More thoughts later from those who watched more closely, but the Atlanta Silverbacks clinched their first playoff birth since 2002 tonight with a 3-2 win in Minnesota. Congratulations to the players, coaching staff, and organization on this accomplishment!Plenty of MLS action tonight as well. DC did their work against Toronto, escaping Canada with a 1-0 win. The Crew are holding on with 10 men in Houston and Blanco has put the Fire ahead. Busy night of soccer watching here in the Bakery...
Your Saturday night thoughts in the comments, por favor...
7 comments:
When the Silverbacks have their full compliment of players available, they are a powerful team. They still have a few out with injury. If Minn would spend a few dollars to upgrade their roster, they could contend. I have watched them some this year and they are in every match.
I agree on Minnesota. I saw them early in the season and thought they could be dangerous as the season went on. They have some talent, but it's quite young, and there isn't enough of it.
I think Atlanta has solidified itself in the upper half of the league now. The next step is pushing up into the top teams. Portland, Seattle, and Montreal won't make that process easy.
I am still not sold on Portland. They have a great defense but the only team they have beaten in their last eight matches is Charleston(1-0) and Charleston has not scored in their last three matches. Charleston ended Vancouver's freefall of twelve winless matches last night(1-0) and they have to play Seattle tonight.Rough trip for them.
It is great to see the Backs clinching. I wasn't looking forward to the possibility of having to get points in the last two games to get in. They have been fairly hot as of late. Once the second season starts anything can happen.
Portland's defense is what scares me most about them. Games usually get tighter in the playoffs, and a strong defense can be difficult to deal with. They can look to win games with one successful counterattack.
I still can't believe Vancouver and their collapse. What is going on up there?
I'd probably rank Seattle at the top, followed by Montreal. Portland would be slightly ahead of Atlanta, while Rochester is lurking at the fifth spot.
The playoff matchups, at this point, are: Portland-Charleston, Seattle-Vancouver (that'll be a fun one), Montreal-Puerto Rico, and Atlanta-Rochester. Good for the 'Backs, as they've handled Rochester pretty well this year.
I think the problem with Van stems with their keeper of last year that had family issues and had to go back to Europe. Vancouver would not release him and let him play overseas and he could not return to Vancouver. So essentially he could not work because of the team's selfishness. I think that spilled over to the other players.
I'd hate to think that something so petty on the organization's part could be the downfall of their season, but you might be right.
Shame...
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