Roscoe’s August Soccer Update:
With the European seasons now finally having started and MLS nearing the home stretch, there has been a wealth of football action taking place on both sides of the pond. As always, Uncle Roscoe, our reprobate correspondent has been following our favorite clubs and offers the following (breathtakingly exciting) report:

USMNT at Mexico, World Cup Group Qualifier (8/12/09):

USA went to Estadia Azteca with a record of 0-27-1 in Mexico in international play, so to come away with even a point would’ve been a remarkable accomplishment. For the better part of the match it appeared as if the Americans would finish with a draw, but the Mexican side came back with a goal late to pull ahead 2-1 at the end, The outcome of the match meant more to Mexico than USA, since El Tri are one point out of automatically qualifying for one of the three CONCACAF World Cup slots. Azteca was filled to the rafters the horns blasted so loudly that it was hard to concentrate. Charlie Davies put USA on top in the ninth on a beautiful feed from Donovan that momentarily stilled the crowd. USA’s lead didn’t last long as, ten minutes later Cuauhtemoc Blanco found Israel Castro, who blasted one past Tim Howard from about 25 yards out. As the match wore on deep into the second half, El Tri really began to press things in the USA. Miguel Sabah entered in the 79th, and broke the tie three minutes later when he took a beautiful ball from feed from Efrain Juarez directly out in front of the goal and beat Howard. It was a disappointing result for the American side, but given their history south of the border, certainly no surprise.

Revs:

Match 19 at Seattle Sounders (8/20/09):

After a much-needed week off, the Revolution headed to the Great Northwest to face the Seattle Sounders for the very first time. Seattle is MLS’ newest franchise, but they’re playing far more like a seasoned playoff contender than a first-year entry. They are ably coached by Sigi Schmid (formerly of Columbus) and have a tremendous following at Qwest Field, where the entire lower bowl has been sold out for the season. The crowd is as noisy and partisan as could be expected in a European venue, and is simply fantastic phenomenon for American soccer. Steve Nicol was serving the second of a two-match red-card suspension for dissent and his assistant, Paul Mariner handled the coaching duties (at least for the first half, when he too was booked and shown to the exit).

As the match unfolded, the Sounders used the crowd and talent differential to their advantage, as they held a wide disparity in time of possession in the early going.
The Revs scored the only goal of the match in the 21st, when Ralston fed Jankauskas, who in turn found Ralston in front of the goal. After a scrum, Shalrie Joseph entered the box, picked up the loose ball and slid it past Kasey Keller. The Sounders picked up the play at that point, ultimately leading to a questionable penalty kick call by the referee late in the first half. The alleged victim, Fredy Montero, took the kick himself and bounced it off the crossbar! No goal! It was just about that time that Mariner starting making noise from the Revs’ bench and was red-carded for his trouble. Without their head and assistant managers to run the ship, the duties fell to goalkeepers coach Gwynne Williams. The second half was noisy in the stands but relatively quiet on the pitch as the Sounders were unable to generate any offensive thrust in the Revs’ end. The Revs walked off 1-0 winners, and it was indeed a big victory, only the second time that Seattle had lost at home this year. Revs don’t get much of a break, as they flew back home to face Real Salt Lake just three days later.
Scoring Summary:
NE – Shalrie Joseph (Steve Ralston, Edgaras Jankauskas) 21
New England Revolution (4-4-2): Matt Reis (GK), Jay Heaps, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Kenny Mansally (Mauricio Castro 80), Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Sainey Nyassi (Wells Thompson 67), Steve Ralston ©, Edgaras Jankauskas (Kheli Dube 65)
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton (GK), Gabriel Badilla, Chris Tierney, Pat Phelan
STATS: Shots 7; Shots on Goal 2; Saves 0; Corner Kicks 6; Offsides 1; Fouls Committed 10

