With the spring thaw comes the start of the new MLS season, welcome back, should be a good one.
As an extension to Canadian Soccer News’ MLS Week in Review, this article provides a closer look at the performances of the Canadian players who saw the pitch this week.
Pickings were slim in this the opening weekend of MLS, as only two Canadians started, while a further pair saw action from the bench.
Top three spots go to Will Johnson, Russell Teibert, and Rob Friend, with Kyle Porter looking bright in his brief cameo appearance for DC United.
Find out what they did to deserve recognition and who else earned their keep this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Will Johnson
Johnson picked up right where he left off last season, making the start, bossing the midfield and driving the match forward from his defensive midfield position. Alongside Diego Chara, the duo had their hands full with the revamped Philadelphia midfield that featured an impressive Mo Edu, the savvy Vincent Noguiera, and old-hand Brian Carroll.
The Toronto-born captain nearly played a role in an early opening goal for the Timbers, when his flicked header at the near-post led to a good chance for Pa Modou Kah, but his header rattled off the outside of the back-post. He then laid a solid body-check on Sebastien Le Toux, channeling his Canadian roots. That emotional energy was on display as he remonstrated with Diego Valeri, who failed to spot one of his many late runs into the box, and also gave an earful to Chara when the midfielder played backwards instead of forward.
It was that emphasis and sharpness that eventual found a last-second equalizer for his side, hustling to take a 93rd minute, right-sided corner kick that was flicked at the near-post by Philadelphia’s Carroll and fell for Sebastian Fernandez at the back-post - play deserving of an assist, but denied by the inadvertent touch from an opponent.
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Johnson completed a solid 40 of his 50 passes, had two shots on goal – both blocked, and sent a free-kick hammering into the wall. He won three tackles, made six recoveries, two interceptions, and one clearance, winning all three tackles he was involved in and some five headers, while losing possession ten times.
In his immediate post-match interview, at the end of the Root Sports broadcast, Johnson’s disappointment at drawing 1-1 on opening day was palpable, beginning his response with a head shake, “Not good man, we were just all over the place, we’ve got to be better than that at home, it’s a really disappointing start, excited to get a goal at the end, but just a poor performance … don’t want to be too negative, ‘cause obviously we battled and got a point, but if we’re going to do anything this year it has to be better.”
Off the pitch, his reflections turned a little more sober, though still pointed, “Very frustrating. We get ourselves in good spots and, for whatever reason – in the preseason and it’s come into the season a little bit – in and around goal, it’s just not good enough. So that’s frustrating for sure. We need guys who want to score goals, who need to score goals for us to win. That’s why they’re out there. The attacking guys have to look in the mirror and find a way. Watch the video and look at some of those plays and think ‘Could I have done a little more there? Could I have thrown my body at something, made a play, do whatever it takes to get those three points for this club?’ I think, every single guy, if they watch that game back, the answer to that question would be yes, they could have done more. That’s what we have to face.”
Continuing, “It takes time. It’s not going to be perfect on Day One. But when things aren’t good with the ball, you still have to fight. You still have to work really hard when things aren’t going your way and it’s not going to be the perfect possession. Getting stuck in is not pushing a guy when he’s out of bounds or kicking someone when he’s facing the wrong direction. Being tough and getting stuck in is going for 50/50 balls that are there. I don’t think we were quite there.”
His efforts with the club were rewarded with a new multi-year contract, though terms were not disclosed – as usual.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pleased to report we have come to agreement with <a href="https://twitter.com/WillJohnson04">@WillJohnson04</a> to extend his contract with the club. Our captain will be in PDX 4 a bit!</p>— Merritt Paulson (@MerrittPaulson) <a href="
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Russell Teibert
Teibert was the only other Canadian to start for his side this weekend, taking up an attacking position on the right-side of midfielder in Vancouver’s 4-1 decimation of New York at BC Place.
With Vancouver having reinforced the midfield with various South American acquisitions, it was important for Teibert, who has yet to really solidify a particular position, to set off on the right foot. He showed that attacking verve and pace with several strong early runs cutting into the middle from his wide position, before exhibiting a deft bit of fancy footwork to work out of a jam on the touchline in tight quarters.
He had one good lash from distance that was well-parried by Luis Robles and hustled back on defense to force turnovers out of a disjointed opponent, causing all sorts of trouble to Jonny Steele – that defensive work saw him booked for a ‘professional’ pull-back on Eric Alexander in transition. Teibert’s occasional mistouch was displayed, as he snatched at one crossing attempt (on his right foot) after a strong run through the midfield from Nigel Reo-Coker played him into space down the right.
The Niagara Falls, Ontario-native completed 35 of 45 passes, had one shot – on target, committed a single foul, for which he received his first yellow card of the season, and lost possession twelve times; he made seven recoveries and won all three of his tackles.
