Portland 2 – Houston 1
LAFC 6 – Carson Galaxy 2
Saturday night saw just two games, both of which in group F. We saw another red card, another team punching their ticket to the knockout stage, and another rivalry matchup. The night started a little slow, but definitely ended with a lot of fireworks if you’re an LAFC fan as we are here at No Scrubs Allowed.
Game 1:
This was a fun game to start the night off with. Portland played a controlled style while Houston seemingly threw everything they had at it, but in the end Portland was just too much.
Portland: B+
Portland played the exact game they wanted to. The only reason I didn’t give them an “A” was because they seemed to fold a bit as they were trying to hold on in the end and may have been saved by the Houston red card. They definitely looked like the better team out here today and will be happy to guarantee their place in the knockout stage, especially with the dangerous LAFC coming up next.
Houston: C+
It wasn’t until Houston was down two goals that they really started to play with a sense of urgency. They began to pepper shots out, but a very small percentage of them were actually on target. They nearly stole a point at the end but the red card of Alberth Elis really took the wind out of their sails. Now they’ll need a win against the galaxy to have any chance of getting to the knockout stage.
Man of the Match: Diego Valeri
Diego Valeri found himself unmarked at the top of the box and scored a nice goal to put Portland up 2-0 and that would prove to be the game winner. There weren’t many fireworks in this game, but that’s how Portland wants the game to play out and they will need Valeri at his best if they want to continue on in this fashion.
Game 2:
The seventh installment of El Tráfico continued to give us a lot of goals. There have been 40 goals through the seven games. That’s an unreal scoring pace and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, at least not on the LAFC side.
LAFC: A-
LAFC did not seem to have the fire that they normally have in the first half of this game. This is now the second time in a row that’s happened. In like fashion, it’s the second time in a row that they’ve come out and dominated the second half. LAFC could do no wrong in the second 45 and cruised to an easy victory.
Carson: D-
They were somehow able to avoid the dreaded “F” grade by playing a great first half, but if you’d ask anyone on their team I’m sure they’d give this entire tournament an “F”. They looked like they were up to the challenge as they went into the half tied at 2, but the second half proved to be a very different story.
Man of the Match: Diego Rossi
Rossi left no doubt in who the man of the match should be in this one. There were four goals from the Uruguayan forward and each one more sweet than the last. He added an assist to become the first MLS player to be involved in five goals in a single game twice.
No Scrubs Allowed 
Leave a Reply