Serbs Him Right
Any hope of an interesting Newcastle-Arsenal match ended in the 16th minute when Aleksandar Mitrovic was issued a straight red for strafing Coquelin's shin. We can debate whether he deserved the red. Real time I didn't think so, on the replay I could see why Marriner elected to go red, though I think he could have chosen to issue a yellow and not have been viewed as lax. So in four matches he has two yellows and a red. He's going to get a reputation, if he doesn't already have one. McClaren has to sit him down and say reckless and undisciplined is no way to go through life, son.
Down a man, we were reduced to rooting for a 0-0 draw. To their credit, the Magpies nearly pulled it off. Arsenal's only goal came on a rebound that fell serendipitously at Oxlade-Chamberlain's feet and his shot clipped unserendipitously off Coloccini's leg for an own goal. Yes, it was a spirited performance. Sometimes too spirited. Besides the red, Newcastle picked up six yellows, though I thought two were not merited. Krul, Thauvin, Wijnaldum, Mbemba all had fine outings and 0-1 to Arsenal is the best result they've had against the Gunners in years. They have two points through four matches but it is exactly where a realist would have put them based on the schedule. The matches coming up against West Ham and Watford will provide a more complete picture of how good or bad they really are. I just hope they can keep 10 men on the field.
Upsets
Not the best of weekends for the Axis of Evil clubs (Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool). Man City did fine against Watford (2-0) and Arsenal got their win at Newcastle but the others all went down. If you've been watching Swansea so far this year, you'd agree that their 2-1 win at home over Man Utd wasn't all that surprising. Here they fell behind at the start of the second half but got two of their own in the space of five minutes. New acquisition Andre Ayew had a goal and an assist and Bafetimbi Gomis had the game winner, prompting his patented panther (I thought it was a lion) celebration.
At Stamford Bridge, Crystal Palace were giving Chelsea all they could handle. Down 0-1, Falcao tied the match in the 79th minute (on a really sweet header) but two minutes later Joel Ward put the Eagles up for good with a decent header of his own. And at Anfield, West Ham were disposing of Liverpool 3-0; Liverpool went down a man at 52 minutes but they were already losing 0-2 by that point. What to make of the Hammers? They have wins away against Arsenal and Liverpool paired with home losses to Leicester and Bournemouth.
Was hoping for a little more out of the Everton-Tottenham contest. Spurs are clearly missing Christian Eriksen; though they did manage eight shots on goal, they could do no better than 0-0 at White Hart Lane. The Toffees were likely the happier side with that result.
Only a Point?
Not really our place to complain but Newcastle fans were hoping for a little better from Aston Villa against Sunderland. Didn't see the match but Dennis has plenty to say.
This could definitely be one of the matches that players/media point to if Villa come up 1 or 2 points short of safety at the end. After going down early, Villa earned their first penalty of the season (about 30 matches faster than last season, I might add) and Scott Sinclair was on target to level the score. He put the Villans up 2-1 right before halftime, slamming the ball home from 3 yards on a beautiful cross at the end of a classic counter. Villa will need many goals coming from this type of play if they expect to go anywhere this season. Traore will probably be on the end of many of them, but he is currently out with an ankle injury - an injury which Sherwood clearly foresaw with his remarks about Traore not being fit yet.
The Black Cats equalized just after halftime and then spent 40 minutes clinging to their point. It's not often that Villa are the aggressors when the score is tied late, but they clearly saw the opportunity for 3 points and went for it. They even generated several decent chances while never really being threatened, but couldn't pull out the victory. Still an encouraging performance - just need to trim off a few sloppy passes here and a few over zealous dribbles there and we can win games like this regularly.
Villa continued to be active in the transfer market, sending out role players Nathan Baker and Joe Bennett on loan (fine with me), while bringing in several different role players, most notably Joleon Lescott from West Brom. Not major moves, but these players could matter if the injury bug strikes or if we decide to take the FA Cup seriously again.
No Shot
Describes both the Union's second half against the Revolution and their playoff potential. After a reasonably competitive first half, the Union fell behind early in the second half, generated precious little offense thereafter and fell 0-1. This being the first time we had Maidana, Noguiera, Barnetta and Le Toux on the field together, expectations were for something more than say, a shut out. To make matters worse, Maidana got red carded for spitting (he later claimed his gum came out of his mouth - maybe, but it looked like it came out in the direction of Nyugen); he will sit for two matches (originally was going to be three but was reduced on appeal).
Most dominant team of the weekend was easily the Jersey Cows, or NY Red Bulls as the MLS insists on calling them. They had absolutely no problem handling DC United. Bradley Wright-Phillips had two goals, including this thunder volley into the top corner, this week's YouTubeableMoment. The Red Bulls don't officially take over first with the win but they now lead MLS in points per game. Now all they have to do is not fritter away those games in hand.
Per Ze Roberto's comment last week, I did check out the Sounders-Timbers match in Seattle. Aside from the mandatory deduction for the artificial surface, it was pretty good. Almost 65,000 fans, close contest. Tough call on the PK that gave Seattle their second goal; reminded me of Julie Johnston's transgression versus Germany - either it's a red card or it's not a foul. Portland got one back but couldn't level so Seattle got the win.
International Break
No EPL as qualifying for the 2016 European Championships continues. The Netherlands have already lost to Iceland and are in jeopardy of not making the final. Their match on Sunday vs Turkey is basically a must-win. Belgium handled Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 today and play Cyprus, also on Sunday.
The US took care of Peru in a friendly 2-1, with Altidore scoring a brace, and will play Brazil on Tuesday night in Foxborough (8 pm ESPN2).
The MLS does not stop for these international breaks - although it is a light schedule this weekend. The Union will play San Jose Saturday night; the Earthquakes have a legitimate shot at a playoff spot in the Western Conference and will likely be a tough opponent, especially at home where they have six wins and three draws in 11 matches.
Guess I'll be sleeping late this weekend.
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