SGF Soccer

Southwest Missouri's Soccer Resource

Archives for July 2011

Bunbury’s late goal saves tie for Sporting KC

Sporting KC has had a flare for the dramatic during their 13-game MLS unbeaten streak. Things were no different Saturday.

Struggling forward Teal Bunbury came off the bench on his bobblehead give-away night, but with KC down 1-0 to the New England Revolution in the 89th minute, Bunbury buried a shot in the back of the net to save a point for Sporting, set the club record for consecutive games without a loss and keep his team unbeaten at home.

Rajko Lekic got New England on the board in the 38th minute when a long clearing from goalie Matt Reis bounced over the KC defense and he beat Sporting goalie Jimmy Nielsen.

Sporting has come back to score in the 85thminute or later to preserve a tie three times during their streak.

It was their first game without defender Aurélien Colin, who is expected to miss the next six weeks with a back injury.

Sporting KC (6-6-9) is within two points of the New York Red Bulls for third place in the Eastern Conference. KC is at home again Wednesday against Real Salt Lake at 7:30.escort service la

Vehr Factor Enjoys Success At Show-Me State Games

Vehr Factor at Show-Me Soccer
Vehr Factor at Show-Me Soccer
Vehr Factor, a U7 Ozark based team, attended the Show-Me Games in Columbia, MO July 23 &24. The team was coached by Chris Vehr and Brett Ulrich. The team played in 100+ degree weather with a victory over three teams (all shut outs) and 0-0 tie. This is the second tournament the team has played in this summer and their second 1st place victory!

from left to right: Coach Brett Ulrich, Jace Easley, Evan Kilmer, Ian Ulrich, Landon Keisker, Ty Lyons, Gage Vehr, Owen Bowler, Ethan Whatley, Coach Chris Vehr.mistress in dubai

See Jack Jewsbury playing in the MLS All-Star game July 27th on ESPN2

My prediction, Jack Jewsbury will score Wednesday night in the All Star game!

Springfield native Jack Jewsbury will be making his first Major League Soccer All-Star game appearance in his 9 years in the league. The team will be playing against Manchester United. As captain for the Portland Timbers, he has started in 19 games this season and leads the team in goals and assists. To many this may be a surprise. It has been comical to listen to the ESPN and Fox Soccer announcers talk of how surprised they were that he could score…

From an early age many people in Springfield grew up watching Jack hit the back of the net. First the old days with me on the Titan Soccer Club, to his days at Kickapoo High School where he has the Missouri state record for most goals in a season. He has always found a way to score. Jack has always had an ability with the ball and a mental toughness just faster then the rest of us.

Now after 9 seasons in the league he has been rewarded for his hard work. He was transferred to a great new expansion team in the league, started every game, taken every set piece and look what happens! He is scoring goals and is one of the best set piece takers in the league. He has also been selected as one the top 11 players in the league by the fans.

On Wednesday night in New York, 7:30 central time, Jack will take the field with some of the greatest players in the world. He will be playing along side David Beckham and Thierry Henry. The opponent Manchester United with Wayne Rooney, Nani, Ferdinand, and the legendary Ryan Giggs. This is an honor well deserved and I congratulate him on such a great career.

Based on the years of following Jack, if he can get a set piece away from Beckham, there will be a goal for sure! So tune in to ESPN2 to find out. Check out sgfsoccer for an interview with Jack about his experiences at the All Star game.dubai escorts

USA Stuck In Neutral

The website welcomes a new contributor, Matt Isaacson is a Drury grad and KC resident who will following the US National team. Here’s his opening salvo…

The US National Team is facing a critical period and a possible loss in identity. After being the undisputed kings of Concacaf for the majority of the last decade, Mexico has knocked us off our perch. With stronger competition for World Cup qualification, the path to Brazil will be incredibly difficult. To qualify, we must develop new young players that are capable of developing into reliable contributing members of the national team. The biggest question facing US Soccer is whether or not Bob Bradley is the right man to lead us to Brazil 2014? Past history tells us to question the decision making of the USSF.

Following a break through World Cup in South Korea/Japan 2002, where the team was a bad call away from a semi-final date with South Korea, the USSF decided to retain coach Bruce Arena. At the time, it seemed to be a good decision. Reward the man that took your team to new heights. But in hindsight, a change was needed, as the team did not improve in the four-year cycle between World Cups and was poorly prepared for Germany 2006. As any coach can tell you, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. Now, the USSF is making the same mistake.

Other countries often limit their coaches’ tenure to one cycle. Of the 32 teams that qualified for South Africa, only 12 coaches are still leading their teams today. By the time European and South American qualifiers begin, the number will be further reduced. Many teams out of principle change coaches just so someone fresh takes a look at their player pool and stirs it up a little bit. The new coach does not have the same loyalties to the squad as the previous one. A new coach often drops players that are getting too old, that have underperformed, and has the ability to bring younger or otherwise overlooked players into the team. While many cite the US has a model of stability, it alternatively shows that we are unable to make difficult decisions and unwilling to pay a top tier coach and give him the control required to take our team to new heights.

Looking back at recent competitive results (Confederation’s Cup, World Cup, 2011 Gold Cup) Bradley supporters will point to reaching the final of two of those competitions, and being group winners at the World Cup. But when individual games are analyzed, the team has underperformed in the vast majority of them. Consistently falling behind early, and often times relying on the ability to comeback; the team has rarely played from a position of strength. When a team consistently gives up early goals, the team is not prepared to play. The coach is picking the wrong players to start, or is putting players in the wrong position. All of those issues are Bradley’s responsibility, and our team does not have the talent to overcome those deficiencies against top competition.

