"Roscoe Mid-September Report"
Some of you have inquired as to whether Roscoe Twinney actually exists or whether he’s a Harvey The Rabbit or a “Randall Stephens”. Maybe he is and maybe he ain’t. If he did exist, the photo above is perhaps how he’s love to be remembered back in his “piss & vinegar days”.

It has been such tumultuous time in the world of soccer since Roscoe filed his last report (both Stateside and in Europe) that he’s scarcely had time to draw a spare breath. Since he’s getting up there in years, that’s no easy feat.

Overseas, there was terrible news to report as Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta died on August 30th, three days after collapsing on the field during his team's Spanish league game against Getafe. He was 22 years of age, and a member of Spain’s National Team. It is simply beyond words to learn of the sudden passing of one so young.

Roscoe’s European Teams:

"You Sure Know How To Pick ‘Em, Roscoe!”
On August 25th, the lads traveled to Intersonic Stadium at Bradford and were defeated 2-1 on a late goal from Luke Medley (78). Neil Roberts pushed across Wrexham’s sole tally in the 54th. Three days later, they faced Premier League’s Aston Villa at the Racecourse Ground and were utterly outgunned by a 5-nil score in the opening round of Carling Cup play. They returned to League Two play on September 1st at home with another disappointing loss, this one 2-0 to Hereford. After a dull first half, Kris Taylor (53) and Trevor Benjamin (74) put the match away for the visitors, though reports indicate that the Dragons put forth a much more spirited effort in the second half. Next up is Rotherham at home on the 15th. As of this date, Wrexham sits at the bottom (24th place ) in League Two standings with a 1-3-0, 3 pt. record, and a league tying worst –4 goal differential. They’ll need to start picking up their play rather soon.

Roscoe’s other dog in the European fight is Piacenza, who plays in Italia Serie B. The Red Dogs started off the season in Coppa Italia play, winning their first two matches. On August 14th, they down Serie B rival Spezia 2-nil, and followed that win up by taking out Ravenna, a Serie A club, 2-1. Having started off the year so promisingly led to the mistaken notion that the Dogs would get off to a rousing start once Serie B play started on the 25th. This didn’t quite turn out to be the case as Piazenza traveled to Stadio del Duca where there were humbled by Ascoli, 4-1. On the 29th, the squad concluded Coppa Italia play by losing to Serie A Reggina 2-1. They returned to the comfortable confines of Leonardo Garilli on September 1st where Modena took the match 2-1. The match scheduled at Brescia for the 8th was moved to the 18th due to the large number of players on both squads who were called up for international duty. At present, Piacenza sits in 21st place in Serie B with a record of 0-2-0 and a goal differential of –4. Only Grosseto’s horrible outing has saved Piacenza from being in last place.

MLS/Revolution:

On September 4th, Revolution played in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Cup against USL-1’s Carolina Rail Hawks at New Britain. The man of the match was Jeff Noonan, who assisted on Jeff Larentowicz’s game tying goal late in the first half and scored the game winner in the 93rd, propelling New England to a 2-1 victory. The final, against MLS rival FC Dallas, will be played on October 2nd. Bench-clearing pushing-and-shoving matches that occurred late in the first half marred the match. Avery John was carded for his role, then, moments later, Shalrie Joseph and Carolina’s Connally Edozian were red carded and both sides played out the match a man down.

The squad made a couple of personnel moves as well. They released Arsene Oka (an Ivory Coast native who made the squad after an outstanding preseason) and Ryan Solle (last year’s #2 draft choice). Both players saw their minutes dwindle during the course of the season and were regulars on the reserves. To fill one of the international slots they signed Gambian U-20 midfielder Sainey Nyassi, who had an outstanding tournament at the recent FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament in Canada.

After their victory at home against New York on the 25th, the Revs did not resume MLS play until September 9th, when they traveled to Washington for a first place showdown with DC United. Revs came into the match with a chance of regaining first place in MLS East, and for awhile they appeared equal to the task. After United scored first, Twellman tied things late in the first. Revs came out in the second trying to sustain the momentum. Jay Heaps picked up Shalrie Joseph's rebound and put it past goalkeeper Troy Perkins to give New England the lead in the 54th. But good fortune was not smiling on the visitors on this warm afternoon. Five minutes later, Moreno scored the equalizer on a pass from Luciano Emilio. Eight minutes later, United scored the game winner when Ben Olsen knocked down a New England player (no foul called!) and passed to Gomez, whose shot was blocked and Emilio scored on the rebound. The New England bench was furious with the lack of a call. Coach Nicol entered the pitch to vehemently register his objection and was then asked to leave the premises by the learned referee. In the 83rd, Emilio sealed the deal with an absolutely perfect header past Matt Reis, and the game ended as a bitter 4-2 defeat. This match was another in a long list where the squad broke down in the second half.

Team P W D L Pts Diff
1. D.C. United 24 14 4 6 46 +19
2. New England 24 12 6 6 42 +7
3. New York 24 11 3 10 36 +2
4. Kansas City 24 9 6 9 33 0
5. Chicago 23 8 5 10 29 -7
6. Columbus 24 6 10 8 28 -4
7. Toronto FC 23 5 5 13 20 -19

With only six matches remaining on the table, Revs are certain to make playoffs. Given their inconsistent play, one can only wonder how far they’ll make it this year.

International Friendlies: USA-Brazil

Thumbs up to the USA National (ranked #17) squad for hanging tough in a 4-2 loss against Brazil (ranked #1) on Sunday the 9th in Chicago. It was just a little bit too much more of Ronaldinho than reasonable humans can expect. He showcased his world-class skill before an American audience in excess of 40,000 at Soldier Field. The Americans took an early lead but the superior firepower and skill of the Brazilians won out in the end. USA has now lost its fifth consecutive match, which hasn’t happened in ages. Coach Bradley’s crew has to just keep playing hard and developing. They’ll get there (not anytime soon).

Superliga: Beckham’s Waterloo

On August 29, LA Galaxy and Pachuca met in the first Superliga Final between four MLS and Primera División Mexicana squads. Galaxy made it to the finals after a thrilling victory at home against DC United on the 15th due in large part to Beckham’s play, (goal and assist). Unfortunately, the semi-final match would prove to be Beckham’s high moment in American soccer, for this year at least. Pachuca had the best of it in the early going. In the 29th, Pachuca forced a two-on-one break in the Galaxy zone. LA defender Peter Vagenas inadvertently failed to clear the ball and it wound up in the Galaxy goal, he was credited with an own goal.

In the 33rd, Beckham was injured on a hard (clean) tackle as he tried to retrieve a pass from Donovan. He hit the pitch hard and immediately signaled the LA bench for a substitute.

Galaxy picked up their play in the second half, but couldn’t sustain an attack until the match went into extra time when Chris Klein was able to score. Ultimately, the match went to penalty kicks where Pachuca prevailed 4-3.

It was an exciting tournament, well-attended by fans and the squads gave it their all. If the organizers truly wish the tournament to have long-term success in America, they ought to consider promoting and televising the matches on English-speaking outlets as well as Spanish.

As far as MLS, the loss of Beckham after the wall-to-wall saturation of his arrival in the States is a major blow. He sprained his knee and was done for the season. Additionally, he will be unavailable for international duty for Three Lions during the continuation of Euro 2008 qualifiers this fall. MLS knew that he was damaged goods before coming over, they should’ve waited until he was 100% match fit before putting him in the first team.