The reds and yellows and injuries aren't coincidences. Everybody is playing a little beyond their control...
Three red cards in three games! These are the playoffs, and obviously these Revs really want to win. So cut them a break. As Doug Chapman said, Heaps was very charged up about last night's game. Apparently too much so. He deserved a red card based on three bad fouls in thirty minutes. Whether the head butt deserved a red is debatable, because Garcia obviously embellished the foul and the head butt. Let's not forget what Heaps has done for the last two months. Is he the most improved player on the team this year?
Please don't try and defend Heaps and the head butting.. Whether he connected or not, and it seemed pretty clear to me that he did connect with Garcia, despite Doug Chapman's best homer efforts to downplay the incident, Heaps will be sent off 10 times out of 10 for even attempting to head butt.. The punishment fits the crime no matter how much Garcia embelished it.. It's one thing if there was clear evidence that Heaps missed, but it looked pretty damning to me...
Lay off of Doug Chapman. He said that the original foul deserved a yellow, and that the later stuff was probably six one way and a half a dozen the other, that Heaps definitely made contact with Garcia but that there was quite a bit of embellishment on Garcia's part. Which part of that is untrue? Look at what happened realistically (not as an opponent or a homer). Heaps probably should have gotten a card at the beginning of the game. The ref certainly had his eye on Jay after that. On the foul that got the card, there was probably not much contact but Garcia went down because of Heap's situation. The ref stepped in, Heaps picked up the ball, Garcia gave Jay a little shove, slapped the ball away from him, and got right in Jay's face. Jay then (quite foolishly) gave him a fairly mild head butt and Garcia went down like a ton of bricks. Heaps earned his red, but Garcia also got carded for his part in it. Not expecting any Rev fans to side with Heaps is a little unrealistic. There are still Metro fans that claim Mathis didn't deserve a card for his stomp, and there were Fire fans that were glad that Rasov stomped Heaps (go figure...). I also seem to recall a ton of posts from DC fans last year when Etch got his red in the Open Cup match.
I suppose that an argument could be made that the head butt was mild enough to earn "only" a second yellow not a straight red, but what would be the point? To answer my own question...it might effect Heaps' ability to appear in the final and the weight of his wallet. Then again, I would expect that the MLS disciplinary committee would levy a fine and suspension based on reviewing the tape not the color of the cards.
,.., Garcia was up and bouncing around as as soon as Heaps got the red, so I doubt anything further than the automatic 1 game However, maybe Dunseth's obvious hack on the back of Twellman's knee should be reviewed?
Re: ,.., Dunseth is scum. I remember in the first Rev/Crew game that he took out Diallo's legs from behind in the box, well after Mamadou shot the ball. Heap's head butt wasn't very forceful or vicious. I doubt if he'll get further suspension. Sure, it was stupid, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as Mathis's stomp, and I didn't hear any suspension headed in his direction.
I won't speak to the intent of Heaps action, whether it was "malicious" or simply an effort to intimidate. But officials saw the action and the video replays were pretty damning. Heaps lost it for one brief second in the heat of the moment and paid the price. My question is this: will league officials upon further review decided to impart with a stiffer punishment much as they've done with Razov? The Magpie
It was more of a head "nod" if you ask me. You don't head butt someone with the top of your head, you do it with your forehead. I wasn't sure there was even any intent to make contact, but Heaps' explanation seems to indicate there was, if only in the heat of the moment. The way it looked to me was that Heaps knew Garcia was coming after him for the ball, so he lowered his head to have Garcia run into a large, hard object if he reached for the ball. Not that it makes much difference, but I seriously doubt that Garcia felt ANY pain at all. It's interesting to note, that Garcia, while several years younger, is already much more experienced and better at "gamesmanship". That's one of the problems with US players who only get domestic experience.