At the Confederations Cup, the US was beaten convincingly by Italy, destroyed by Brazil the first time, blew a two goal halftime lead in the final to Brazil the second time, and beat Spain in a game where we were outshot 29 to 9. Considering the Spanish firepower and past record, that result was reminiscent of the Miracle on Ice. If the US had not found a way to hold on against Spain, the tournament would have been a complete disaster.

At the 2010 World Cup, the US was about a minute away from failing to get out of the easiest group at the tournament. It was the latest goal scored for a team to clinch qualification to the second round in the history of the World Cup. The reward for that late goal was top spot in our group and a game with Ghana to go to the quarterfinals. What has come to be expected, the concession of an early goal, finally caught up with the US, as we conceded early in the first half and almost immediately after extra time started. The first goal was especially painful, as Bradley had unexpectedly inserted Ricardo Clark into the line up and his error led to the goal. Bradley then replaced Clark in the first half, using one of three available substitutes to correct his error. It is rare to see a coach make a tactical sub in the first half, probably because most of them pick the right players to start the game in the first place. Having to use a sub early, we were left without a substation late in extra time when we were losing. With many established teams already eliminated, South Africa presented an opportunity for a deep run to at least the semi-finals, but Bradley squandered it.

The Gold Cup completed this summer was a complete roller coaster. While the US made the final as expected, two embarrassing loses show that a change at head coach is needed now. I’m not going to waste your time talking about the Panama loss. We shouldn’t lose to Panama at home in anything. Period. The game against Mexico was a microcosm of the problem with Bradley. He inserted Jonathan Bornstein into the game, and moments later a 2-0 lead evaporated in the hot California sun. How Bornstein was even picked to be part of the team is worthy of an investigation, as he has done nothing to warrant to selection. But Bornstein played for Bradley at Chivas and has continually been given chances only to cost the team each time he plays. The result was a humiliating loss that cost the US a major championship and the chance to play at the next Confederations Cup.

Looking ahead, the US is going to face a difficult road in World Cup qualifying. Mexico is strong, and getting better. Honduras and Costa Rica are very competitive sides, capable of winning here and even in past years were tough road trips. Jamaica and Panama are vastly improved. A home loss, like the one to Panama, could doom qualification for the next World Cup. The time is now to make a change; we can’t afford to stand still.
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Sporting KC routs Toronto with 4 goals

After seven straight games in which they scored two goals or fewer, Sporting KC (6-6-8) broke out in a big way Saturday night, beating Toronto FC 4-2.

        After not scoring before the 90th minute in their last two games, Sporting coach Peter Vermes said his team needed to start this game well.

“We talked about having the desire to get on the scoreboard first,” Vermes said. “Against this team we wanted to get a goal early and we wanted to then keep coming because we thought the game would really open up, and obviously it did.”

Sporting midfielder Kei Kamara wasn’t sure if he was going to play when he woke up Saturday with a sore ankle.

“The trainer kept telling me that I should rest it and I said no way, I just have a feeling about this game,” Kamara said.

In the 28th minute, Kamara his proved that his intuition was right. After Omar Bravo’s corner kick was deflected toward the top of the box, Kamara turned and scissor kicked the ball into the back of the net.

Kamara scored again five minutes later when he headed in a beautiful cross from Roger Espinoza.

With the win, KC extended it’s ubeaten streak to 12 games. The team is also undefeated at Livestrong Sporting Park in MLS play and that is good news since Saturday’s game was the first of a nine-game homestand for Sporting KC.

“The team is clicking really well and this is the best time of the year for a team to click, which is the second half of the season,” Kamara said.

One reason for  KC’s sudden scoring outburst could be the addition into the lineup of newly acquired Brazilian midfielder Jéferson.

With KC up 2-0, Jéferson threaded a lead pass between two defenders to put the ball on Bravo’s foot with only the goalie to beat. The MLS All-Star juked the goalie to  put KC up 3-0.

A few more goals in the net were welcome news to Sporting goalie Jimmy Nielsen and he said he is expecting big things from Jéferson.

“He’s extremely good offensively, we know he’s good to make that final pass,” Nielsen said.  “I’m sure he’ll just get better and better when we get to know him and he gets to know us.”

Jéferson ended up having to play the entire game. Vermes said that was not his intention but when Aurélien Collin went down with an injury in the 62nd minute, Vermes was forced to put in Daneil Cyrus and didn’t have anymore subs for Jéferson.

“He probably played 20 -25 minutes too long, we were going to make a substitution with him but with the injury to Collin we had to leave him,” Vermes said.

It was Cyrus’ MLS debut, and though he was not expecting to play he said he always tries to stay sharp on the sidelines.

“Mentally I wasn’t sure that I was going to play, but I always keep in mind anything is possible,” Cyrus said. “Somebody could go down and I would have to go in, so I always have it in my mind to be ready to play.”

Cyrus misplayed a ball that led to a goal by Toronto FC’s Ryan Johnson, but Vermes said that overall, Cyrus had a decent performance.

“If he’s going to learn something, it’s better in a game like this where were up four goals than when it’s really tight,” Vermes said.

Toronto’s Danny Koevermans scored on a header in the 50th minute, but KC answered when Chance Myers sent a perfect cross to Bravo who scored for the second time. By the time Johnson capitalized on Cyrus’ gaffe, the game was already out of reach for Toronto who remain winless on the road this season.

Sporting KC can savor this one for a while, their next game is not until next week, at home against New England.asian girl on girl massage