Return of the Minnow?

Hopefully you looked in on the FA Cup quarterfinals two weekends ago.  No, not the Newcastle 2-0 loss to Man City - that was boring.  But the other three were exciting, producing five stoppage time goals between them.

The best of the lot was Championship Division Coventry's roller coaster 3-2 win over Wolves.  They are probably too high up in English football (currently 8th in the second tier) to call them a true minnow but this was definitely an upset. The Sky Blues carried a 1-0 lead late into the match only to see it evaporate with goals by Wolves at 83 and 88 minutes.  Not to worry.  We'll just score at 90+7 to level and then again at 90+10 to win.  US International Haji Wright (more on him below) got the game winner, seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Nothing flukey about that one, calmly curved around the defense.  A classic FA Cup moment.

I didn't see Chelsea push Leicester around for 90 minutes while still finding themselves locked at 2-2 heading into stoppage time.  Again, no worries.  The Blues simply poured in two goals in stoppage time to take this quarterfinal.  Leicester had been a man down from 73 minutes on, managed just five shots (only one on target) so it seems the win for Chelsea was fully deserved.

Man United vs Liverpool was a see-saw affair.  United had an early lead that turned into a 1-2 deficit by half time.  Antony leveled things late with an 87th minute goal.  My Forest Green Football Manager star Harvey Elliott put Liverpool back in front in the first period of extra time.  Again, not to worry.  Rashford got the equalizer at 112 and Amad Diallo got the game winner at 120+2, seen here.  Note that Diallo took his shirt off and got the requisite yellow card.  Problem was that it was his second so United had to play the final seconds down a man.  Dennis and I were so hoping that Liverpool would grab an equalizer with that advantage but there wasn't enough time.  

Just awesome stuff.  If the FA Cup keeps this up, we'll probably be more respectful in the future.

Limited EPL Action

The league stuff wasn't quite as captivating in comparison but I do remember a few things.  Burnley took advantage of a Brentford red card to get a 2-1 win to keep survival hopes alive.  The Luton Town - Nottingham Forest was a classic relegation contest and Luton Town did what they often do - scored a late goal to snatch a much-needed point.  This week's WTF moment was clearly Fulham's 3-0 smashing of Tottenham.  Michael B announced he no longer follows the EPL for the fifth time this season.  Aston Villa clearly missed John McGinn in a 1-1 draw at West Ham.  Dennis and I agreed that the point was a pretty good result given the circumstances.

I've Never Seen MLS Like This

The Mighty Quinn; Sullivan doubles the Union lead
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Apple's promo tag for MLS Season Pass works on multiple levels.  With the game behind two paywalls (Apple subscription plus Season Pass subscription), I took in Saturday's late match with Portland on WPEN.  Still too new with soccer on the radio - I can't translate play-by-play into a visual like I can for baseball or football.  The Union were seriously undermanned, missing six starters, mostly for international duty (more on that below) and naming just five subs - Donovan, Real, Ngabo, Makhanya and Rick.  Again, no worries.  A brace from Carranza and one from Sullivan were enough to see off the Timbers 3-1.

The MLS continued to burnish its reputation as a second tier league by playing through the international break, leaving many teams shorthanded.  This was especially egregious given that the USMNT was involved in Concacaf Nation League semis and finals.  So the domestic league from which the national team in theory draws its talent didn't see the need to observe the international break.  

At least they resolved the referee lockout.

How Many Countries In This Country Made the European Championships?

Alas, just two - England and Scotland.  Wales easily bested Finland 4-1 in a semi but failed to advance against Poland, falling in the PK shootout after playing to 0-0 draw through 120 minutes.  A close (as expected) low scoring (as expected) match that turned out to be perfect for intermittant napping.   Ukraine and Georgia (good week for former SSRs) were the other two additions to the championship field.  

The Wright Stuff

Doing it Wright; Haji scores in extra time
(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The USMNT was about to bow out of the Concacaf Nations League, trailing Jamaica 0-1 in stoppage time.  They were given a lifeline by an own goal from ex-Union striker Cory Burke.  Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Haji Wright proceeded to score two in extra time to give the US a 3-1 win and a berth in the final.

