Here is Rafael Marquez. Settling the troops down will be a wise deicision on the part of the Mexican international.

15' - Now it's Lindpere and Marquez on the attack.

16' - What was that from Sean? Not sure where he was passing that to. Here comes New York again, but the Big Cat from Montego Bay is there.

17' - Foul on Edson Buddle, and it will be a free kick for Rafa Marquez. Juan Pablo Angel butchered that header. Goal kick Ricketts.

18' - Now here's New York on the attack, and Landon Donovan was marked. Unscrupulous touch from A.J. De La Garza becomes scrupulous. How about that.

19' - This is Michael Stephens with the pass to Franklin. The Red Bulls draw men to the back to give Coundoul a chance to reset the sequence.

20' - We are 20 minutes in, and it's 1-0 Los Angeles. Are the Galaxy playing on intimidation here? Hmmm. Trying to find Henry, but misses wide.

21' - Bouna Coundoul with a save on Stephens. He's gonna do his share of the dirty work tonight in Harrison.

22' - Mr. Beckham looks on with intentions. Bruce Arena is in the press box due to a viral infection. He was able to recover, but as a precaution...he is above the Jersey skyline tonight.

23' - Offsides, Dane Richards. Empire Supporters Club soaks up the atmosphere while assing to it.

24' - Chris Birchall continues to struggle with his touch. I still don't get why he is still starting. Header for Angel misses.

25' - The only way the Galaxy will have their passes broken up is if they take a chance downfield, as seen ion this minute. And now the Red Bulls go on the attack as Angel is fouled.

26' - Here's a free kick for Marquez. Buddle lets that one roll away for a goal kick to Mr. Ricketts.

27' - Edson and the gang have to win the possession battle to stand a chance here. So far so good, but the New York Red Bulls have been dishing out some nice looks themselves.

28' - Offsides, Michael Stephens. Goal kick, Bouna Coundoul. 28 in and it's 1-0 G's with the local supporters in pursuit of an equalizer.

29' - The game time temperature at Red Bull Arena is similar to that at the Home Depot Center. Marquez should have equalized there.

But back to the temperature. Usually, opposing teams would suffocate, but since this is near the evening, this accomodates to the Galaxy quite nicely.

30' - And so, as Chris Albright makes the throw-in, the G's play on their own terms. Here is Joel Lindpere, and Omar Gonzalez clears that for the Red Bulls' first corner, Marquez to take.

31' - Tristan Bowen with the initial clearance, Chris Birchall with something gone right for him for once.

32' - Juninho overpursues, and back come the Red Bulls. Here is Albright, with the pass to Richards. And Birchall got tackled hard.

33' - Hans Backe is off of his bench, and he's not getting carded for this. And Dave Sarachan is not a happy camper, either. Ahhh, the emotions of professional football that is not gridiron. Or rugby.

34' - Come on, Mark Geiger. I know this is your 70th game, and you want to mellow things down, but you gotta get some order here!

35' - Clint Mathis was also recognized prior to today's game. He did play for the Red Bulls prior to the Galaxy. Not so fast Thierry, says Donovan Ricketts.

36' - Awful first touch from BUddle, and Omar Gonzalez stops Juan Pablo Angel from succeeding on the transition.

37' - 37 minutes in and it's 1-0 Los Angeles. Coundoul with the goal kick. Shirt pull by Gonzalez results in a Juan Pablo Angel free kick.

38' - Misses wide left. The Big Cat from Montego Bay rides his luck.

39' - The Galaxy cannot settle for a 1-0 win. Consolidation is crucial. Not sure what Edson Buddle was doing on the transition but it's forced the Galaxy to retreat.

40' - Now it's the Red Bulls who are winning the possession war as we enter the 40th minute.

41' - Another throw-in for Albright. Turf proving to be a bit slippy, though Angel had something to do with that.

42' - By the way, the Galaxy do not have Alan Gordon on board; he has been picked up by Chivas. The View wishes Alan all the best. God speed, fellow Long Beach denizen. Goal kick, Ricketts after Angel was called offsides again.

43' - The fans are clamoring for an out-on-bounds but they won't get it. The Buddlevan Connection didn't amount to much, but the Galaxy get possession back.

44' - Getting close to first-half stoppage time, and it's still 1-0 LA. Arena was inducted on Tuesday in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Congratulations, good sir. By the way, we can hear the walkie-talkie feedback. Turn it off, CSC Staff person, you.

45' - All right. How many minutes of stoppage do we got? Only one.

Handball, says Mark Geiger. Here's a free kick for Rafael Marquez.

45' + 1' - Off the crossbar, and Landon clears for the last corner of the half.

Bad luck has ensued for the New York Red Bulls this half as wel enter the break.

HALFTIME

Los Angeles Galaxy 1

Edson Buddle 11'

Red Bull New York 0

SECOND HALF START: 5:07 P.M. PT

46' - The second half begins. Here's Landon Donovan, and the first sequence from the G's is stopped. Sean Franklin with the delivery.

47' - And here is Dane Richards with the counter, with Chris Birchall marking him for a throw.

48' - Ricketts will grab that shot from Henry.

49' - And Henry is offsides. And Bruce Arena talked with the team at the half.

50' - And come on Edson. That's a makeable tap! Have mercy, Miss Percy! It's a goal kick for Bouna Coundoul. And Rickets gets another goal kick to continue the end-to-end action.

51' - How many more bullets will the Red Bulls dodge before they get their first big break? Tristan Bowen slipped on the delivery, but is otherwise all right.

52' - Here's Roy Miller looking to get the Red Bulls on track.

53' - I believe this is the only redeeming quality from Birchall: he can clear and he can dispossess. Actually, that was two as the offsides flag is raised.

