The Revolution named 11 players for the MLS expansion draft protected list: Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Kheli Dube, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Kenny Mansally, Sainey Nyassi, Emmanuel Osei, Steve Ralston, Matt Reis, Taylor Twellman.

The Philadelphia Union, which will begin play next season, will make selections starting at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Union will take 10 players, no more than one from any team.

We asked some of the New England Revolution players, through team media rep Lizz Summers, to give us their predictions for Sunday's MLS Cup between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake (8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN)

Here's what they said:

Forward Taylor Twellman: LA, 2-0

Goalkeeper Matt Reis: RSL, 2-1 in extra time

Goalkeeper Brad Knighton: RSL, 2-1, with goals by Javier Morales and Robbie Findley (LA’s goal by Landon Donovan)

Defender Darrius Barnes: RSL, 3-2

By Mark Stokes
 
Back in 1981, Michel Platini, echoed the sentiments of then-France manager Michel Hidalgo, and claimed that if there was any justice in the world, Ireland would qualify for a major soccer tournament.

That statement followed a desperately unlucky campaign by the Boys in Green (losing out on goal difference) against Holland, Belgium and the French in an effort to reach the World Cup finals in Spain the following year.

Twenty-eight years later, Platini’s words came back to haunt him as the UEFA President remained deafeningly quiet following one of the biggest injustices the game has ever seen, a wrong which, as luck would have it, was perpetrated against the Irish on Wednesday night at Paris’s Stade de France.

Chasing a 1-0 deficit from Saturday’s first leg in Dublin, the Irish got just what the doctor ordered when Robbie Keane netted on 33 minutes. The visitors, playing some superb football, might have finished off the tie with a second, but their efforts came agonizingly close on four occasions.

Fast forward 70 enthralling minutes to extra time, where Thierry Henry chased a long pass into the Irish penalty area. With the ball headed out of play, and another French opportunity gone begging, the Barcelona based ‘ambassador of football’ stuck out his left hand to control the ball illegally, not once but twice, and then squared to William Gallas who scored in an unguarded net.

Henry even admitted it afterward:

“I will be honest, it was a handball. But I’m not the ref,” he said. “I played it. The ref allowed it. That’s a question you should ask him."

“I’m in the box, there are two defenders in front of me. The ball bounced off my hand, the referee did not see it and I played on."

The French striker was more than a little evasive in saying the ball bounced off his hand - rather he reached out and caught the thing in a move Randy Moss would have been proud of.

Though it was admirable of the French World Cup winner to admit his sins, the hurt wasn’t any less for Ireland and their fans who were devastated after missing out on the World Cup through what coach Giovanni Trapattoni called a “great mistake” by Swedish referee Martin Hansson.

“I told the referee that it is possible to make great mistakes,” Trapattoni said. “It is a bitter evening.”

Trapattoni made the valid point that the official should have talked to his assistants before awarding the goal, the Italian’s wish that he might also have interacted with Henry being slightly ambitious.

“All the European people saw the game and what happened. France played a good game in Dublin, but this time we played better and over the two games we deserved to go to South Africa,” Trapattoni said.

“The hand was so obvious, we're disgusted,” Robbie Keane said after the game before aiming a broadside at football’s governing body. “FIFA absolutely did not want Ireland at World Cup.”

And inevitably Platini’s name came into the mix once more (after the French victory) as the Frenchman was blamed, along with FIFA’s number one, Sepp Blatter, for arranging an easier passage for his compatriots in the playoffs.

With eight countries vying for the final four spots in Europe, FIFA curiously decided to seed the draw - a move which drew the ire of the smaller countries like Ireland, Bosnia, Slovenia and Ukraine (this ‘seeding’ process wasn’t part of the initial rules of the competition).

But while the seeding argument will likely soon drift over the horizon, the handball incident in Paris, which is already being likened to Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal in Mexico in 1986, will not. The clamor for TV replays in soccer is likely to reach a crescendo now.

Everything You Needed To Know About FIFA:

Those in charge of the world’s most popular game, had on their own web site within hours of the Paris World Cup tie, the following entitled article: ‘Gallas Breaks Irish Hearts’

The article rambled on for 637 words, yet made no mention at all (that’s nada, rien, nothing) of a handball during the game. Go figure?

Ireland made one final push Wednesday for a spot in next summer's World Cup, but a controversial goal in overtime sent France to the tournament instead.

