Ok, first FSW game. Only caught the second half unfortuantely, but thought Id make some comments. Probably the most bizarre officiating jobs Ive ever seen. Calls almost went exclusively to Charleston on 50-50s in the air, and some of them were really strange calls. The red was a horrible call, a yellow would have been highly questionable. I was thinking "Timber fans seeing this officiating must be PISSED" until the 90th minute. Then bam, PK to Portland. I hadnt made up my mind if it was a phantom PK, as the replays didnt seem conclusive on how much grabbing was going on, but definately a soft PK at least. Overall I though Portland was the better team, except, and this is a big except, Charleston was insanely dominant in the air. Booming it out of the back to their forwards was very effective for them, if not the prettiest soccer Ive ever seen. Bagley and Wolde helped change that for them though as subs and Charleston looked better, but I was not impressed. Portland had some really nice moments attacking on the wings, but their central midfield play was rather weak. I dont know if Charleston has qualified for the Cup, but I think if they run into an MLS team they will be eaten alive as MLS backs should gobble up those 50/50s. Portland I think has a chance if they go against a team that gives them space on the wings. Not the highest quality game (bit of an understatement), but fairly enjoyable.
Lurking : Ya it was great to see some A-League after about 8 months. I also thought the PK was a turnaround. Its so noticeable when there is one camera straining to see the action and turning with the play. But hey FSW is great in my opinion. It'll be a loooonnnnggg time before accountants by day and referees by night get replaced by knowledgable semi-full-time refs but it'll happen. Until then we do have some good refs but with admittably questionable calls
Great stadium, great kits, somewhat sloppy weather, exciting match. I am a Battery fan, so sorry to see them lose. I didn't see what happened, but it's a drag it happened in stoppage. Exciting match, though. Where'd Dusty's 'stache go, darnit? lol
Ok, I was at the game on the first row behind the benches. It was the worst officiating I have seen at a Battery game. The PK was a phantom. No doubt about it. It was a horrible call. Everyone was going after the center ref at the end of the game. The police had to escort him off the field with about 3,000 fans booing him and some even wanting to go after him, including a coach, goalie, fan, etc. Portland is a good team but they DID NOT deserve to win. It was bullcrap!! I think the ref was from Portland.
Did the phantom PK call in stoppage time make up for 92 minutes of crap calls against Portland? No. But since the Timbers won, we'll take it. Three points out of a possible six (when coach Bobby Howe said he was going for two draws) in back-to-back road games and playing no subs (barring injury or suspension) until the 88th minute of the second match, we'll gladly take it. Go Timbers! Still level on points with Minnesota and with three games in hand. Sweet!!