54' - Seems so far the Galaxy are learning their lesson from the offsides trap so far. Foul on Juan Pablo Angel and Rickets had to go off his line to clear that chance.

55' - And it was a good thing he got the ball, and not the man. Otherwise, it's a straight red. Corner for Landon Donovan.

56' - A series of scrambles. Men falling on the pitch. And a great save from Bouna Coundoul. Best of the night. Some intense action on the Red Bulls end.

57' - Here's Henry, and now it will be a corner for the Red Bulls. Marquez to take. High. Over. And it would count for three in gridiron; not so much here; in fact it's nothing. Goal kick Ricketts.

58' - Bowen should have done better. Henry stymied again. A chance for Roy Miller is cleared.

59' - Some good defending by the Galaxy inside their own box, and the fans are accusing Geiger of bias.

Yellow card 9 Juan Pablo Angel

Red Bull New York

60' - Some arguments from Gregg Berhalter. Makes you wonder. Back come the Red Bulls on the attack. Sub time.

61' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 18 Mike Magee

OUT 17 Tristan Bowen

62' - Sean Franklin with the dispossession of Joel Lindpere. Henry seems to be doing as little too much, with the tap on Gonzalez.

63' - Juan Pablo Angel will be walking on a thin line for the rest of the match. Offsides on the Colombian international.

64' - Los Angeles needs to get their second goal right now. Good stuff from the Red Bulls defense on Michael Stephens's opportunities.

65' - Roy Miller keeps that inbounds while Juninho is turned. And De La Garza is fouled on the Dane Richards elbow. Dame Richards, the same guy who arguably ended Preston Burpo's career with New England.

66' - Macoumba Kandji will be coming in shortly for the home side.

67' - In the meantime, back come the New York Red Bulls. And I'm not sure why Joel Lindpere chose to give that to Henry: he had space to get one past Ricketts.

68' - I'm not sure of anything, I don't think. But I am sure of this: the Los Angeles Galaxy are leading 1-0, and the New York Red Bulls are pushing for the equalizer.

69' - The positional minute, and it's a goal kick for Ricketts.

70' - Rafa Marquez is dispossessed. Seems to me that they are taking a page from the Islanders playbook in defending.

71' - Substitution Red Bull New York

IN 10 Macoumba Kandji

OUT 4 Rafael Marquez

Here comes Mac Kandji. Can we call him MacKandji for short? No, I fancy that's the same thing.

72' - Here's a Lindpere corner, and that should have gone in. I think Henry was in the way.

73' - Henry's right calf seems to be strained. Good defending.

74' - I think the backline is doing the job tonight. Still some more football to go, but right now, I can say that so far, so good. But let's see what happens from here.

Throw-in for Sean Franklin. No dice for Mike Magee.

75' - Red Bulls on the offensive. Here's Mac Kandji, and Mike Magee looks to counter. A possession sortie ensues, and here is Roy Miller. And that dubious from him.

76' - Yellow card 7 Roy Miller

Red Bull New York

77' - Edson Buddle almost was onsides. Haven't mastered the offside trap yet, it looks, but the G's are making strides.

78' - Dane Richards's pace is matched by A.J. De La Garza's dispossession. This is a corner for Lindpere.

79' - Edson keeps that inbounds, and that will be a throw-in.

Yellow card 4 Omar Gonzalez

Los Angeles Galaxy

80' - Dubious tackling from Omar, and this will be a free kick for the Red Bulls. Let's see what Juan Pablo Angel does. Handball by Juninho. Take two.

81' - Blocked. And Dane Richards butchers the second chance as Beckham sneaks a smug expression while the bad luck for the Red Bulls continues.

82' - Corner time for the Galaxy. Tony Tchani does the work. Landon Donovan should have done better on the crosses and follow-throughs.

83' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 7 Chris Klein

OUT 11 Chris Birchall

84' - Bouna Coundoul wins that ball from Edson Buddle, and here comes New York.

Substitution Red Bull New York

IN 8 Sinisa Ubiparapovic

OUT 9 Juan Pablo Angel

85' - 85 minutes in, and it is still 1-0 Los Angeles. Carlos Mendez with the mark on Edson Buddle. He's done his part for the home side.

86' - Here is a corner for Joel Lindpere. Michael Stephens clears. Mike Magee wonders why Mendes didn't get carded for that professional foul.

87' - Getting close to stoppage time, and it's still 1-0 to the G's.

88' - Sean Franklin with the throw-in. Omar Gonzalez cuts out the chance from Sinisa Ubiparapovic.

89' - And where the heck was he shooting that to? Juninho is down, and Bruce Arena looks on in disbelief. A streaker enters the Red Bull Arena. Allez! Ola! Ole! Hogtie that boy Alabammy style will ye!

90' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 9 Jovan Kirovski

OUT 19 Juninho

Juninho is okay, though, and returns to the bench.

90' + 1' - Four minutes of stoppage time. Donovan Rickets eliminated the initial chance from Ubiparapovic. (That's a fun name to say: Sinisa Ubiparapovic.)

What a save from Bouna Coundoul. He's made things difficult for the Galaxy attack.

90' + 2'- Here is a corner for Landon Donovan, which is taken short for a goal kick.

90' + 3' - Carlos Mendez has been a beast in the backfield, and here he is again.

90' + 4' - Dane Richards won't get to that one. Goal kick Ricketts. And here is one more chance for the Red Bulls, and that won't work. The Galaxy are back online!

FINAL

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 1

Edson Buddle 11'

RED BULL NEW YORK 0

Stay tuned for my take on this match on the View from Victoria Street and on Bleacher Report.

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