STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: NEW ENGLAND v FC DALLAS

Finally . . . FINALLY!

Finally, the best team in MLS gets a televised game, after about a month of being neglected. I don’t get that at all, but since I’ve already ranted and raved about it in this space earlier in the season, I will, for now, forbear.

Besides, tonight is a night of joy! I’m back in the mix, doing what I do best: watching the boys and making smart-alecky comments. We all have our gifts that we must share with mankind. Mine just happens to be this. My luck, it’s a non-remunerative gift. But who am I to argue with the great soccer Muse?

So the night of joy almost turns quickly in to a nightmare, as Taylor Twellman beats the back four and Scott Garlick in the second minute of the match. Fortunately, he wasn’t able to beat the assistant referee, who called a very close offside. Gulp.

Oh GOOOOOOOOL! Arturo Alvarez runs on to a beautiful through ball by Roberto Mina. Alvarez shoots into Matt Reis’s chest, but gets his own rebound and rolls it in.

1-0 to the Good Guys in the sixth minute. Though to be honest, it was against the run of play, as the Revs came out pressing while we came out merely absorbing. Good for us though. The earlier we get on the board the better of we are this season, it seems to me.

We’re still without EJ, but it’s good to see el Pescadito back on the field. We may, if all goes well, see EJ in time for the opening of Pizza Hut Park on August 6th. We haven’t done badly at all without him, but we can only get better with him. I know exactly how nasty and nagging that sort of toe injury is, so I’d rather wait until he’s at 100%, seeing as we’ve discovered just how deep the team is this year.

Wow. Mina just dribbled through four guys and came within a Jay Heaps toe-poke of being one on one with Reis. I hadn’t seen that part of Mina’s game before now. Pretty slick.

I wonder if Colin Clarke and his staff have seen something in the films, because now it seems everyone’s having a go at the New England back four. Pitchkolan, Gbandi, Mina, Alvarez, all of them trying to dribble penetrate against numbers. Fun to watch, I must say.

I sincerely hope I’m not puttin’ the mojo on him, but Chris Gbandi is playing very well tonight. Good man-marking, getting up to attack; very nice stuff from the UConn Kid.

The name is Gbandi . . . Chris Gbandi.

And, once again, if for no other reason than to prove that all is right in the universe, and events are unfolding as they should, Simo Valakari gets a yellow card.

Speaking of Simo, I think it is good and just that he’s going to be an All-Star. Apart from the big name goal-scorers who are known by even casual MLS fans, there are certain players who toil in unsung roles that to the knowledgeable observer are clearly just as important in the grand scheme of things. Simo Valakari epitomizes that kind of player.

Bah. New England ties the score in the 44th minute. If you’ve ever wondered “Gee, would it be okay to leave Taylor Twellman unmarked on the six yard line, even for a few seconds?” Well, here is your answer . . . NO!

Noonan and Twellman. You’ve GOT to watch those St. Louis boys, ya know?

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

DIPSY SELELOWANEEEEEEEEEEE!

We get an immediate answer from the Hoops. Beautiful, lovely, sublime work by Mina and O’Brien. Mina receives from Ronnie, holds on the 18, waits for Ronnie to make the run, pops it cleanly to him, in stride, and then Ronnie just uses Reis, faking, getting by and left footing it in the net at a severe angle.

That there is some professional football, my dears. And if it’s not the Goal Of The Week, they should stop giving it out.

Mina is playing with such ease and confidence it’s hard to believe he’s only 20 years old.

And that will take us to the half, with the score 2-1 to the Club.

Keep in mind that this is very likely a preview of MLS Cup ’05. Except the venue, of course, and we all know where that is this year.

Eight minutes in to the second half, Mina gets robbed by Matt Reis. A low hard header catches Matt going the wrong way, but he still manages to get a foot on the ball to keep it out. For those of you who may have wondered “Reis? All Star?” Uh, yeah. Matt Reis is the real deal, no doubt. He’s not flashy, but he’s as solid a keeper as you could want in this league.

The Little Fish has been quiet tonight. He’s been away at the Gold Cup, so he may be a bit tired. He’s not out of form, though, at least you wouldn’t think. All he did in the Gold Cup was put the hat trick on Jamaica. In a loss, unfortunately. Or maybe fortunately, for us, anyway. Had Guatemala advanced, he’d still be gone.

22 minutes left and New England are putting their foot on the gas here. We’re back to absorbing pressure like we did early in the game. Twellman gets loose in the box, but skies his shot over Garlick’s head.

Pitchkolan gets a shot off from Alvarez’s nice cross, but Reis is there. Alvarez is doing yeoman work running up and down the left side. Good stuff.

Alavarez, as if to make me look bad and make me out a liar, proceeds to miss a sitter with 15 to go. Good work by Ronnie and Ruiz to get him the ball close in, but the shot goes right in to Reis’s gut.

The momentum is switching back, and we’re knocking the ball around very nicely right now. Ruiz gets a shot, I believe his first of the night, but again Reis is there. Carlos didn’t get as much on that as he wanted, but still got Reis to give up a rebound.

Mina and Alvarez have both been subbed out, so we’re going to try to defend for the final few minutes. This is okay, because we’ve been defending well, and the Revs look a little flat late on.

Almost an equalizer with three minutes left. The very tall Khano Smith gets a free header off of Cancela’s corner and just misses. Hurry clock, hurry.

Oh, Drew! Drew Moore most certainly should have scored. He was right in front with Reis out of position and he skied it two stories high.

Oh, come on. Less than a minute to go and the Revs are level. A sloppy, sloppy goal. My man Gbandi completely blows a back-header right in to the path of Twellman, who chips over Garlick, gets saved off the line, but Dempsey heads in the rebound. Bah. BAH!

Not that a draw against the Revolution is a bad result this year, but we had this one in the bag.

Three minutes stoppage. I wish Mina and Alvarez could come back in.

Oh! Gbandi almost redeems himself with a hard shot from the 18, but hits it ten rows up.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!

Again, Twellman is unmarked on the six yard line, and AGAIN he scores. We’ve lost it. We were a goal up with a minute to go, and we’ve lost it.

Final whistle. A perplexing, unbelievable 3-2 loss.

Must. Remain. Calm.

Still. In. First.

Must. Not. Panic.

This is too much like last year to dwell on. So I won’t.

Suffice to say, until the 89th minute this was one of our best games of the season. Good defense, despite the mistake on the first New England goal. Good offense, though we could have finished better, in retrospect. But how, how HOW does this game not end up as a win?

Ugh.

And I was so excited to be back in the saddle, column-writing-wise.

Okay, shake it off, kids, we’re still okay. It’s a bump in the road, a minor inconvenience, and a freak of nature. Not to worry.

See you next week for Real Salt Lake.