The talk of the soccer world will be over whether France's Thierry Henry touched the ball with his hand -- an Associated Press report says he "appeared to control the ball twice with his hand" -- before setting up William Gallas for the game-winner.

It was the second game of a two-game playoff in which total goals determines the overall victor. France won 1-0 on Sunday, meaning Ireland needed to win 1-0 in regulation Wednesday to force an overtime session. Ireland did just that on a goal by Robbie Keane in the 33rd minute.

In the eighth minute of overtime, Gallas netted the winner.

The rest of World Cup field was completed on Wednesday. The tournament, which will be in South Africa June 11 to July 11, 2010.

The field includes:
Asia — Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea

Africa — Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South Africa (host)

Europe — Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland

South America — Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

North and Central America and Caribbean — Honduras, Mexico, United States

Oceania — New Zealand

The field for the 2010 World Cup will be finalized today, with six spots to be determined in playoff matches. Four are in Europe, one is for the final spot between South America and North/Central America and the final comes from a one-game playoff in Africa between Algeria and Egypt.

The New York Times has an overview of the day's action.

Boston fans are most likely interested in the second leg of the Ireland-France playoff, in which France has the advantage because of its 1-0 victory on Sunday. The game begins at 3 p.m. EST.

Other games are Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Portugal, 2:45 p.m.; Slovenia vs. Russia, 2:45 p.m.; Ukraine vs. Greece, 1 p.m.; Uruguay vs. Costa Rica, 6 p.m.; and Egypt vs. Algeria, 12:30 p.m.

By Mark Stokes

Ireland held it’s collective breath in anticipation of its biggest soccer game in almost a decade, on Saturday.

Yet it was not to be for the Green Army, many of whom were packed into restaurants in the Boston area to watch on closed-circuit TV, as a solitary strike from Nicolas Anelka gave France victory in Dublin’s Croke Park, and put Les Bleus in the driving seat for the World Cup playoff second-leg meeting between the countries in Paris on Wednesday night.

Anelka’s strike, coming on 72 minutes, was somewhat fortunate given that it beat the otherwise unbeatable Shay Given, courtesy of a heavy deflection. Yet there was no denying the visitors’ superiority on the night as they constructed measured moves from defense and held onto the ball for long periods.

Ireland on the other hand were less careful in possession and paid the price for their profligacy in having to chase shadows and defend deep for most of the evening. Ireland’s Italian coach, Giovanni Trapattoni, is a world renowned name in the game, yet it was difficult to come to terms with his game plan, which called for 10, and at times 11 men behind the ball, the only pressure release being long passes to the easily outnumbered Robbie Keane.

The visitors held sway for much of the opening half-hour as the effervescent Anelka demanded the attention of several Irish defenders, while Thierry Henry's blistering pace and the brawn of central striker Andre-Pierre Gignac were constant threats.

Richard Dunne and St Ledger marshaled the home defence expertly, but the big Aston Villa man was spared a nightmare moment on 11 minutes when he allowed Eric Abidal's clearance to bounce over his head and Gignac easily lobbed Given, only for an offside flag to negate the goal.

Though the busier of the two goalkeepers, Given remained largely untroubled, as did his opposite number Hugo Lloris. The Lyon stopper’s biggest scare of the opening half came when Keane burst through the middle and drew a point-blank save. Liam Lawrence followed up but saw his attempt to score in an empty net denied by Patrice Evra - a strike, if it had found the net, which would have been nullified by an offside flag.

The caginess continued after the interval with Ireland defending even deeper than before and having little or no outlet in attack, but the game’s decisive moment arrived with 18 minutes remaining. Anelka took possession some 30 yards out and fired goalward. The effort might have drifted harmlessly wide were it not for the intervention of Sean St Ledger, who deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Ireland turned the screws in the last 10 minutes, introducing from the bench two of their biggest weapons in Aiden McGeady and Stephen Hunt, and almost notched an equalizer when Glenn Whelan was denied by a brilliant save from Lloris.

But in the final analysis, the home team reaped what it sowed and will have it all to do in Paris on Wednesday evening. Some local fans still hold out hope of a memorable night for their heroes, but it will be one of the biggest upsets in the country’s sporting history if they do manage to qualify at the expense of the 1998 winners.

By Mark Stokes, Globe Correspondent

A jammed parking lot and standing room only dance floor greeted those at the Roxbury Reunion at Quincy’s Sons of Italy Hall on Saturday night.