Match 20 v. Real Salt Lake (8/23/09):
The last time Revs faced RSL, they were utterly humiliated 6-0 earlier in the season, so a little bit of payback was in order. Kheli Dube had the match of his life, hitting for the hat trick (9), (29) and (66) as the Revs dominated RSL 3-1. Real got on the board in the 85th as a result of Darrius Barnes’ own goal in the 85th, but Reis had another great match in goal. Revs played 90 minutes with purpose challenging throughout and pretty shutting down every RSL foray in New England’s end of the pitch. With the victory, Revs moved to 8-6-6-30, good for a tie for third in MLS East and climbing in the playoff hunt. It was an evening in which Revs dominated throughout and RSL didn’t have much going. Dube later suffered a hamstring pull and Larentowicz broke his wrist, so moving forward losing the presence of both veterans in the lineup is going to hurt.
Scoring Summary:
NE – Kheli Dube (Mauricio Castro, Jay Heaps) 9
NE – Kheli Dube (unassisted) 29
NE – Kheli Dube (Shalrie Joseph) 66
RSL – Own Goal (Darrius Barnes) 85
New England Revolution (4-4-2): Matt Reis (GK), Jay Heaps, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Mauricio Castro (Kenny Mansally 81), Shalrie Joseph ©, Jeff Larentowicz (Steve Ralston 76), Wells Thompson, Mike Videira (Pat Phelan 62), Kheli Dube
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton (GK), Nico Colaluca, Sainey Nyassi, Chris Tierney
STATS: Shots 15; Shots on Goal 8; Saves 8; Corner Kicks 5; Offsides 3; Fouls Committed 9

Match 21 v. San Jose (8/29/09):

Revs stayed on a roll as they downed the Earthquakes 2-1 on a cool, misty night at Gillette. After a lackluster first half, Revs slowly began to press the play in San Jose’s end. Steve Ralston took a perfect ball from Shalrie Joseph in the 68th and flipped it past Joe Cannon, who was out of position on the play. Six minutes later, Wells Thompson put the Revs up by two on a beautiful shot from about 20 yards out that curled past Cannon into the upper left corner of the goal. San Jose did score in stoppage time on a header by
Ramon Sanchez, but it was way too little too late.
New England Revolution vs. San Jose Earthquakes
August 29, 2009 – Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)
Scoring Summary:
NE – Steve Ralston (Shalrie Joseph) 68
NE – Wells Thompson (Steve Ralston) 74
SJ – Ramon Sanchez (Ramiro Corrales, Quincy Amarikwa) 92+
New England Revolution (4-4-2): Matt Reis (GK), Jay Heaps, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Mauricio Castro (Sainey Nyassi 57), Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Wells Thompson, Steve Ralston ©, Kheli Dube (Pat Phelan 62)
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton (GK), Gabriel Badilla, Kenny Mansally, Chris Tierney, Mike Videira
STATS: Shots 14; Shots on Goal 8; Saves 5; Corner Kicks 4; Offsides 1; Fouls Committed 13
STATS: Shots 11; Shots on Goal 6; Saves 6; Corner Kicks 6; Offsides 2; Fouls Committed 13
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Ramiro Corrales (caution) 4
SJ – Ramon Sanchez (caution) 48
NE – Wells Thompson (caution) 75
Referee: Alex Prus
Attendance: 7,286

Wrexham:
Match Day #2: Crawley Town 1, Wrexham 0 (8/15/09):

The Dragons hit the road for the first time this year and had a disappointing afternoon, losing 1-0 on Jamie Cook’s goal in the 50th. In the first minute, Wrexham’s Matty Wolfenden was practically tackled to the ground by Crawley’s Chris Giles but the referee failed to call a penalty. Coach Saunders was rather irate with the lack of a call. Both sides had a couple of further chances in the first quarter, but nothing of real consequence. Crawley went ahead in the 50th when Charles Ademeno broke on the right flank and found Jamie Cook, who beat Russell for the lone goal of the day. Following the goal, Wrexham changed tactics in a desperate attempt to pull level, but they simply didn’t have the horses to get the job done on this day.

Crawley Town 1 - 0 Wrexham
Stadium: Broadfield Stadium, England
Attendance: 1,014
Match Time: August 15, 2009, 10:00 ET
Official(s): B Malone (Referee)

Scoring Summary
Crawley Town
Jamie Cook (50)

Wrexham
No. NAME POS
1 Sam Ian Russell (G), 5 Mansour Assoumani (D), 6 Mike Williams (D), 11 Neil Taylor (D), 2 Curtis Obeng (D), 7 Mark Jones (M), 19 Andrew Fleming (M) (Marc Williams 54)
8 Heli Taboubi (M), 17 Adrian Cieslewicz (M) (Spann 55), 9 Gareth Taylor (ST)
24 Matthew Wolfenden (ST) (Baynes 75)
Subs Not Used: Williamson, Smith.