Rob Friend
Friend, who joined Los Angeles in January, made his first appearance for the club in their 0-1 loss to Salt Lake on opening night, replacing Brazilian forward Samuel in the 77th minute.
In his thirteen minutes, Friend proved a handful for the opponent’s defenses, enjoying a physical battle with centre-back Nat Borchers that was entertaining to old-school fans. He nearly got on the end of a Landon Donovan cross, Borchers doing just enough to force his header wide, and got the better of the defender on another occasion, but again could not keep his header on target.
It was his hustle – and a touch of veteran savvy – that won the Galaxy a 92nd-minute penalty kick when he was barged into by Tony Beltran, but Robbie Keane was denied by the inspired Nick Rimando in the final kick of the match.
The Rosetown, Saskatchewan-native completed two of his five passes, had two headed shots on target, won a single header, and drew that penalty kick with the one foul he suffered. Numbers aside, Friend will prove a valuable role for LA, who at times last season could be accused of being a little one-dimensional, something Friend himself acknowledged in the pre-season - “I’m a different type of player than the team has had in a while. I’m a big target man and they know what they’re getting. I’m not going to take the ball and dribble 10 guys, but I play with my size. I’m a box player and I think that the team has needed a player for Robbie and Landon to play off. I’ll do the dirty work and give more space for them.”
Post-match he said, “Obviously we want to win. I sniffed around the net a bit where I had some chances, it would have been nice to score. Unlucky not to get the win, I think we deserve to get the win or at least a tie. Obviously Salt Lake is a good team so we move on and learn for our mistakes and get stronger for the next game”, reflected his first MLS experience, “It was perfect; it was really nice, it was great. Good experience for the first time in the MLS, I enjoyed it”, and looked forward to the midweek Champions League challenge, “It makes us more motivated, no one likes to lose, especially in their first game. We expect to win every game so obviously now we are motivated for Wednesday, but I think we got a little bit of extra fire in us now.”
Donovan offered this on the big man’s introduction, “I thought Rob was pretty good when he came in too, and gave us a different dimension so we are going to have a lot of help in that area this year.”
Earlier in the year, Friend was asked why now was the time to return to North America - “The timing was right because I didn’t want to come back when I was too old. I think that I have a lot to give and after 11 years in Europe, it was good timing on my part, and hopefully, I have enough in me to contribute.”
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It doesn’t hurt that his wife is from nearby Manhattan Beach.
Kyle Porter
Porter may have spent most of the match on the bench, only entering in the 82nd minute to replace Jeff Parke with his team already down by two goals, but the forward showed the sort of forward play that earned him a second season in DC.
Seconds after coming on, Porter proved lively, darting towards goal from the left-side of midfield and unleashing a solid effort from distance that sailed high off-target – never hurts to get in a good sighter as soon as possible, keep the keeper honest.
In his eight minutes, the midfielder had several half-chances, getting on the end of a corner kick that drew mild panic in the Columbus box, though he could not wrap his foot around a tight-angled, bouncing chance in the dying minutes.
The Toronto, Ontario-native completed all four of his passes, had that one shot – off target, and lost possession just once in a disappointing result, 0-3 to the Crew, for a DC side desperate to turnaround a forgettable season in 2013.
The Rest
Patrice Bernier, Karl Ouimette, and Wandrille Lefevre were unused substitutes on the bench for Montreal in the 3-2 loss to FC Dallas in Texas.
Welcome aboard to a newcomer to MLS, Dallas’ Tesho Akindele, who was on the bench in their win over Montreal. The Calgary, Alberta-born forward was selected sixth-overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft from the Colorado School of Mines – here are a bunch of his college highlights.
Captain Bernier
A quick word on Montreal finally naming Bernier as the club captain, in his third season with the club – it’s about time, eh?
Bernier, as always, was most gracious at the announcement, “I’m honored. It’s a nice recognition, another challenge. It’ll be nice to be the captain, but nothing's going to change too much. I'll have the armband, but I'll be supported by three solid guys.”
Having always been the heartbeat and metronome of the side, the actual armband will change very little.
The Impact compiled this handy timeline of his career in Montreal and a social stream as well.
Still coming into fitness after off-season knee surgery, Bernier was held out of the starting lineup in the season opener, a possibility he foresaw the previous Sunday, "I keep following my own path, and then, I’ll have another week to get in better shape and probably start the next match. But I haven’t set any objective of being in great shape for the Dallas game. Nor am I forcing myself to be ready for a start and 90 minutes in Dallas – that’s a coaching decision. My priority is regaining fitness, maybe playing a few minutes there. We’ll see what happens after that first game."
All quotes and video courtesy of MLSsoccer.com, unless otherwise noted
Each week James takes a look at the contributions of Canadians in the league and the league as a whole.
You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing at Partially Obstructed View