RHINO DROPPINGS
May 16, 2006
Last time out: Nobody was surprised by Toronto’s third straight 2-0 defeat, this time at the hands (feet?) of the Rhinos on Saturday afternoon at Centennial Park. The thought of a Lynx player committing a red card-worthy foul within two feet of the Rochester bench, however, was a little shocking. This Matthew Palleschi clown was trouble from the get-go, playing very physically with Kenny Bertz any time the two players got within arms reach of each other. In true north-of-the-border fashion, Bertz saw yellow, when Palleschi was causing most of the trouble.
But even a Canadian ref couldn’t turn a blind eye to Palleschi’s mind-boggling 45th minute foul on Juninho, which earned him an immediate ejection. Rochester backup goalkeeper Patrick Hannigan was also tossed for coming on the pitch during the brief melee, but all he did was stand up and take a step forward – that’s how close this foul was to the bench. It would have been in the laps of the subs if they just sat there.
One can understand Palleschi’s frustration: He’s a new signing, and Toronto is nowhere close to being a decent side. The Rhinos controlled just about every aspect of this match, and seemed more concerned about eating clock than running up the score, no doubt due to their upcoming three-game west coast swing. The only dodgy bit was a 31st minute breakdown by Scott Palguta, which left Lynx players with only the ball and Scott Vallow between them and the net. Luckily, they failed to convert.
The Rhinos’ first goal was a thing of beauty, with Frankie Sanfilippo once again making magic happen with a speedy run up the right side that caught his foes completely off guard. When he takes off like that, you just know something good is going to happen.
This was Rochester’s seventh shutout of Toronto in their last ten meetings. It was the second time in the last three meetings between these clubs in which a Lynx player was ejected, and shockingly, also the fourth ejection over the last nine games for both teams combined. And you thought there was bad blood between Rochester and Montreal…
A couple of notes about Centennial Stadium, which was slightly more crowded than usual: The Lynx have a new dance squad, who look much…uhhhhh…easier than our Rhinestones. Maybe it was the black hooker boots that pushed it over the top. And RD totally understands a PA announcer who can’t get the names of the opposing players correctly (because “Sanfilippo” is a real toughie), but what’s with one who can’t get his own right? It’s not like Robbie Aristodemo is new to Toronto soccer. We did, however, enjoy the too-brief bursts of rhythm from the Samba Squad – especially when their leader was scolded for using a whistle.
Next up: This year, RD is proud to partner with soccersam.com to bring you Special New Match Previews, which are going to be the same as the Regular Old Match Previews, only in a different location.
Click here for the match preview (a new window will open)
Around the (A-)League: Player of the Week Romário scored twice, including the 89th minute game-winner in a 3-2 Miami win over visiting Portland. Timber captain and last year’s Defender of the Year runner-up Scot Thompson was taken to the hospital and stitched up after receiving a Level 2 concussion (which means winds of up to 120 miles per hour). Miami won again with late-match theatrics on Sunday, this time waiting until extra-time to beat Atlanta, 1-0.
The shocker of the week was Montreal eating it 3-1 in Charleston. Now before anyone starts getting too excited, keep in mind the Impact are still without He Who Shall Not Be Named and Masahiro Fukazawa, and Zé Roberto was suspended. They were also without usual starter Adam Braz and go-to defensive sub Jason DiTullio, who were both nursing thigh injuries. Still, if you count the 2005 playoffs, the Impact have allowed seven goals in their last five games. That’s pretty big news for a club that hadn’t allowed three goals in a match since July 16, 2003. Heck, they only allowed three goals over a two-game span twice in 2005. Maybe the Battery have Montreal’s number: Charleston was one of the few teams to get two in a game against the Impact last year (in a 4-2 loss at the Claude). Rochester did it, too, during the infamous flood match of Aught-Five.
The Montreal-Charleston match featured 43 combined fouls, with Impact defender Antonio Ribeiro picking up his third yellow in as many matches. Ian Fuller was missing in action for the Battery after serving the one-match suspension for a red card received in Charleston’s first game of the season. Goalkeeper Dusty Hudock also missed his second straight – he’s recovering from minor knee surgery, and replacement Keith Wiggans made the Team of the Week. Montreal’s Sunday match in Virginia Beach was postponed because weather conditions, and will be rescheduled within the next day.
Puerto Rico was all over Portland, winning 3-1 at home on Sunday. Caleb Norkus, who was suspended when the Islanders played Rochester, had two goals and made the Team of the Week, while Petter Villegas did not play for the third straight match. Scot Thompson was still out for Portland.
Vancouver put a 3-0 whupin’ on visiting Minnesota, where Martin Nash had an assist and former Newcastle United goalkeeper Tony Caig made his first start of the season, en route to his first shutout.
Former Rhino Chris Carrieri made the USL-D2 Team of the Week for the second straight time, notching a goal and three assists in a pair of big Richmond wins. Their 5-2 home victory over Harrisburg City featured a goal from Jamel Mitchell.
MLS update: Former Rochester draft pick Sharlie Joseph’s third goal of the season was the game-winner for New England in their 3-1 win over Chivas USA. He also earned his third yellow card of this young season. In fact, three of the Rev’s starting midfield (Joseph, Andy Dorman and Daniel Hernandez) have combined for eight cautions in six games.
John Wolyniec, who didn’t see much action for Columbus this season, was traded to Los Angeles (with Kyle Martino) for Joseph Ngwenya and Ned Grabavoy. Wolyniec started in the Galaxy’s 3-0 home loss to Real Salt Lake. Ouch – it was RSL’s first win of the season, and Grabavoy ended up with the game-winner in the Crew’s 1-0 edging of Colorado.
Crybaby Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez converted a penalty kick in Chicago’s 1-1 draw on the road against New York. The loser also picked up his third yellow card of the year.
“In-ter-jec-tions; show excitement, or emotion”: Seattle’s local cable provider (Comcast) will have all of the Sounders 2006 home matches available via the OnDemand feature. Nice! Who does a fan have to blow to get the same kind of treatment from Time Warner? And, for the record, nobody here at the RD is offering our mouths to get the ball rolling, though we would like to suggest a certain diminutive midfielder for the Lynx.
Montreal coach (and personification of evil) Nick De Santis, on the prospect of having to play back-to-back games this past weekend: “That’s the way the USL is – we have to go through it, as do the other teams.” Wow! That’s totally different than, say, whinging about the situation and using it as an excuse for why your poorly managed players can’t get the job done.
Major League Soccer announces the name/colors/logo of the new expansion club in Toronto for the 2007 season. Yawn! At least that was the reaction the RD staff got after spending the weekend holed up at the Duke of Gloucester, a British pub that was packed to the rafters for Sunday morning’s FA Cup final, despite a $20 cover charge. If these guys – presumably your target audience – aren’t interested, who exactly is going to fill the seats, eh?
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