Monday, June 16, 2008

Other Concacaf World Cup Qualifer results

As much fun as it is to only focus on the great show the US put on yesterday, there were ten other Concacaf Qualifiers over the weekend. So how did they turn out? Most of them went as expected, but there were a couple shocks.

Trinidad and Tobago 1-2 Bermuda - T&T get shocked at home by Bermuda. Could the team's dream of back-to-back World Cups crash out next weekend? If so, will Jack Warner get any heat for the way he destroyed the team?

Haiti 0-0 Netherlands Antilles - Haiti are the reigning Caribbean champions and Antilles held them on the road. Not as big an upset as T&T, but still something to watch.

Suriname 1-0 Guyana - The battle of the South American members of Concacaf ended in a minor surprise as Suriname beat the seeded Guyanese. The return leg is going to be fun.

Grenada 2-2 Costa Rica - This was a much tougher start then Costa Rica wanted. On the plus side, they did come back from two goals down to get the tie, but will this be enough for coach HernĂ¡n Medford to keep his job?

Panama 1-0 El Salvador - Panama has to be worried going into their second leg. The rains slowed this game down, which worked for El Salvador.

Belize 0-2 Mexico - Mexico continued their tradition of under performing against teams they do not respect. This match was never in question as Belize pretty much just sat 10 players behind the ball, but it is still a poor game by El Tri.

Guatemala 6-0 Saint Lucia - Looks like the US will have to deal with the little fish again as Carlos Ruiz netted four in this one.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0-3 Canada - Ali Gerba was the hero for Canada as he netted two. Canada should have an easy time at home this Friday.

Jamaica 7-0 Bahamas - The Reggae Boys just smashed their way into group play. Six different players, including Andy Williams, scored so this was an all over effort.

Puerto Rico 2-2 Honduras - This result means Honduras advances to the first group phase with a 6-2 aggregate win. Puerto Rico went down a goal in the 22', but tied is a few minutes later. They then went up one right before the half, but it was not meant to be as Wigan Athletic midfielder Wilson Palacios knotted it up in the 52'.

Cuba and Antigua and Barbuda play their first leg tomorrow.

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Thursday, June 05, 2008

FC Dallas interviews SMU's Hyndman for coaching job

What would a FC Dallas search for a new coach be without Schellas Hyndman? Hyndman has coached SMU's men's soccer team since 1984 and is highly respected in the Dallas area as well as college soccer, thus the reason FCD always look his way when the top job is vacant.

He was previously linked to club after the Jeffries dismissal (2003) and the Clarke toss (2006), so is the third time the charm?

In his 24 years at SMU, the team has never had a losing season and are constantly one of the better college sides, however they have never won or even played for a national championship. Hyndman would bring with him a good knowledge of the up and coming college players as well as a divine love of the 4-4-2 formation, but is that enough for MLS?

With the league's hirer profile and bigger names, I'm not sure giving the controls to someone without professional level management experience is the best idea (for a explanation of this, look no further then Steve Morrow).

The next manager of FCD needs to be someone that can come in and command respect from the players, but I'm not sure Hyndman, for all his positives, is the person who can do that.

By the way, former FCD manager and current Puerto Rican national team coach Colin Clarke saw his side fall 4-0 to Honduras last night in World Cup Qualifying. The second leg will take place on the 14th in Puerto Rico.

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