The fourth annual event, organized by former Orchard Park resident Tommy White, drew from far and near an estimated 300 denizens of the famous Boston suburb, whose migration, mostly to South Shore communities, began in the 1960s.

Pointers to the past came in the form of street signs -- Cluney Court, Batan Court and Orchard Park -- in casual comments about retirement and recent cruises, and in the shaky soup spoons and occasional walking aid.

But if there were quivers among some there was a whole lotta shakin’ goin on on the dance floor as a duet worthy of concert hall billing, Lil’ Paul and Tina, turned back the clock with an assortment of tunes from yesteryear.

Paul, a former resident of Roxbury’s Howard Ave gave his best impression of Chubby Checker as he belted out numbers like ‘Earth Angel’, ‘Teenager In Love’ and ‘Let’s Twist Again’, the softer notes coming from his partner.

“The thing that sticks out in my mind about Roxbury is the camaraderie we built up among friends,” said Gerry Estabrook, who calls Dorchester home these days. “Everyone looked out for one another back then. Most people were good people and our football coach was a big influence on us,” continued Estabrook, whose claim that life was much simpler back then, was a theme echoed throughout the evening.

But underneath the surface there is a lot to admire about a neighborhood and community who were typical of their generation. Eighty-six-year-old Tommy Murphy is the oldest living former Orchard Park native. The former World War II veteran fought the ‘good fight’ at Normandy Beach and is in remarkably good shape for one so young. Fittingly, many of the streets in Roxbury are named after World War II battles.

Murphy’s son, Tommy Jr., who continued his father’s legacy in Vietnam, was also in attendance.

“My greatest memory of growing up in Roxbury were the friends and friendships I made,” says Tommy White.

“The best things in life I learned were all free. We were old school, we learned about doing the right thing, stepping out of the way on the sidewalk in respect for your elders, not swearing and general respect for your fellow human beings. I learned about loyalty, friendship and happiness.”

Amongst the crowd there were conversations about the street car ride from Dudley Street, grandkids and the new health care bill. Some showed their age, others were remarkably preserved. And for others the inevitability of their dwindling numbers sunk in - some 600 attended the first event four years ago, tonight’s affair would be short of that mark.

“Why do we do it?” White, 58, asked rhetorically. “Whenever I have a day that’s not going well, I reach into a place in my heart where those kids and those stories still live, and just the thought of them brings me joy.

A couple of hours spent in the company of those who made Boston what it is today, was a quite rewarding experience this past weekend. The clichés about stronger previous generations are trotted out perhaps too often these days, but it truly is difficult to see how our youngsters of today can ever emulate these Bostonians of former times.

And suddenly the cold dark parking lot brought back the present day, together with its ring tones, rap and GPS. As the car pulled away the faintest strains of Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ could be heard.

For fans of the New England Revolution who have not had their fill of soccer after Saturday night's season-ending defeat in Chicago, the Coolidge Corner and Kristine Lilly offer a Sunday option.

Lilly, captain of the Boston Breakers and an American national soccer team legend, will be signing autographs after the Brookline cinema's 5:30 p.m. screening of "Sons of Sakhnin United,'' the story of a Arab Israeli's team unlikely rise to become Israel's national soccer champions in 2004.

Here is a link to the film, special Revolution offer for ticket-buyers and ticket info:

Tickets are available online and at the Coolidge Corner Box Office.

For those of you who want more about Saturday night's Revs-Fire game, here it is.

New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol discussed the Revs' playoff game Saturday against the Chicago Fire. He wants his team to force the issue and admits it can't sit back and defend for 90 minutes.

This video interview was provided by MLSnet.com.

By David Beard, Globe staff

Simon Kuper is one opinionated sportswriter. Witness the title of his book just out in paperback, "Soccereconomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey -- and even Iraq -- Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport.'' Below, the Paris-based Kuper, who writes a weekly sports column for the "Financial Times,'' tells us why one star can't raise the MLS and why the US Olympic team should ''quit the nationalism'' and hire a European coach:

Q. There remain legions of American sports fans who believe soccer's
proponents are just wasting their time waiting for its popularity in this country? You make the point it will happen. When, do you think?

