Weekend Recap: Heartbreak and/or Male-Bonding Hugs

By: Laurie | April 21st, 2008

It’s that nailbiting time of the season in most leagues, especially for those teams that are close to the top and in the title race, or close to the bottom and facing relegation. So how did some of the games from the weekend turn out?

Saturday’s games:

Real Zaragoza 3-0 Recreativo Huelva
Real Zaragoza needed this one desperately to have any chance of avoiding relegation, and they came through in a big way. They scored the game-winning goal ninety seconds in, and later added two more for insurance. Recreativo Huelva also needed these points to stay up, though. Without them, they’re now sitting in the drop zone themselves, seventeenth with 37 points. They’re directly behind another 37-point team which is not in the drop zone, losing only on goal differential to — you guessed it — Real Zaragoza. Talk about a double whammy.

LA Galaxy 2-2 Houston Dynamo
In the first half, it was last year all over again. Houston looked like champs, and LA…didn’t. But LA coach Ruud Gullit must have fed them Wheaties, Gatorade and an ass-whupping at halftime, because it was a different team that came out for the second half. Two goals from the Beckham-to-Donovan team gave the Galaxy the point and Houston its third draw of the season. Now the Galaxy sit fifth in the Western Conference with four points and Houston is dead last. Ouch.

Sunday’s games:

Bordeaux 1-0 Toulouse
A stoppage time goal gave Bordeaux all three points and kept their title hopes alive in the Ligue 1 race. They weren’t helped at all by Ligue 1 leaders Lyon, though, who also took three points over the weekend. This means that Bordeaux still sits four points out of first and are hoping for a Lyon meltdown in the last few games. Toulouse, on the other hand, remains just three points out of the relegation zone, but they’re at least getting some help from teams like PSG, who seem determined to play in Ligue 2 next year.

Newcastle 2-0 Sunderland
There was nothing much at stake here but bragging rights between arch-rivals in the Tyne-Wear derby, but that was enough to make it interesting. This game belonged to Michael Owen, who scored in the fourth minute and then did it again right before halftime for the Magpies. Sunderland fans, you may be broken-hearted, but at least you’re not this guy. Unless, of course, you are, in which case… Sorry.

Standard Liege 2-0 Anderlecht
Gooch (American Oguchi Onyewu) takes the title! Well, with a little help from his teammates. It may have taken 25 years, but Standard Liege has clinched the Belgian title with its 2-0 win over Anderlecht after Congolese player Dieumerci Mbokani scored both goals. Standard Liege now have a ten-point lead over Anderlecht and FC Brugge with three games to play. You do the math.

Etoile du Sahel 2-2 Club African
Would you believe that I can find nothing on this game in the English-speaking mainstream press? (Can you say “Eurocentrism”?) Instead, the info I have comes from our very own Tunisia blog over at our sister site, World Cup Blog, which says:

The match that everyone was waiting for certainly did not disappoint. It finished on a 2-2 tie and there was everything you could ask for a in a soccer match: Plenty of chances, beautiful passing, some fancy dribbles, amazing saves, multiple lead changes and fan-tastic fan support (pun intended).

Etoile inch closer to the title, but it’s by no means a done deal yet.

Vitesse Arnhem 0-1 PSV Eindhoven
PSV Eindhoven could have clinched the Dutch Eredivisie title last weekend, but they were thwarted by their own play. (And some flaming toilet paper.) This week luck was with them, though, and they managed what one account called a “nervy” win. Whatever that means. They needed one point, they got three, and that’s that in the Dutch title race.