US Open Cup: Sporting KC hammer FC Dallas, and Kaka stars for Orlando City

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jul/02/us-open-cup-sporting-kc-kaka-orlando-city

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The last of the lower-league opposition exited the US Open Cup this week, as the competition narrowed to the quarter-final stage with eight MLS teams left competing for the trophy. Four goals from Dom Dwyer in Sporting KC’s 6-2 hammering of Dallas, and New York Red Bulls completing a local double with a 4-1 victory over the New York Cosmos, were the highlights of the round.

The Cosmos were the only remaining NASL side in the competition, having seen off NYCFC at home in the last round, but facing a Red Bulls team who have vowed to take this competition seriously under Jesse Marsch’s watch, they fell behind early and were already well beaten by the time Mike Grella rounded off the scoring in stoppage time. After the Red Bulls’ emphatic defeat of NYCFC at the weekend, New York (or New Jersey, anyway) is red this week.

The only other non-MLS team competing, and the last USL team remaining in the competition, Charlotte Independence, were comfortably beaten by Chicago Fire, whose 3-1 victory also came with the added bonus of seeing not only the return of Mike Magee, playing for the first time this year, but a goal from the 2013 MVP.

No sign of 2014 MVP Robbie Keane as LA Galaxy played San Jose for the second time in a week. A different result this time as the Galaxy avenged the weekend’s heavy loss with a 1-0 victory in the Cup, thanks to an early Jose Villarreal goal. The Galaxy will now face Real Salt Lake in the quarter finals, after RSL eased past Portland Timbers 2-0. Designated player Sebastian Jaime opened the scoring early in the second half at Rio Tinto Stadium, and Javier Morales eased any home nerves with a 71st minute penalty.

The loose geographical groupings for this round of the Open Cup also paired DC United and Philadelphia Union together, with a quarter-final against one of the New York teams on the line. The Union, playing at home, got off to a terrible start when CJ Sapong was sent off with a straight red after just 17 minutes in a thunderstorm-delayed game, and things got worse when Jairo Arrieta put DC in front three minutes later. That was as good as it got for DC, though, as the Union scored twice in the second half to earn a quarter-final place against the Red Bulls.

On Tuesday night, Dom Dwyer was able to watch his wife Sydney Leroux’s USA team reach the Women’s World Cup final. On Wednesday, she was able to watch him score four, including a first-half hat-trick, as Sporting KC routed FC Dallas. The sense of occasion might not have been as pronounced, but Dwyer did make history by becoming the first player in team history to score four in a game.

Sporting’s prize is a quarter-final with Houston, after yet another game hit by the weather ended with the Dynamo edging Colorado 1-0. The game was delayed by almost three hours – a period that also delayed the debut of 19-year-old Mauro Manotas. Somethimg that wouldn’t be significant, other than for the fact that it was his 43rd-minute headed goal that divided the teams.

The fifth round was rounded out by MLS debutants Orlando City, who, in moving up from USL this year, might be considered the nearest the competition has to an upstart, if not underdog, team. No one could accuse coach Adrian Heath of taking the competition lightly. It’s not know if Kaka spent any portion of last year following streams of Orlando’s Open Cup adventures, but the Brazilian designated player played and scored in his team’s 2-0 win over a second-string Columbus Crew side. To their credit, despite lacking Kei Kamara, the Crew did press, but could not score, and Orlando went through to face Chicago.

Quarter final draw

New York Red Bulls v Philadelphia Union

Chicago Fire v Orlando City

Sporting KC v Houston Dynamo

Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy

Dates TBA

With perennial contenders Seattle out of the competition early and 2013 winners DC United out as well, 2012 winners Sporting KC are the most recent winners still in the competition, and with them rounding into form and a home draw in the next round might see this as another chance for silverware, but there are a couple of intriguing names left standing.

LA Galaxy may face a tricky journey to RSL in the next round, but have already managed to avoid the ignominious fate of recent seasons, which has seen them traveling across the country to be dumped out by non-MLS opposition, in one of the scheduling quirks of competitions past. Steven Gerrard is arriving in the middle of a cup run …

Meanwhile, the Red Bulls are a home tie away from an Open Cup semi-final in a competition they’ve never won. Maybe it’s their year. Or maybe it’s Chicago’s turn to revive their Open Cup reputation from the turn of the century — they too have a home game, even if it means getting past a team boasting a former World footballer of the year.

The Open Cup may remain a cult delight, but with a route to the Champions League now opening up for a clutch of teams all looking off the pace in the Supporters Shield race, expect the competition to be fierce from this point forward.