A. I would argue that soccer already is popular in the US. According to Fifa's figures, you are the country with the second-most people who kick a ball at least once a year - about 24 million, behind China's 26 million. The US is a rare country with a high female participation in soccer. There's a large niche audience following international soccer - 17 million Americans watched the last World Cup final. Kids play soccer -- more than play most traditional US sports. There's so many kinds of soccer in the US that are flourishing, from kids' teams to some college soccer to watching Man U in bars.

But when people say that soccer hasn't taken off in the US, what they do is point to the MLS. Now you could argue that the MLS has actually done OK. But the point is that the MLS is not US soccer. It's just a small piece of the mosaic that is US soccer. In the book we argue that in this new globalized era, in new soccer countries like the US and soccer, there's a new model of following soccer. No longer do people necessarily follow their local team. Instead they choose a world team, like Man U or Barcelona or maybe both of them, and follow that.

I suspect soccer will continue to grow in the US, simply because it has in almost every other country where it has gained a foothold. It isn't going to oust the traditional US sports (except maybe ice hockey). It's going to exist alongside them, in its own large and growing niche.

Q. To help make soccer rule in the USA, a franchise-worthy American player
is needed. Is it Landon Donovan? Clint Dempsey? Who do you think can be the person who could carry it off?

A. As I say above, soccer isn't going to "rule" in the US. It's just going to coexist successfully. And as I say above, the MLS is only a tiny piece in the mosaic of US soccer. That's why the argument that Beckham was going to bring soccer to the US was flawed. Soccer was already alive and flourishing in the US. What wasn't particularly flourishing was the MLS - and that's partly because in the new global age of soccer, the MLS isn't that important to American soccer fans. Probably more Americans watched Becks playing for Man U and Real than ever saw him at the Galaxy.

I'm very skeptical of the notion of hanging a franchise on one player. Recently I interviewed Joan Oliver, CEO of Barcelona, and he pointed to the LA Galaxy as an example of the failure of that strategy. Oliver says that if you want to market your team through one player, you become very vulnerable to that player's successes and failures. You end up living and dying through him. I don't think US soccer fans are so naive that they will believe that Donovan or Dempsey is god. There's a good knowledge in soccer that a team is a team. Even Pele was never the whole face of the Cosmos. I would dissuade the MLS from trying to pick one or two champions. What happens when the guy pulls a hamstring or gets older or signs for Bayer Leverkusen or quarrels with his teammates?

Q. Another controversial point is that Iraq will prosper, at least in soccer. What's behind that?

A. The basic point is as follows. We argue in the book that each country's performance in international soccer is closely linked to three factors: that country's population, its income per capita (rich countries generally do better in international soccer) and its soccer experience (for which we use as a proxy the number of international games it has played in its history).

If you take those three factors, the US does much worse than it should. In our book we have it as one of the worst underperformers in international soccer. But Iraq does brilliantly relative to those factors - i.e. it performs much better than you would expect. So if Iraq becomes a normal country, a bit richer and playing more games, you would expect it to get even better. It's noteworthy that just since the fall of Saddam they've finished fourth in an Olympics and won an Asian Cup. Iraq is one of our bets for a country of the future. But our strongest bet for country of the future has to be the US: once you just start performing in line with your massive population, per capita GDP and increasingly large soccer experience, you're going to reach the top. The Confed Cup was an early harbinger, we reckon. And as we argue in the book, the key thing you need to do is appoint a western European coach. Quit the nationalism.

Agree with Kuper? Disagree? Have your say in our comments section below.

For those of you who didn't get enough of the New England Revolution's 2-1 victory in the first of two playoff matches against the Chicago Fire yesterday afternoon, we've got a photo slideshow of match highlights.

Included is that winning 75th-minute shot by the Revolution's Shalrie Joseph.

Here is the full slideshow.

And here's Frank Dell'Apa's game story from this morning's Globe.

Next stop: Bridgeview, Ill., on Saturday night.

Following their thrilling victory over Manchester United at Anfield last Sunday, we were led to believe that Liverpool’s season had turned the corner and there was nothing but blue skies ahead for Rafa Benitez and his merry band of Merseysiders.

With that victory the Reds brought to an end one of their worst periods in recent years. Hard to believe then, that just six days on, they have been put to the sword again twice, at Arsenal in midweek and again on Saturday to a wonderful Fulham side.

Under-pressure Rafael Benitez endured another day to forget as nine-man Liverpool crashed to a 3-1 defeat at Craven Cottage. The Cottagers are a different proposition this season under Roy Hodgson, and goals from Bobby Zamora, Erik Nevland and Clint Dempsey earned Fulham three deserved points.

