Supporters Shield Battle Draws Differing Views

Penalty Call Crewll on Houston

The clash at Crew Stadium this weekend was integral and could prove to be critical to decide the outcome of the Supporters Shield, the prize awarded to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record. For the soccer purists reared on watching the leagues in countries not obsessed with play-offs, being top of the league after the season is the culmination of achievement and signifies that you are the Champions.

Of course, MLS is not like other leagues, and US soccer is not quite like other nations, and the side that hits form in the post season will be crowned champions. Nonetheless, the Supporters Shield no longer just carries bragging rights. It also brings with it entry into the CONCACAF Champions League, along with the US Open Cup Winners, and eventual MLS Champions.

“There is Contact between Cameron and Moreno, but it was Clearly Embellished.”

Therefore, the match on Saturday between Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo, as well as being the best of the West meets the Beast from the East, also carried with it the likelihood of determining the destination of the Shield. Crew won the match with a very controversial penalty call deep into injury time after Geoff Cameron was deemed to have fouled Alejandro Moreno. What Jonathan Yardley, Communications Manager of the Houston Dynamo, said at the time is probably unprintable, but he told us later his view of the call.

“It certainly wasn’t a penalty in my eyes or the team’s. Calling it live on the radio, it was a few seconds before I realized what had happened, because it looked like a normal play. Watching on replay, there is contact between Cameron and Moreno, but it was clearly embellished, Moreno was not going to have a scoring opportunity out of the play, and the contact was not enough for a penalty kick.
Throughout the game, the referee was playing on at every opportunity, and there were only three cards given in a physical game, so it was very inconsistent to make that call in that situation.

Brian Bliss, Technical Director at Columbus Crew, didn’t need to be convinced about the importance of the goal to his side’s season.

“The late goal for the winner was huge because of the three points we earned. It gets us closer with less games played to our goal of the Supporters Shield and automatic qualification for next year’s (2010-2011) champions league. It also showed we can win games not playing our best.”

Commenting on the penalty, he was somewhat briefer than Yardley. “Being in the game so long I have seen that called and sometimes not called. However, the ref showed a lot of Moxy making that call in the 91st minute.”

Yardley: Crew have the Advantage for the Supporters’ Shield”

The Crew have certainly come a long way since those traumatic opening weeks to the season when they failed to win any of their first seven MLS matches, and pundits were quick to draw the conclusion that their previous magic had all been the work of departed coach Sigi Schmid, who irritatingly for Columbus had won four of his first six matches in Seattle during the same period. But then something happened, and former Polish international Robery Warzycha showed he had some magic of his own to weave. Columbus won ten and drew four of their next 15 MLS games, outscoring their foes 28 to 12. Bliss puts their dramatic turnaround down to an improvement at the back.

“The biggest factor has been our defense from beginning to now. We have scored a lot of goals but early on were committing an error in the back which seemed to cost a goal that would lead to a tie game. We are better defending team now than early in year.”

Crew, like Houston, now have the distraction of the Champions League before they return to MLS action at Chicago Fire. They travel to Saprissa and Houston face Pachuca. It may be that the CONCACAF match becomes more significant for Dynamo with the Shield sliding slightly out of their reach. The win certainly puts the Crew in the driving seat for the Shield, a point conceded by Yardley.

“That was a very tough way to lose a game, especially given that a tie probably would have been a fair result from that game. Neither team was dominant. We certainly created more chances, but failed to finish the vast majority of them. It was a hard-earned road point that our guys felt was taken away from them. Looking at the big picture, we expect to finish the season strong with the next three games at home, but obviously, trailing Columbus by two points when they have two games in hand certainly gives them the advantage for the Supporters’ Shield.”

Houston’s next game is at home to Real Salt Lake. After that Kansas City visit. Six points are probable, but with only four games left, they will have to look both in front of them at Columbus, and over their shoulders at a host of challengers in the West. Columbus have nothing to see in front of them except a repetition of last year’s Shield triumph.

Also see:

Western Conference – The Road to Seattle

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