Published 4/2/2007 9:10:57 PM by Shane Barrow from Dallas, Texas

Monday completed day 2 of Super Group play at Dallas Cup and the groups became clearer after several very entertaining matches.  In Group A, Real Madrid sits on top with 6 points after a 2-0 win over a very good Southampton squad from England.  Real Madrid grabbed a 1-0 lead about 20 minutes into the game, but Southampton responded by creating several scoring chances that went begging the remainder of the 1st half including a ball off the post.  The 2nd half saw Southampton continue to push for the tying goal and create several more chances.  Amazingly none of the pressure paid off with a goal as the Real Madrid goalkeeper made several nice plays to keep the shutout.  Finally in the dying minutes a Real Madrid counter attack led to the 2nd goal.

In the other Group A match, Solar SC made another poor showing and was beaten 3-0 at the hands of Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica.  On Wednesday Solar faces Southampton while Real Madrid plays Saprissa.  Real Madrid looks to be pretty safe to go through barring a lopsided result that could swing goal differential with a Real loss.  Otherwise both Saprissa and Southampton will look to get wins to take them to 6 points and possibly grab the wildcard spot.

In Group B play, both Chelsea and Arsenal FC of California both won again to set up a Wednesday showdown for the group title.  Chelsea had no problem beating Japanese side Takigawa Dai Ni 4-1 on the day while Arsenal earned an impressive 2-0 victory over a CD Guadalajara side that had higher hopes for the tournament but are now eliminated.  Chelsea and Arsenal will meet for the group title Wednesday 2:00.

In Group C, Sao Paolo withstood a furious 2nd half comeback from German side Eintracht Frankfurt in a 4-3 win.  The game looked to be a walkover as the Brazilian side jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead.  However the Germans regrouped at the half and came out flying pulling a goal back early in the 2nd half.  Sao Paolo responded almost immediately moving the score to 4-1, but Frankfurt was not ready to quit.  The Germans pulled two more goals back within 10 minutes and looked to have a shot with the score 4-3 and 20 minutes to play.  Eintracht Frankfurt created a couple of more opportunities but were unable to grab a share of the 3 points as the game finished 4-3.

The other Group C game between Tigres and Shamrock of Ireland was just as exciting.  Tigres looked solidly in control as they built a 4-1 2nd half lead, but the Irish boys showed amazing determination and clawed their way back into the match with 2 goals in a flurry to cut the lead to 4-3.  As time wound down the Irish team earned a penalty kick and looked sure to even the game, but the Tigres goalkeeper made a great diving save to maintain the lead.  On the last play of the game Shamrock flighted a corner kick into the Tigres box where a Shamrock player waited only to head it a foot over the Tigres goal.

On Wednesday Shamrock plays Sao Paolo where the Brazilians only need a draw to take the group.  The other game pits Eintracht Frankfurt against Tigres where either side can put itself in good shape for a wildcard with a solid victory.

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