The former West Ham striker was on hand to slide home from close range following a clever pass from Damien Duff, although Fernando Torres equalized with a stunning twenty-yard volley just before the break.

But the Spaniard was substituted in the second half and Fulham’s own replacement, Nevland, restored the home team’s lead with an audacious header through a crowd of players midway through the second period. Philipp Degen and Jamie Carragher both saw red within three minutes for professional fouls before American international Dempsey rubbed salt in the Reds’ wounds with a sublime finish in front of an exposed Jose Reina.

It would appear then, particularly with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United steaming ahead at the top of the Premier League, and Manchester City set to join them following games in hand, that Rafa Benitez’s side may have trouble breaking into the Fantastic Four this season, let alone winning the Premier League.

Next up for Liverpool is a trip to Lyon in midweek, and the prospect of seven defeats in their last eight outings.

The enormity of the task facing Liverpool became evident as Chelsea moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League, ahead of Manchester United’s late Saturday contest with Blackburn, thanks to a second 4-0 win over Bolton.

Carlo Ancelotti's side did not have things all their own way at the Reebok Stadium, but they took a turn for the better just before halftime through Frank Lampard's penalty after Jlloyd Samuel saw red for his challenge on Didier Drogba. The Ivorian was clearly impeded from behind, but went down all too easily under the challenge.

Deco netted the second on the hour mark and Zat Knight scored an own goal before Drogba completed the scoring with a fine finish in injury time.

Robbie Keane fired the first shot across their bows and his manager Harry Redknapp echoed the Irishman‘s comments, but both Tottenham principals were left with egg on their faces on Saturday as Arsenal left their north London rivals in the dust at the Emirates Stadium.

Robin van Persie struck twice to earn his side bragging rights and put a question mark over Spurs’ ability to sustain a top-four challenge in the Premier League. The White Hart Lane club have not won a league game against Arsenal since 1999, and they fell away on Saturday after Van Persie opened the scoring and Cesc Fabregas added the second after winning possession straight from the kick-off.

Both sides went into the weekend level on points, albeit with Spurs playing a game extra, but talk of the gap between the clubs being closed was well and truly ended when Van Persie tapped in the third after the break.

The Revolution rallied for a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire in the opener of their MLS playoff series Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The return game of the total-goals series is scheduled at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Bridgeview, Ill.

REVOLUTION-CHICAGO 2-1
REVOLUTION: Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Jay Heaps; Sainey Nyassi (Wells Thompson 93d+), Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Kenny Mansally (Mauricio Castro 70th); Edgaras Jankauskas (Pat Phelan 52d), Kheli Dube.
CHICAGO: Jon Busch; Brandon Prideaux, C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, Mike Banner (Gonzalo Segares 64th); Chris Rolfe (Justin Mapp 88th), Loan Pause, Baggio Husidic, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Marco Pappa (Patrick Nyarko 74th); Brian McBride.
Referee: Baldomero Toledo. Goals: Rolfe 17th, Osei 46th+, Joseph 75th. Attendance: 7,416.

75TH MINUTE: Shalrie Joseph gave the Revolution a 2-1 lead over Chicago, roofing a close-in shot off a scramble following a corner.

69TH MINUTE: The Revolution moved Shalrie Joseph to striker as Edgaras Jankauskas departed with an "illness." Joseph led the Revolution with eight goals this season.

45TH MINUTE: Seconds before the halftime whistle, Emmanuel Osei tied the score, heading Kenny Mansally's free kick for the first goal of his MLS career.

Sainey Nyassi set up the score, winning possession against Mike Banner and C.J. Brown, then drawing a foul from Brown just beyond the penalty area on the left. Mansally's in-swinger curled to the goal area, Osei losing Banner and flicking past goalkeeper Jon Busch.

18TH MINUTE: Cuauhtemoc Blanco made his mark on the MLS playoffs in the early-going as the Chicago Fire took a 1-0 lead over the Revolution.

Chris Rolfe scored in the 17th minute, but it was Blanco's play setting up the goal.

Blanco, with his back to goal, played the ball into space, Marco Pappa running onto it on the right side of the penalty area. With Jay Heaps and Kenny Mansally converging on him, Pappa sent a low cross to the top of the goal area. The cross went between three defenders and goalkeeper Matt Reis, who made a diving stop, but popped the ball directly to Rolfe, who one-timed under the bar.

