PREFACE: Once again, I would like to thank Rusty Silber for handling the match report this past Saturday. I’m glad to have people like Rusty and our photographers Amanda and Leslie to rely upon when I can’t do things due to personal matters.
RED STARS: We might as well continue to lead with them because they were top for at least 18 hours after their fifth straight win—a 1-0 win at Washington. Portland regained the top spot with their 2-1 win over North Carolina on Sunday. The Red Stars are a point back in second, and North Carolina are a point behind the Red Stars in third.
Now the challenge for the Red Stars is to avoid a midweek let down at Sky Blue FC on Wednesday night (6pm, Yahoo! Sports, NBCS-CHI +). Sky Blue shocked a depleted Red Stars side at SeatGeek Stadium back on July 6th with a 2-1 decision. Sky Blue remain bottom of the NWSL and have lost just two of their six matches against the current top four.
FIRE: The Fire won back-to-back matches for the first time since May. Bastian Schweinsteiger headed in the winner in the Fire’s 3-2 win over Montreal Impact who continue their slide with their sixth loss in seven league matches. The Fire will be hard-pressed to continue their good fortune as they go to Portland where they have never won and against a Timbers side whom they’ve never beaten.
The Fire are just three points below the red line in the East, but three teams to pass. Victory in Portland will go a long way towards the red line.
VAR: The fans wanted VAR in soccer, and we got it—warts in all. Let the Premier League find a way to make everyone hate it after goals were disallowed against Manchester City (though it mattered little in the end) and against Wolves (where it denied them victory at Leicester).
One of the biggest frustrations of soccer is that we all know what the rules are, but the games are subject to how the referees call the game and interpret things. We all know what the rules are, especially when it comes to VAR, but once again it’s ultimately subject to how the referees interpret things. Even the keenest of sight would not have disallowed Gabriel Jesus’s goal because of the fraction that Raheem Sterling was offside. It might have been correct, but it was harsh.
Golden goal was ultimately scrapped because the powers that be ultimately determined it was too cruel. VAR may ultimately follow in that direction if we are going to have incidents like these ultimately determine championships in soccer. Of course, that is all subject to how it’s interpreted.
