and why those who have a little more of it are more likely to come shining through. Bold, aggressive action wins the day. Timid and indecisive action, on the other hand, is generally as useful as a box of broken glass.
Bobby Convey comes tearing into the attacking third from his deep-lying spot at left back and manufactures a goal as commendable for its skill as for its boldness. The audacity to believe he could fabricate such an effort, to launch himself breathlessly into the breach, is what we're talking about here.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto, among the kings of MLS audacity, pivots to fire confidently just before the break for Columbus, providing a critical tally in his team's 1-1 draw. Watch the lead-up to the shot and ask yourself, "How many players might want to take a quick touch to prepare that ball? Or perhaps let it roll across to his right foot, getting their feet in a better position?"
Not Schelotto. It's a bit of a hip-twister for the Crew playmaker as the ball from Emmanuel Ekpo bounces and sets up a little bit behind Schelotto. Suffice to say, it's a difficult shot to pull off. And yet the veteran Argentinean attacker, better known for creating than finishing, takes the bold course of action and tucks it confidently into the far post. Nice.
Chris Rolfe uncorks a shot from a spot on the field where most players might look to combine with a teammate, or might look to chip an effort toward a striker on the back post. Instead, Rolfe rescues a point for his side, striking for the equalizer (which Joe Cannon will rue, as the Earthquakes veteran 'keeper surely has and will do better.)
And what can you say about Kansas City's Davy Arnaud, whose third long-range goal this year took down Seattle for the first time. Anybody who has seen Arnaud over the years, especially the last two, knows that is one Wizard who will aim faithfully at goal from anywhere inside 30 yards.
Schelotto has shown time and again that he understands the promise and scarcity of real opportunity inside and around the 18. Repeatedly over the last two years the reigning league MVP has checked all hesitation and self-doubt as he collected chances inside the penalty area and turned them swiftly toward goal.
Of course, it also helps that he's an absolutely clinical finisher. He doesn't shoot much, but he's deadly when presented with the chance. Schelotto has just seven shots this year, with three goals to show for them.
Pablo Ricchetti had little choice but to try a tricky backheel flick as FC Dallas pressed for the late equalizer. Still, others might have attempted a quick trap and turn, or may have pushed the ball back toward a teammate. Instead, Ricchetti has his first MLS goal and Dallas picked up its first point of the campaign.
Javier Morales had very little time or space as he took a quick touch and lashed an effort toward net in the 80th minute against D.C. United. Two United defenders were bearing down on the RSL creator, and any half-second of hesitation would surely have erased the tiny window of opportunity. Again, audacity won the day.
(Anybody notice that it was a grand weekend for Argentineans, as Schelotto, Ricchetti and Morales all struck for vital goals in close matches?)
We also see where a lack of audacity can damage a team's chances. The bold action of players such as Convey, Schelotto, and Ricchetti stands in stark contrast to individuals who have been timid in similar situations through the first month of Major League Soccer's 14th campaign.
The Houston Dynamo are struggling to produce offense, for instance. Among the variety of reasons: young Stuart Holden has passed on the responsibility of shooting on a couple of occasions. When Holden's considerable skill and pace puts him into the penalty area with the ball at his feet, there really is just one option he should consider. Perfect example: A week ago against D.C. United he stormed into the 18 with a decent (not fantastic, but decent) angle. Instead of unleashing the effort, he attempted a tricky chipped pass toward Brian Ching.
Sacha Kljestan has been curiously muted much of the year for Chivas USA. Late in Saturday's match against 9-man Los Angeles (Kljestan's side had only 10 men) the Red-and-White's offensive engine seemed overly content to move the ball deliberately, probing for picture-perfect openings instead of forcing Galaxy defenders to make choices by brazenly pinging balls into more dangerous spots.
At one point, Kljestan did engage in decisive action, slashing through the Galaxy defense while combining with quick-thinking teammates. It resulted in Chivas' best opportunity in the late going and was the kind of ambitious, audacious action the Red-and-White probably needed a bit more of as the Galaxy desperately held on in the weekend's second scoreless draw.
TACTICAL CORNER
• A weekend of four red cards, as we saw in Round 3, is above the norm for a round of MLS play. So, obviously, the seven ejections from Round 4 rise well above average, too.
MLS director of officials Joe Machnik said there has been no league or U.S. Soccer directive (the federation assigns referees, not MLS) to clamp down on overly aggressive play in 2009. Rather, he supposes this is a symptom of increasing competitiveness and pressure to win. After all, continued expansion means the number of teams that will fail to qualify for the playoffs is steadily rising. It's up to an all-time high seven this year. Six teams failed to gain postseason access last year, which was an all-time high at the time.
