Back on the Ledge

Despite Newcastle's recent run of good results, it took less than hour of awful football on Saturday against Fulham for me to open the window and climb back out on the ledge again.  The final was 1-3 but the score flatters the Magpies.  The match was not televised but the accounts from the Chronicle Live indicated that absolutely nothing was working, Some hint that the squad was mentally tired after three tough road games.  The 51,000+ at St. James' Park were mostly supportive. The pundits are counseling patience, that this was not a disaster.  From across the sea it felt that way but they do have a point.  Even after the fiasco Newcastle are level with Brighton (but have a better goal differential) and lead Huddersfield by six.  Treat it as a wake up call and be ready for Birmingham.


Midnight for Cinderellas

Reality hit hard for the non-Premier League sides in the FA Cup Quarterfinals, as Lincoln City was easily handled by Arsenal 0-5 and Millwall went down to Tottenham 0-6.  Still a great run for both teams that will have added some funds to the clubs' coffers.  Man City put a 2-0 loss on Middlesbrough, which did little to bolster manager Aitor Karanka's standing (more on that below).

Antonio Conte advances on Jose Mourinho to complain about a foul
 CREDIT: MATTHEW IMPEY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

The only interesting match of the quarterfinals - and probably for the wrong reasons - was Chelsea's narrow 1-0 win over Manchester United.  My summary for the first the first 30+ minutes was that Chelsea were pretty much dominating and Man United's marching orders were clearly to foul the crap out of Eden Hazard.  Finally, at about 35 minutes, in response to another foul on Hazard, referee Michael Oliver calls MUN captain Chris Smalling over and points to Hazard and basically says the next guy who fouls him is going to get a yellow for persistent infringement.  [Note that this is specifically addressed in the Laws of the Game; persistent infringement can be for multiple fouls by one person or a pattern of fouling an individual on the other team.]  I thought Oliver showed some leniency in waiting as long as he did to issue the warning.  Not sure a second had run off the clock after the restart when Ander Herrera fouls, wait for it, Eden Hazard.  Yeah, it was a soft foul but this was just stupid on Herrera's part.  Herrara already had a yellow so he was sent off.  The Special One just smirked but Oliver got it right.  Things got even more tense minutes later when Alonso was fouled, prompting Conte to advance on Mourinho.

Wait, what about the game?   I had expected Chelsea to run over Man United after going a man up and to some extent they did.  Except the Blues could only manage one goal and the match remained tense until the final whistle.  Indeed, Man United had some decent chances of their own.  But the one goal was enough.  So the semis at Wembley will be Tottenham-Chelsea and Arsenal-Man City.  The magic part of the FA Cup is over and giants will fight for the trophy.


Meanwhile...

The abbreviated EPL schedule didn't offer a whole lot to take in.  Hull got a big win over Swansea to move into 18th place but more importantly, kept the Swans from putting more distance between themselves and the relegation zone.  Liverpool got an important win over Burnley to solidify their position in the top four.  Everton have quietly done a nice job recently and their 3-0 win over West Brom has put them in the gap between upper mid-table and lower top table.  Probably too late for a top four challenge but they are possibly in the Europa League mix.

A word of warning.  Not all clubs have played the same number of matches at this point so you need to take that into account when viewing the table.  Exhibit A is Arsenal, who are five points out of 4th but have two games in hand compared to Liverpool and one compared to Man City and Tottenham.  Same thing at the bottom of the table.


Another One Bites the Dust

Middlesbrough fired manager Aitor Karanka on Thursday.  We noted last week that Boro had slipped into the relegation zone and some of Karanka's woes are chronicled here.  The Board might have been swayed by the quick turnaround by Swansea and Leicester after changing managers.  Of course, if everybody in the relegation zone employs this strategy (as five of the six bottom clubs have already done), some will necessarily fail as three clubs will still go down.  And the only club that hasn't sacked its manager - Sunderland - are at the bottom of the table yet it appears likely that David Moyes will make it through the whole season.  Moyes would be the first Sunderland manager to do that since 2011.


The Away Goal's the Thing

Celebrating his appointment as permanent manager (at least until the end of the season) Craig Shakespeare and his Leicester side clearly benefited from the use of away goals as the tiebreaker for Champions League matchups.  Down 1-2 after the trip to Sevilla, the Foxes away goal set them up nicely for the home match; a 1-0 win would be enough to send them through.  Captain Morgan (not the pirate) provided that goal in the 27th minute.  A second goal by Albrighton provided a little cushion but even at 2-0, a goal by Sevilla would have sent the match into extra time.  But Leicester held on and are going to the quarterfinals.  Sorry about that Bob K.

