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In the weekend leading up to the MLS All-Star Game, some teams showed their dominance, while others took steps in the wrong direction. Saturday saw Dallas FC make a complete mockery of the Portland Timbers, who have now lost four in a row. Meanwhile, the New York Red Bulls continued their impressive home lossless streak, dispatching the Union 2-0. Montreal are still trying to find a way to string together a couple of wins as they have been going back and forth with wins and losses.
This past Saturday, the Dynamo handed Montreal a 3-0 loss. Despite defeating the Dynamo a month ago by a 4-2 margin, the expansion Impact could not defeat the Dynamo at their new home, BBVA Compass Stadium. Macoumba Kandji opened the scoring up early, netting a brace in the 7th minute. Kandji would wait until the 89th to pick up his second goal of the match, sealing the deal for Houston. Bobby Boswell also picked up a goal for the Dynamo in the 84th.
Houston has now extended their home unbeaten streak to 18, which dates back all the way to the 2011 season. Houston travels across the border this Friday when they take on Toronto FC. Meanwhile, Montreal will take on the Red Bulls at Stade Saputo.
With their win over the Union this past Saturday, the Red Bulls took sole possession of first place in the East. Kenny Cooper led the way for New York, scoring both of the Red Bulls braces; one in the 43rd and the other in the 58th. On another note, both goals came of crosses, with assists coming from Joel Lindpere and Thierry Henry. Philadelphia had their chances, but with constant offside calls and some bad luck from shoddy refereeing, New York won this won with ease.
With their three game win streak broken, Philadelphia will look to get back on the horse when they take on New England at PPL Park this Sunday. As mentioned before, New York will travel up to Montreal to take on the Impact.
Portland hasn't had it easy since the firing of Head Coach John Spencer. Saturday didn't help their cause as FC Dallas trampled over the Timbers in a 5-0 route. This match marked FC Dallas' first home win in seven attempts. Portland was kind enough to give FC Dallas their first goal, as Hanyer Mosquera was the unfortunate recipient of an own goal.
With four more goals coming from Dallas, Portland was put down, also setting a new MLS record along the way. The Timbers have now gone 697 consecutive minutes away from Jeld Wen Field without scoring a goal. With such a huge loss, Portland will look forward to going home, as they take on Chivas next Saturday. FC Dallas meanwhile will continue their homestead when they take on the LA Galaxy.
Speaking of LA, the Galaxy picked up a 3-1 win in a SuperClasico victory over Chivas USA. The Donovan/Keane/Beckham combination got the job done this past Saturday, with Donovan scoring two and Keane adding the third. Beckham notched two assists on the day.
After losing two straight, Columbus rebounded with a 1-0 win over DC United. Chris Birchall picked up the Crew's one and only goal, but it was enough to give Columbus the win over DC. This Saturday will see DC United take on Paris Saint-Germaine in the Herbalife World Football Challenge. Columbus will take on Sporting Kansas City at Livestrong Sporting Park on the same day.
Sporting Kansas City played to a 0-0 draw against New England while Real Salt Lake defeated Colorado 2-0. In a bit of a shocker, third place Vancouver defeated the San Jose Earthquakes. Colorado will have some confidence going into their match next Saturday when they play Seattle at Dick's Sporting Good Park. San Jose will look for a win and continue their first place dominance when they take on Chicago.
Finally, this weeks match to watch out for is none other than the MLS All-Star Game coming from none other than PPL Park this Wednesday. For those of us who are attending, I'm sure it will be a blast. For those who can't make it, watch Carlos Valdes and the rest of the MLS All-Stars take on English Premiere League squad Chelsea on ESPN 2 at 8:30 p.m.