The 2006 US Open Cup pitted two MLS clubs fighting for the Lamar Hunt trophy. Last year’s winners, The LA Galaxy were looking to get something out of this year’s season, as their MLS form has been appalling, leaving them in second to last place in the Western Conference. On the other hand, The Chicago Fire, just coming off of a victory over LA in the MLS league to clinch a playoff slot, was looking to show that Hollywood is not the only region in the US that can boast that they know the sport of soccer.

Chicago came out blazing in the first half and controlled much of the tempo and offensive possession of the opening period. They put LA on their heels at the outset with two quick goals both coming off headers. The first one resulting from a free-kick that was first miss-headed by CJ Brown and then played across the box for an easy tap in. The second goal was from a glancing header to the back post, after Justin Mapp crossed in from the right flank.

An overall impression of the game is that the ref allowed way too much contact, as the physical play of the Americans does very little for the spectacle of what other countries call the beautiful game. Far too many challenges went unpunished and what could have been a thrilling 1st half, meted out to large sections of the game passing by with fragmented play.

Unfortunately, the closest LA got to scoring in the 1st half came to Chris Albright, who made a mockery of the side-foot volley as he put his shoot (from Donovan’s variation of a free-kick) into orbit. Albright was again on the laugh-o-meter as his miss-touch from a basic trap was ripped clear by the defender straight into Albright’s mug. Not that I wished he were injured, but again it’s hard to lionize a league when the professionals of that league show little in the development of basic technique, as well as all the bad passing errors that occur in a MLS match.

LA finally got their goal in the 2nd half, but Tony Sanneh pushed up from defense to assist for Chicago’s third and finally put the embers out on a shattered LA Galaxy season.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 30th, 2006 at 3:07 am and is filed under Soccer World, USA, Rick Wall (Head Editor). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.