Match Day #3: Wrexham 1 – 0 York City (8/18/09):

After Saturday afternoon’s disappointing loss to Crowley, Dragons met York City at the Racecourse trying to get back on the winning track, and thanks to Gareth Taylor’s goal in the 59th, they did just that. In a tightly contested affair, the visitors had more shots and corners than did Wrexham, but the good guys prevailed in this one to pull their record to 2-1-0-6.

Wrexham 1 - 0 York City
MATCH INFORMATION
Stadium: Racecourse Ground, Wales
Attendance: 3,371
Match Time: August 18, 2009, 14:45 ET
Official(s): I Smedley (Referee)

SCORING SUMMARY
Wrexham York City
Gareth Taylor (59)
MATCH STATS
Wrexham York City
Shots (on Goal) 4(3) 6(2)
Fouls 12 14
Corner Kicks 8 9
Offsides 5 0
Time of Possession 50% 50%
Yellow Cards 1 3
Red Cards 0 0
Saves 2 2

Match Day #4: Wrexham 1 - 2 Kettering Town (8/22/09):

The Dragons went down to their second defeat in four tries this year at home against Kettering. Damian Spencer put the visitors up 1-nil in the 25th on a right footed shot to the upper right corner from the about six yards out. Kettering went up 2-0 on Patrick Noubissie’s goal in the 48th on a right footed shot into the lower left corner from 12 yards out. Wrexham finally scored in the 56th on Mansour Assoumani’s header from Spann’s cross on the right wing. Despite having a decided advantage in time of possession, Sam Ian Russell was really tested with four shots on goal. Dragons had one great chance to equalize in extra time but Wes Baynes’ rocket went just wide.

Wrexham 1 - 2 Kettering Town
Stadium: Racecourse Ground, Wales
Attendance: 3,473
Match Time: August 22, 2009, 10:00 ET
Official(s): Jermaine Simpson (Referee)

Scoring Summary
Wrexham
Mansour Assoumani (56)
Kettering Town
Damian Spencer (25) Patrick Noubissie (48)

Match Day #5: Tamworth 2-1 Wrexham (8/25/09):

Just three days following a troubling home defeat, Dragons hit the road against Tamworth at The Lamb and went down 2-1 in the 71st when Jake Sheridan capitalized on a misplay by Ashley Westwood and banged in the winning goal past Maxwell in the Wrexham goal. Sam Russell suffered a dislocated elbow in the Kettering match and will be out for up to six weeks. Wrexham also signed veteran Jamaican defender Frank Sinclair, but he did not play on Tuesday evening. Gareth Taylor put Dragons on top in the 26th on a nice feed from Mark Jones. However, the lead didn’t last long as Chris Smith equalized on a header in the 37th. Ultimately, they were done in as a result of Westwood’s miscue and couldn’t recover. The team wasn’t expecting to start off slowly (2-3-0-6) and news reports coming out of Wales indicate that the gaffer’s patience is being sorely tested.

Wrexham: Maxwell, Obeng (Baynes 86), Westwood, Assoumani, Mike Williams (N Taylor 59), Spann, Smith (Marc Williams 86), Fleming, Jones, G Taylor, Cieslewicz.
Subs Not Used: Fairhurst, Sinclair.

Booked: Obeng, Mike Williams, Cieslewicz, Assoumani, N Taylor.

Goals: G Taylor 26.
Att: 1,290
Ref: S Martin (Stafford).

Match Day #6: Forest Green Rovers 0 - 2 Wrexham (8/29/09):

The gaffer elected to put Wes Baynes up top and the move paid big dividends as the youngster struck for two goals (29) and (32) as Dragons pulled away with a nice 2-nil victory against Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn on Saturday. In the absence of Sam Russell, Maxwell Christie started in goal and stopped four shots en route to the shutout.

