Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
The second legs of the conference semifinals are now finished, and MLS’ 2018 season is down to just four teams. They are four of the best teams in the league, and some of the most deserving to get this far. Here’s how the second legs went down, and what is on the cards for the conference finals in two weeks:
SEA 3 (2) POR 2 (4): In MLS’ infinite wisdom, this game started at 10:55 on the East Coast, meaning the intense drama of the finish, extra time and penalties happened near or after 1 AM. This is a shame, because the second leg of the Sounders-Timbers tie was one of the wildest in league playoff history. Drama, mistakes and tension dominated this second leg, with great performances by a weakened Sounders team and a Timbers team that was incredibly resolute. Raul Ruidiaz is a star, and one of the league’s best new additions, but he couldn’t do it all himself. In the end, Gio Savarese’s strategy of absorbing and countering held out just enough to get the Timbers to penalties, which they won. They had more options to change the game off the bench and used them very well, and when they need to go forward, they have the attackers to succeed.
Any derby loss is damaging for the loser, and this is damaging in that sense for the Sounders. But from where they were to where they ended up is incredible even by their standards where that is now routine. The roster needs freshening up in spots, but they will always be a contender because of their gamebreakers. Portland’s style is totally different to the other three teams left, which means playing them and breaking them down will be a challenge.
SKC 4 RSL 2: In the first half, it looked like SKC’s attack had put RSL away. Mike Petke didn’t have one of his better attacking options in Corey Baird, and once again left Justen Glad on the bench. That wasn’t working out well in the first half, but when Sebastian Saucedo came on in the second, SKC looked ragged and exposed, and by the benefit of shaky penalty decision, they had just enough to hold on. That won’t work against a Portland team who is so defensively stout and lethal on the counter with their attacking threats, and Peter Vermes needs to find a solution to that midfield openness.
RSL had no business being in the playoffs but took their chance when they got there and gave Sporting a real run. They have an interesting mix of veterans and youth, but their midfield is not where it needs to be yet. If they can improve there, this team can challenge again in 2019.
ATL 3 NYCFC 1: Based on the way the first leg went, this result should be no surprise. Atlanta came to play as most thought they could, and NYCFC couldn’t cope. The Five Stripes forced NYCFC into a myriad of mistakes, and if they finished better, the final scoreline of this game would look much, much worse for NYCFC. Almiron and Martinez were back to their best, and defensively, they were as solid as they were a week ago. This new style suits them well, and NYCFC had no chance against it. But now comes the bigger test for the Five Stripes: the Red Bulls. The history between these two clubs is already quite long and they’ve only played four games against each other, and now they meet as the two best teams in MLS’ regular season history to play for the Cup.
NYCFC under Dome Torrent were never what they were under Patrick Vieira, and the worrying part of that isn’t the drop off, but how steep the drop off was. NYCFC were slow, lethargic and at many times lacking ideas. Players that progressed under Vieira stagnated, which was to be a major concern considering what kind of turnover this roster could undergo.
NYRB 3 CLB 0: The Red Bulls were not at their best in leg one against the Crew, but it didn’t matter much at all when the series shifted to Harrison. While the first half was a little too close to the first leg for the Red Bulls liking, the second looked more like what the Red Bulls can be: aggressive, harrying and so fluid going forward. The passing that lead to their second goal is in some ways Manchester City like, and the attacking play was so vibrant even without BWP making hardly any imprint in terms of chances. If they press and pass like that, no one will beat them.
The Crew have been saved in terms of staying in Columbus (hopefully), but this edition of the Crew is going to look very different next season. Gregg Berhalter is (probably) the next coach of the USMNT, Zack Steffen and Wil Trapp could be off to Europe, and Federico Higuain is one year older. What will this new version of the Crew look like? It’s anyone’s guess.
The two conference finals have a chance to provide some great soccer and drama, and there’s no doubt that these teams deserve to be here. There isn’t much separating the two teams in each final either, which means there will be drama just like in the conference semifinals. That means we could be in store for some amazing soccer in two weeks.