Please, Heaps has been playing with almost stupid agression the whole playoffs. It was only a matter of time before he would be sent off. He didnt' get a card early in the game, that deserved the yellow. Also, Garcia got a yellow. He did his job. Sure he got a yellow, but he put his team up a man. Heaps showed how immature he is. On the other hand, Franchino (I can't believe I would have said this one or two years ago) has become an almost calm presence on the field. It can't believe the change in his game. He is composed, and he channels his energy. Last year, he was an absolute pest who would get in situations where he shouldn't. As for Mathis, honestly, I obviously see why he got the red card. No doubt about. However, my question is whether or not he meant it. From the videos, I can see how you can take it with both sides. When I first saw it, I thought he wanted to walk away, and by mistake stepped on Chino (who should have had a card for his tackle from behind). This is different from Razov's, let me take a couple of steps back, and slam my foot into Heaps (an obvious pest) fiasco last week. As for Dunseth on Twellman, that was more in play, and he missed the ball, as Twellman was sliding through. I could say that he might not have meant that. I'm surprised no one is talking about Denton's absolutely vicious kick on Wolde in the corner. Wolde was okay, but that was absolutely ridiculous. The replays showed it, and chapman called it an "elbow" Was I the only one who though that was out of line?
I was outraged when Denton kicked Wolde. He was clearly frustrated and just took a hack at Wolde's leg.... great job by Wolde shielding the ball and wasting time at the end of the game.
I really thought the AR should've said something to the ref. Denton didn't even think about going for the ball, he just nailed Wolde. I don't know if it was deserving of a straight red, but it was a pretty vicious foul.
I didn't understand why that late foul wasn't a straight red. He deliberately kicked Wolde , not coming within 8 inches of the ball, purely out of frustration. While we're at it, did you see Fuller get hip-checked in the box about a minute later? He was chasing down a high ball into the box when one of the defenders stopped, stuck out his hip, and completely upended Fuller. It was identical to one of Carlos's yellows in Chicago, but it wasn't even called.
. I was under the impression that Twellman was already on the ground when Dunseth came in late and gave him a solid whack on the back of the knee.
A bit of over-exuberance. But overall Heaps' aggressive play is what is right about the Revolution. I can't remember a home game when he hasn't played solidly all season. He has turned into a defender you can count on as well as another option offensively which ultimately frees up Twellman Harris or Ralston.
too bad heaps didn't get hit in the head with one of the many flying beer bottles that were directed at him! a total JERKOFF!
Heaps will be the first one to admit to making a mistake. I wasn't there after the final whistle, but it's a safe bet that Heaps personally apologized to every one of his teammates afterwards. Not enough can be said about how the Revs played last night. [Re: Denton's attempt on Wolde's shins] You call that a kick? Lieutenant Dan from 'Forrest Gump' can kick harder than that.
Flying beer bottles.... classy move by the crew fans. Wouldn't you love to go to a Crew game, they play music during the run of play, the PA announcer tells the fans when to start chanting, and you throw beer bottles at the opponents. Columbus Crew - the Galatasaray of MLS?
In Ohio do they teach from a young age that throwing beer bottles is an appropriate means of expressing one's opinion? Probably makes debate club more lively. Remember the Browns fans last year (or was it two years ago)? Now this. I sure hope the bottles didn't have the all-dangerous bottle caps still attached, that would have been inhumane.
Re: . No. Twellman was receiving the ball with his back to the goal, Dunseth slid in with both feet taking out player and ball, and Twellmans legs got tangled as he went down under Dunseth. It's probably not malicious, but surely reckless. It's exactly the kind of thing that is going to make Tab Ramos prophetic about Twellman's need to watch out for himself. The refs really need to protect forwards on those plays. For some reason, when a forward is playing with his back to the goal, trying to hold the ball up, defenders are allowed all kinds of liberties. I can understand if it's around the penalty area, you have to give the defender a chance, but in midfield, where Dunseth's challenge occured, if you get some foot or ankle with the ball, it's a foul from behind - cardable. My problem with it is that the same things that would be called if a player is facing goal, aren't called when his back is to goal - and what kind of sense does that make?