MATCH INFORMATION
Stadium: The New Lawn
Attendance: 1,021
Match Time: August 29, 2009, 10:00 ET
Official(s): K Johnson (Referee)

Wrexham
Wes Baynes (29)
Wes Baynes (32)
Wrexham
No. NAME POS
27 Maxwell Christie (G)
4 Ashley Westwood (D)
15 Frank Sinclair (D)
5 Mansour Assoumani (D)
11 Neil Taylor (D)
18 Wes Baynes (D)
2 Curtis Obeng (D)
7 Mark Jones (M)
8 Heli Taboubi (M)
14 Nathan Fairhurst (M)
10 Marc Williams (ST)
WREXHAM SUBSTITUTIONS
Substitutions
Adrian Cieslewicz for Marc Williams (74)
Christian Smith for Heli Taboubi (76)
Wrexham Yellow Cards
Name Min
Heli Taboubi (24)
MATCH STATS
Forest Green Rovers Wrexham
Shots (on Goal) 16(3) 14(4)
Fouls 20 11
Corner Kicks 3 1
Offsides 7 9
Time of Possession 45% 55%
Yellow Cards 1 1
Red Cards 0 0
Saves 2 7

Matchday #7 Wrexham 0-0 Barrow (8/31/09)

Dragons closed out the month of August with a dull, scoreless draw at home against Barrow. So after seven matches, they're an uninspiring 3-3-1-10. With the amount of talent that Saunders has accumulated, the team has to start playing better than this.

Wrexham: Maxwell, Westwood, Assoumani, Sinclair, Obeng, Taboubi (Smith 86), Jones, Fairhurst (Marc Williams 65), Neil Taylor (Cieslewicz 78), Gareth Taylor, Baynes.
Subs Not Used: Mike Williams, Fleming.

Booked: Taboubi, Obeng, Baynes, Westwood.
Att: 3,760
Ref: R Madley (Ossett).

Piacenza:

1° Giornata at Empoli (8/21/09):

Biancorossi kicked off a new season on the road on Friday evening against Empoli, in which they lost the match 2-nil at Carlo Castellani. Francesco Lodi put the home side ahead on a penalty kick in the 42nd and Citadin Eder put the match away with a goal in the 85th. Pietro Zammuto’s red card in the 70th did little to help biancorossi try to equalize, but the referee was also handing out yellow cards (4) to Piacenza like candy. Based on reading reports in the English and Italian media, it didn’t sound like biancorossi put forth a creditable effort. It wasn’t the best way to start a new year.

PIACENZA
No. NAME POS
1 Christian Puggioni (G)
13 Stefano Avogadri (D)
22 Pietro Zammuto (D)
32 Denis Tonucci (D)
14 Tommaso Bianchi (M)
23 Radja Nainggolan (M)
88 Bogdan Aurelian Patrascu (M)
24 Marco Calderoni (M)
8 Alessandro Tulli (F)
10 Davide Moscardelli (F)
20 Mattia Graffiedi (F)
Substitutions
Antonio Piccolo for Davide Moscardelli (61)
Filippo Sambugaro for Tommaso Bianchi (65)
Tomas Guzman for Mattia Graffiedi (73)

2° Giornata v. Lecce (8/29/09):

Biancorossi opened the home portion of their schedule with a very nice 3-2 victory against US Lecce. Biancorossi ran away with a 3-nil lead on goals by Tommaso Bianchi (34), (61) and Alessandro Tulli (51) before Lecce came back on goals by Marino Defendi (72) and Guillermo Giacomazzi (pen 75). Reports indicate that Piacenza had to hold on for dear life as Lecce’s Djamel Mesbah hit the post in stoppage time. But a win is a win and the home side was happy to come away with the three points.

PIACENZA
No. NAME POS
1 Christian Puggioni (G)
13 Stefano Avogadri (D)
4 Francesco Bini (D)
32 Denis Tonucci (D)
14 Tommaso Bianchi (M)
23 Radja Nainggolan (M)
88 Bogdan Aurelian Patrascu (M)
24 Marco Calderoni (M)
8 Alessandro Tulli (F)
10 Davide Moscardelli (F)
20 Mattia Graffiedi (F)
PIACENZA SUBSTITUTES
No. NAME POS
3 Roberto Maurantonio (SUB)
7 Daniel Wolf (SUB)
Rincon (SUB)
90 Lucas Simon (SUB)
19 Antonio Piccolo (SUB)
84 Filippo Sambugaro (SUB)
76 Gaetano Capogrosso (SUB)

PIACENZA SUBSTITUTIONS
Substitutions
Filippo Sambugaro for Alessandro Tulli (70)
Daniel Wolf for Tommaso Bianchi (72)
Rincon for Mattia Graffiedi (80)

PIACENZA YELLOW CARDS
Name Min
Tommaso Bianchi (22)
Marco Calderoni (47)
Bogdan Aurelian Patrascu (67)