And as we all know, reaching the playoffs is the very first standard by which teams have historically been measured in most U.S. sports leagues, including MLS.
It's hard to argue too much with any of the cards issued. On Gregg Berhalter's red for dragging down Alecko Eskandarian and Kasey Keller's ejection for handling the ball intentionally outside the penalty area, referees had little choice. The rules are quite clear here.
The tackle that ended Carlos Johnson's otherwise impressive debut for the Red Bulls was an easy choice for Hilario Grajeda. Johnson's lunge at Geoff Cameron was dangerous, reckless and wholly unnecessary considering where they were on the field. (Grajeda did a nice job, in fact, throughout a match that could easily have could have gotten ugly, as it featured a poor surface and two sides so desperate for points.)
L.A.'s Alan Gordon, Chivas USA's Paulo Nagamura and San Jose's Shea Salinas had just received yellow cards when they were issued second cautions and subsequent ejections. You might quibble with the initial yellows in a couple of those cases (although certainly not Salinas'). But at some point the onus is on the player to understand the situation.
So, for example, when Nagamura chopped down Landon Donovan from behind, he wasn't just risking a yellow card. He was risking expulsion, and that should change the risk-reward calculations. At that point, a player must understand that something very bad (an ejection, leaving his team a man down for the duration) might happen if they do something that forces the referee to make this critical decision.
• Toronto responded to last week's loss at home with two changes, as Pablo Vitti and Rohan Ricketts took a seat next to the manager. Interesting that the TFC opponent Saturday, FC Dallas, deployed the exact same lineup that had lost a week earlier in New England but played well in the 2-1 loss.
• Adam Moffat finally got back on the field for Columbus, taking a spot alongside Brian Carroll in the center of the park. That allowed Emmanuel Ekpo to move outside (to the left, filling in for the injured Robbie Rogers). There is no question that Ekpo looks more comfortable and certainly more threatening running at the defense from the flanks.
Moffat's influence waned after the break, hardly surprising considering that he made his first start in almost a year and that he can't yet be fully fit.
A back line missing two starters (injured biggies Chad Marshall and Frankie Hejduk) held up well over 80-plus minutes against Colorado's fairly conservative 4-4-2. Still, you have to wonder how Rapids in-form striker Conor Casey can get behind a defense playing at home and protecting a lead in the last 10 minutes?
• After three matches as a central midfielder, Bobby Convey moved back out to the left, closer to his comfort zone, for the Earthquakes' 3-3 draw with Chicago. Convey's best spot is in midfield along the left. But the Quakes have Darren Huckerby entrenched there already, so Convey lined up at left fullback while veteran Simon Elliott partnered with Ramiro Corrales in the middle.
With Elliott, the Earthquakes have someone who understands how to manage the game from the middle of the park, something lacking previously when the Earthquakes' central twosome featured Convey and Corrales, neither of whom is a natural at the position. Whether Elliott, 35, has the pace to hold the center over a longer stretch of the season remains to be seen. On the other hand, Francisco Lima stabilized the center of the park last year when he was introduced to Buck Shaw and partnered with Corrales, and he was 37 at the time.
• Chicago managed a draw on the road despite starting with Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Chris Rolfe on the bench, and with John Thorrington and Wilman Conde unavailable due to illness and suspension, respectively. Teams that complain about injury or absences need only look to the Fire (or to Chivas USA on pretty much any day) to understand the value of the mindset that says "prep the players you have and just get on with it!"
• Outside backs have been a little slow to get forward and add to the attack through the first month. As games open up and players get more comfortable with their roles and with the cover around them, look for that to change.
There are some exceptions, of course. In Utah, Tony Beltran on the right and Chris Wingert on the left have contributed to the attack regularly. Richard Mulrooney (Houston) and Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA) are pressing the issue from their sides. And, presumably, San Jose's Convey will make life tough on opposition defenses if he continues to line up at left fullback.
Perhaps Johnson can add some push to the Red Bulls' right side once he returns from red card suspension; he seemed interested in joining the attack during Saturday's debut in Juan Carlos Osorio's lineup.
• No MLS center back was better over the weekend than Real Salt Lake's Jamison Olave in terms of dealing with opposing forwards, challenging in the right spots, winning headers, winning tackles, etc. (It was RSL central partner Nat Borchers who was beaten on Luciano's Emilio's successful header for D.C. United).
On the other hand, Olave still makes the occasional unsound choice. Olave's ability to conquer that damaging propensity in favor of consistently choosing the safe option could go far in deciding RSL's ultimate fate.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