Despite a two goal lead (5-3) over Monaco, Manchester City, with their defensive woes, were at risk by dint of the three away goals surrendered.  Monaco like to attack and got the required two goals to advance in less than 30 minutes.  A 71st minute tally by Sane briefly put the Citizens back on top but six minutes later Bakayoko put Monaco level on aggregate.  The 3-1 final meant a 6-6 aggregate score so Monaco advance on the basis of more away goals.  Actually a great series to watch for the neutral.

Arsenal had already departed last week with a 2-10 loss to Bayern Munchen; away goals were not a factor there, as the Gunners were well-beaten at home and on the road.  So the EPL is left with Leicester as the lone representative in the quarterfinals.  We note that Atletico also advance with a 4-2 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen.  The last sentence was added in hopes that Michael B will comment on something other than us not writing about La Liga sides.


Who Are These Guys?

Herbers leaves Vazquez in the dust:Philly Soccer Page

Walking to Talen Energy Stadium from the car, Jeff H and I were debating whether we had sufficient clothing to deal with the 30 degree temperature and agreeing that a draw against Toronto FC would be a good result for the Union.  And then we saw our guys play.  What a difference from last week. Every aspect of the game was better.  The midfield play was particularly improved.  The Union were on the front foot the entire first half.  Bedoya was an integral part of the attack, Derrick Jones continued to show good judgment on holding and distributing the ball, and newcomer Med made some killer passes.  On the defensive side Onyewu had another solid game, intercepting passes by being in the right place, adding a level of physicality we've not typically seen from the Union and providing a calming influence on the squad.

The work paid off with Simpson's first Union goal at 11 minutes, unfortunately at the cost of a rib injury.  The lead should have been 2-0 after Herbers (who also had a good game) was pulled down in the box but Bedoya's PK attempt slammed against the cross bar.  And all the Union's hard work in the half went for naught when Mark Geiger called a soft penalty against Jones for allegedly fouling Altidore.  At the stadium we had no clue if it was a good call and the videos aren't great but they don't seem to show any actual contact by Jones.

Second half the Union weren't quite as dominate but still in the match.  They fell asleep on a Toronto free kick and found themselves down 1-2 at 71 minutes.  Note to others in my section; Morrow was not close to being offsides (check the replay or read the rules or both) so stop bitching at the AR.  Good on the Union to not give up and C.J. Sapong (who replaced the injured Simpson) made a nice move in the box to level things just two minutes later.  So another draw, but this time with lots of positives.  Walking back to the car, Jeff and I reminded ourselves that we said we'd be happy with a draw.  The only problem was that we felt like a win was within our grasp.


Chester win Premier League

Into mid-April in virtual time.  Chester were unceremoniously bounced out of the Champions League by Read Madrid but put in a great effort against Liverpool to make it to the FA Cup final.  More importantly, we clinched a second straight EPL title with four matches to play.  Defensively the Blues have been solid but the offense has been inconsistent.  Scouts are already working on our plans for the summer transfer window.


Full Slate in Advance of International Break

A somewhat indifferent set of EPL fixtures this weekend.  Two I'll be watching are Man City-Liverpool Sunday at 12:30 on NBCSN and Tottenham (who will be missing Harry Kane for at least four weeks) hosting Southampton at 10:15 Sunday also on NBCSN.  Will be interesting to see if Janssen ups his game this time or if others like Son and Dele pick up the scoring slack in Kane's absence.   Arsenal will need to be careful at West Brom (8:30 Saturday NBCSN) but Chelsea will probably be okay at Stoke (11 am Saturday NBCSN).

Could be a tough weekend at the bottom of the table though maybe there are some points to be had.  Middlesbrough will test their new manager against Man United while Hull travel to Goodison Park to face Everton - don't see results for either of those.  Better prospects might be Crystal Palace hosting Watford or Sunderland-Burnley.  Leicester are hot so maybe they can get something on the road at West Ham.  Swansea might be able to nick a point at Bournemouth.  But in general, doesn't feel like there will be big changes in the relegation race.

Moving to the Championship Division, Newcastle travel to Birmingham; the Magpies made easy work of this team in the home fixture witnessed live by Five Men From US on our soccer junket in December.  So of course, we thinking the worst here.  Huddersfield travel to Bristol City with every expectation of three points (live on BeIN Sports Friday at 3:45 if you can tear yourself away from the March Madness).  Brighton has a tricky fixture at Leeds but will probably take all three points.

The Union travel to Orlando for a match Saturday at 7:30 - check your local listings for that one.

Next week we'll be talking about perhaps the most important international break the USMNT has faced in awhile.  With matches against Honduras home next Friday and Panama away on Tuesday, their position in World Cup qualifying is at stake.