In the final, the US got a convincing 2-0 win over Mexico.  Dos a cero anyone?  The first goal was a Tyler Adams'  shot from the parking lot, seen here.  That's a solid .001 xG right there.  The second was from Gio Reyna, who seems to have made up with the team.  Hard to recall Mexico threatening all that much.  No, the biggest issue was their fans (see below).

Really?

So play was suspended twice in the late stages of the US - Mexico Concacaf Nations League final for homophobic chanting by Mexican fans.  Again.  Concacaf and maybe FIFA need to get tough here.  They didn't even follow the established protocol here.  Referee Drew Fisher correctly stopped play after the first incident.  But for the second incident, they are supposed to pull the players from the field; Fisher only called them back to the center circle.  It's not going to stop unless the powers-that-be get serious about this.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

BFS La Liga Correspondent Michael B is in England with wife Susan to take in a couple matches and hike in the Cotswalds.  

Michael: We're going to see Spurs - Luton Town on Saturday

Steve: Wait, I thought Susan was Luton free

Gotta Be Something in the Water

These guys spent three days in Newcastle and two
had to have hip replacments

Newcastle managed to collect two more injuries.  Sven Botman went down with a ACL injury in the
closing minutes of the Man City match.  He sat out three months earlier this year, opting for a non-surgical rehab of an ACL injury.  The consensus is that his form has been off since his return.  The stats at WhoScored.com back that up; his average game rating in those 12 matches has been 6.34 (including a 5.88, 5.87 and a 4.56) while his average last year was 6.75.  Surgery is the only option this time and he'll be out six to nine months.  Don't want to second guess too much but that plan did not work.

Then we hear that Lewis Miley hurt his back on international duty and will miss several weeks.  How does a 17-year-old get a back injury?

I will note for the record that five of us (see picture above right) spent three days in Newcastle in 2016 and two of us eventually required hip replacements.  Didn't think much of it at the time but the connection is so obvious now.

Seeing the Forest?

Finally up-to-date in Football Manager but it has not been pretty.  Forest Green have five wins, two draws and five losses since 1/1/24.  We are still fifth but trending towards eighth.  In my defense, it's probably mostly my fault.  I go weeks without playing and don't keep notes anymore on what formations, tactics and player roles make a difference.  The game is too detailed to get away with that.  If I was on the board, I'd consider sacking me.  

The Run-in Starts Now (apologies to Steve Earle)

Glad to see that the rest of the world has accepted the unilateral declaration by Michael and me that the run-in officially begins after the spring international break.  And it gets off and running with two match weeks spread over Saturday/Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday.  England hasn't moved to DST (Sunday) yet so note the Saturday times are an hour later than we're used to.

Marquee match of the week is clearly Man City vs Arsenal Sunday at 11:30 on NBC.  The Gunners sit in first but City are just a point back.  Despite their proximity in the table, Opta doesn't give Arsenal much of a chance here at 21% for the win and 26% for the draw.  

We'll be up to take in Newcastle vs West Ham at St. James' Park at 8:30 on Saturday.  I guess the home venue gives the Magpies a slight edge here but not taking anything for granted on this one.  There's a full slate of five fixtures at 11; we'll go with Spurs-Luton Town on Peacock to see if we catch a glimpse of Michael in the stands when the cameras do their panning for celebrities.  Nottingham Forest - Crystal Palace is also a good choice given its relegation relevance.

The 1:30 feature match on NBC should be fun with Aston Villa hosting Wolves.  Villans are favored at home but expecting a fun contest.  Add in a special 4 pm contest between Brentford and Man United and you have a full Saturday.

Your warmup for the Man City Arsenal fixture is Liverpool - Brighton.  The Reds could be back top of the table with the right set of results.

Best of the mid week fixtures look to be West Ham - Spurs on Tuesday, Man City - Aston Villa on Wednesday and Chelsea - Man United on Thursday.  Newcastle's descent into the bottom half of the table could be complete after Tuesday's fixture with Everton.

In the midst of all the EPL action on Saturday, I'll be at Subaru Park to see the Union with my own eyes as they take on Minnesota at 2 pm.  

Still paddling like crazy with projects but will attempt to keep the lights on and the posts coming.