The Revolution set up in a 4-4-2 alignment for their opening playoff game against the Chicago Fire Sunday. The Fire countered with a 4-5-1, with Cuauhtemoc Blanco performing in an advanced midfield slot behind lone striker Brian McBride. Kickoff was set at 2 p.m.

REVOLUTION-CHICAGO
REVOLUTION: Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Jay Heaps; Sainey Nyassi, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Kenny Mansally; Edgaras Jankauskas, Kheli Dube.
CHICAGO: Jon Busch; Brandon Prideaux, C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, Mike Banner; Chris Rolfe, Loan Pause, Baggio Husidic, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Marco Pappa; Brian McBride.
Referee: Baldomero Toledo.

The New England Revolution's Major League Soccer playoff game against the Chicago Fire has been switched to Sunday at 2 p.m.

The game, originally set for Saturday, will be at 2 p.m. at Gillette Stadium. It is the first game of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. Game 2 is Nov. 7 in Chicago.

Tickets for the Revolution's home game go on sale Wednesday.

Mark Watson, who performed for the Revolution in their inaugural season, has joined the team as an assistant coach, the team announced Tuesday.

Watson, who played 78 games as a defender for the Canadian national team, will replace Paul Mariner for the remainder of the season. Mariner left the Revolution after a 0-0 tie with Chicago Saturday to become assistant manager of Plymouth Argyle in England. The Revolution, tied with three other teams for the final playoff spot, conclude the regular season at Columbus Sunday. Watson, who also played for clubs in Canada, England, and Sweden, has been working as an assistant with the Charleston Battery.

Taylor Twellman will make his broadcasting debut as a color commentator when the Revolution play host to the Chicago Fire at 6 p.m. Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Twellman, the Revolution's all-time leading scorer with 101 MLS goals, will join play-by-play announcer Brad Feldman. The game will be aired on WRKO-AM.

Last season, Twellman sustained a concussion while scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Twellman returned briefly this season, scoring twice, but was placed on the injured list while recovering from concussion-related injuries.

Former Boston College striker Charlie Davies was in stable condition following an early Tuesday morning auto accident which involved a fatality in the Washington, D.C., area.

Davies, born in Manchester, N.H., was preparing for Wednesday's US-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier. Davies' injuries are not considered life-threatening, according to a US Soccer Federation source, but no determination has been made if the injuries could be career-threatening. Davies has scored two goals this season for Sochaux in France.

The one-car accident occured on the George Washington Parkway in Northern Virginia. Davies was to undergo surgery at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.

The skies over Dublin that October day in 1974, were, as they are for three hundred days a year -- overcast.

The school teacher’s words had drifted into oblivion long before the 1 p.m. quitting bell, and, spying a rare opportunity when the faculty relaxed their gaze, the pair of us sneaked out the door, through the thicket and over the wall to freedom.

Our Mecca was approximately three miles away at Dalymount Park -- the home of Irish football -- where some two hours later the might of Russia was set to take the field in a World Cup qualifier against a mighty underdog host nation.

Too pent up to board a bus and fritter through the north city traffic, we took the logical option and put one foot in front of the other. If there was consideration in that pre-cell phone era of parents’ worries about missing children it clearly wasn’t expressed by these 12-year-olds.

Like the migration of wildebeest across the Serengeti we joined a flow of humanity which knew neither perimeter nor parameter. Traffic lost its advantage as the hordes swarmed across the Phibsboro Road and up to the apron of the stadium. For those of you who have driven to Gillette Stadium, parked vehicle and unveiled lounge chair and cooler, let’s just say that day 35 years ago was nothing like that.

Over an hour to go to kick-off and we were proud of our having negotiated the three-mile journey, yet frustrated that the remaining 200 yards would take perhaps as long. Nothing about this was easy and once inside the stadium we waded through bodies and eventually came to rest on the stadium’s perimeter fence.

Chins almost resting on the playing surface, so close were we to the action, we had unknowingly put ourselves at serious risk of life and limb (terraced stadiums of the time owed little to sense or sensibility -- it was first come first served and all between fan and disaster was a strategically placed crush barrier. And with the interest in this particular game pushing the crowd a "safe" ten thousand above capacity, someone up there was definitely looking out for these innocent young kids.

