Off the Mark

Newcastle finally get a W.

Story line at St. James' really should be the number of chances that Watford failed to convert, especially in first half.  Could have been 0-2 or 0-3.  Better in second half.  Benitez subs look like genius but were in fact driven mostly by injuries.  But Ki (in for Shelvey who was clearly having a bad day anyway even before the injury) put in a good free kick that Perez (who started the day on the bench, for good reason based on recent form) redirected for the game's only goal.  Because of the significance, we'll make it this week's YouTubeableMoment (chosen to show fan reaction as opposed to the goal itself).

As I expected, the 538 metrics suggested that Watford should have come away with the three points here.  We're not complaining, but Newcastle were lucky.  We vault out of the relegation zone to 17th but this squad still must be strengthened.

As we had hoped, the weekend started out with a very competitive match between Bournemouth and Man United.  Eddie Howe will likely feel the Cherries could have come away with at least a point but Rashford's stoppage time goal put them on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.  The NBC featured match was also quality.  Lacazette's late tally gave Arsenal a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.  In truth, it felt like there were more goals.  Wait, there were.  But it was called back, incorrectly, for offside.  As the picture shows, Sane was clearly behind the ball when Firmino took his shot.  That it rebounded off the woodwork to Sane does not change the call.  Looking at the picture, you can see that the AR was maybe not in the best position to see it.  Score one maybe for VAR?


Then we had the rare late Saturday afternoon match featuring Wolves and Spurs.  Oops, second goal incorrectly disallowed for offside.  AR is well-positioned but still raised the flag.  Score two for VAR?  This was another one of those frustrating efforts from Spurs.  Took forever for them to get a comfortable cushion, which they promptly threw away with two PKs in nine minutes.  They still hung on for a 3-2 win which left Wolves personnel and fans stewing about that offside call.  Yeah, but maybe letting in three goals had something to do with it too.

Sunday featured another rare event, the joined-in-progress double header.  Well, with Man City clearly not challenged by Southampton, I went to NBC Gold to see Chelsea-Crystal Palace in its entirety.  A good choice.  The Eagles were competitive and pulled level with a nice goal from Andros Townsend.  Alas, quality will out and Chelsea got two more to pull away for a 3-1 win.

I dvered but never got to the Huddersfield Fulham match.  A 1-0 game decided with an own goal, maybe that was a good thing.

So at weekend's end, there are still three unbeaten sides.  Man City top the table with 29 points and average margin of victory of 2.6 goals.  Chelsea and Liverpool are in pursuit with 27 points.  Tottenham slipped into 4th but lead Arsenal by just one point.  Despite the loss to Man United, interloper Bournemouth still occupy 6th place.


MLS Playoffs

I saw all or parts of each of the first leg of the conference semi-finals.  My lasting memory is damn, that Yankee Stadium pitch is small.  Red Bulls are probably fine despite 0-1 loss at Columbus.  NYCFC however are probably in real trouble after losing 0-1 to Atlanta at home.  In the West, pundits are saying Portland are looking pretty heading to Seattle up 2-1 with the Sounders carrying key injuries.  Really?  Seattle got an away goal and should be favored to win at home (54% at 538).  Sporting KC got a 1-1 draw at Salt Lake so they should be favored to advance with a result at home.

Because of scheduling issues, the second leg of Seattle-Portland was Thursday night at 10:30.  Worth it for those who stayed up.  First half was scoreless but feisty enough, definitely a fair representation of perhaps the best derby in the US.  At 68 minutes, Seattle scored to make the aggregate 2-2 and give them the advantage because of the away goal.  Ten minutes later Portland scored to go back on top.  In stoppage time, Seattle scored again to level the aggregate score at 3-3 and since both sides had an away goal, we went to extra time.  Often the extra time can be a cagey affair with neither side willing to risk giving up a goal.  Not here.  Portland scored three minutes in.  Seattle pressed and were rewarded with a PK at 97 minutes.  Intense to the final whistle but extra time ended at 4-4.  On to PKs and Portland outshot Seattle 4 to 2 so the Timbers advance.  Good recap here.  Hope the other three second legs are this good.


Talking Union

The process of retooling for next year is about to begin. Pretty good piece from Inky reporter Jonathan Tannenwald here.  I divided the Union roster into those likely to get better, those likely not to get better. The second list is longer than you would think and includes starters like Gaddis, Bedoya, Sapong, Dockal and Medunjanin, not to mention Ilsinho.  Tannenwald's logic about Dockal is interesting but recall how the Union struggled until he settled into his role.  Are we dooming ourselves to another slow start if we change again?  He's also much more impressed with Bedoya than I am.  The information on Accam is news to me.  If he was hampered with a hernia all season, I'd argue it's too soon to give up on him.  I remember how Jamaal Lascelles looked really mediocre in the 2016-17 season for Newcastle and only later on did we find out he was hampered with the same problem.

If Dockal is too expensive and doesn't stay, I'd say filling that playmaker role is the number one priority, even above finding a high quality striker.  Offensively, we were equal 5th lowest in goal scored so an upgrade at striker is probably necessary too.  Though the team seemed shockingly susceptible to counter attacks, the Union did have equal 9th fewest goals allowed across both conferences; given that the center back pairing for most of the season averaged 19.5 years old, that seems pretty good.   But overall, we should expect a lot of roster turnover.


Soccer Parents

From Don P, we get this rather unique approach to coaching.   Maybe someday we'll find out that this kid becomes the England national team keeper.


Early to Rise

Newcastle get a second straight home match with a tough opponent in Bournemouth.  I'm surprised that 538 has the Magpies at 41% for the win and 28% for a draw.  The Cherries are a good squad, as we saw in their performance last week against Man United.  I'd take the draw in a heartbeat.

With America's flip back to EST, the 7:30 and 7 am matches are back.  Going to struggle to get up in time to see Cardiff at Brighton at 7:30 on Saturday.  I'll be doing the Newcastle-Bournemouth match on NBC Gold at 10.  Leicester-Burnley is the 10 am TV game or you can go to NBCGold for Huddersfield - West Ham or Southampton - Watford.  Yikes, maybe Newcastle-Bournemouth is your best bet.  A London derby - Crystal Palace vs Tottenham - is the NBC feature match at 12:30.

Not sure I'll make the 7 am start for Liverpool - Fulham; the Reds may be in an angry mood after the draw to Arsenal and a midweek Champions League loss so this might be tough for the Cottagers.  More likely to be ready to watch Chelsea host Everton at 9:15.  Definitely will tune in for the Manchester derby at 11:30; this time it's at the Etihad.  If derbies bore you, go for Arsenal Wolves which kicks off at the same time.

After finishing that triple header, you can go for the MLS tripleheader at 3 (Sporting KC - Real Salt Lake), 5:30 (Atlanta - NYCFC) and 7:30 (Red Bulls - Columbus).  If I could only pick one, I'd probably choose the last one.  Sporting KC and Atlanta are already well-positioned going home whereas the Red Bulls clearly have some work to do.

I know those leaves aren't going to rake themselves but they're also not going anywhere either.