The pre-match build up left young and old open-jawed as Russian goalkeeper Vladimir Pilgui gave as good a performance between soccer goalposts as any gymnast could -- a display of brilliance rivaled in my lifetime perhaps only by Liverpool’s Bruce Grobbelar. A novice at such events I wasn’t used to seeing partisan crowds actually applaud an opposing player. Yet this they did for this Russian goalkeeper as he dove to keep out practice shots he had no right to save. How could anyone ever hope to put the ball past him?

The atmosphere as the teams crossed the white lines was electric, streamers and toilet rolls raining down from on high -- an imitation of the Buenos Aires based World Cup of earlier that year.

The Soviet team was ranked second-best in Europe and wore their hearts on their sleeves for their national anthem with their country’s name ‘CCCP’ emblazoned proudly across their chests. They were all clean cut and shaven as was the way of Communist block athletes of the time.

The Irish, by contrast, were more in touch with the hippie culture of the seventies -- 17-year-old debutant Liam Brady resembled John Lennon with his shoulder-length hair, while big striker Don Givens wouldn’t have looked out of place in a band named Electric Light Orchestra.

The sheer brilliance of both teams left me amazed and then, on 22 minutes, a ball was whipped over from the right wing. It was a thing of beauty -- Givens rose majestically, and with razor-like instincts, buried a header in the bottom corner. I can still to this day see the ball ripping into the net as his shock of hair followed the trajectory of the ball. The unbeatable Russian keeper, cat-like in his movements pregame, was left rooted to the spot like the proverbial deer in the headlights.

The roar of the crowd at that moment was heard far away in the foothills of the Dublin mountains. And, ten minutes later, there was silence enough for me to hear the sound of boot meeting head as Ireland’s nominal Italian, Terry Mancini, became entangled with his marker and fairly laid him out for a ten count.

The roof lifted once more before halftime as Givens struck again and the Queens Park Rangers striker completed his hat-trick with twenty minutes remaining to leave the Russians, and indeed the 40,000 fans on hand, thoroughly dumbfounded.

Walking on air I felt nothing but bursting pride on what was a short journey home. I wanted to talk, to relive every moment of the history in the making I had just witnessed, but just couldn’t find the words.

Back at home, I walked in the front door. There were one or two stares. No questions were asked of my whereabouts -- it was as if everything was understood. I took my place beside my family members at the kitchen table. And all I was left with that wonderful night was my fantastic memories and the comparative silence of tea being poured.

I have been to across Europe to witness soccer matches -- and of course will always remember that epic game at Giants Stadium in 1994 when Ireland defeated Italy to once again shock the world, but nothing will ever separate me from my memories of that heavenly day in 1974

Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner has been being recruited to promote Plymouth as a possible World Cup site. But talks with Mariner have apparently evolved to the point where he could be considered for a coaching position with Plymouth Argyle, according to the Plymouth Herald.

Here is the report from Monday's editions of the Herald:

Mariner to link up with Argyle

FORMER England and Argyle striker Paul Mariner is being lined up to promote Plymouth's bid to become a World Cup host city.
Mariner, currently assistant coach at American Major League Soccer side New England Revolution, has been rumoured as a possible candidate should a managerial vacancy arrive at Home Park.
But Herald Sport has been told Mariner is likely to be taking on a diplomatic role with the Pilgrims, to help push their ambitions to host a World Cup game, should England be awarded the 2018 tournament.
Talks are believed to have taken place between Mariner and Argyle officials, and an announcement is expected to be made later this week by the club.
Mariner, who played in the 1982 World Cup, was in England at the end of last month to attend Sir Bobby Robson's Memorial Service in Durham. He also still has family in Devon.
The striker joined Argyle in 1973 from non-league side Chorley.
He scored 56 goals in 135 appearances before being snapped up by Robson's Ipswich for over £200,000.
Mariner had eight successful years at Ipswich before going on to play for Arsenal and Portsmouth.
He earned 35 England caps, scoring 13 times.

Someone miskicked the viewing rights for the Honduras-US World Cup qualifier. So, for the first time in many years, a U.S. qualifier will not be available on home television when the teams meet at 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 in San Pedro Sula.

The only local sites for the game to be shown, so far, are Gillette Stadium's CBS Scene, which is expecting a large crowd following the Revolution-Columbus match that night, and Wonderland Greyhound Park (Spanish language) in Revere. English-language rights are being handled by Integrated Sports in New Jersey.