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.
The top three spots this week go to Jonathan Osorio, Patrice Bernier, and Doneil Henry, with special mention for Will Johnson, who suffered only in that he forgot to put on his scoring boots.
Find out what they did to deserve recognition and who else earned their keep this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Jonathan Osorio
Osorio began and completed Toronto’s season opening 1-2 win in Seattle; stationed in the central midfield alongside Michael Bradley, Osorio had a very impressive start to his sophomore campaign in MLS.
Throughout the off-season, many voiced concerns that Bradley would be forced to sit deep, thus not fully utilizing his box-to-box skills, or that Jermain Defoe would be starved of service in an anemic TFC attack – Osorio responded to such accusations immediately and with aplomb.
He showed an uncanny ability to read the intentions of his midfield partner (given how little they have played together), moving forward when able, but more often staying deep to allow for Bradley’s forays forward – answering the first concern. And it took just seventeen minutes to formulate a response to the second, threading a lovely ball inside the Seattle right-back to spring Defoe, who scored his first MLS goal:
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It was not all smooth sailing however, as once too often a pass went astray, ultimately resulting in Seattle’s consolation goal when his feed for Jackson was intercepted by Chad Marshall, precipitating a counterattack (pass not shown, but the result is):
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The Toronto, Ontario-native completed 27 of 37 passes, lost possession thirteen times, made eight recoveries, seven clearances, and three interceptions in a very busy performance, committing a pair of fouls, while earning one, winning and losing a tackle each way.
After the match, Defoe revealed a conversation between the two - “I said to Jonathan, I said to him, ‘when I make the runs, just look for me,’ and he said, ‘yeah, I’ll look for you straight away’.*It was an unbelievable pass.”
Patrice Bernier
Bernier made his first start of the season in Montreal’s 1-0 loss in Houston, having sat out the opener in Dallas as he recovered fitness following off-season surgery.
On the right of the midfield-base, paired with Hernan Bernardello, Bernier got stuck in immediately and had a nice little battle going with Brad Davis through the opening stages.
His scintillating passing was on display, swinging a nice ball out wide for Eric Miller, before hitting a lovely long-range weighted pass for Felipe.
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Bernier showed a little bit of rust, sending a later attempt to no one in particular and getting stripped easily by Oscar Boniek Garcia when he tried to surge into the box.
The Brossard, Quebec-native’s shooting however, was not lacking, forcing a big save out of Houston keeper, Tally Hall, with this right-footed lash from distance.
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He worked hard on the other side of the ball too, tracking all the way back to the end-line to see out the danger of an Andrew Driver run with a savvy bit of defensive reading, before making way for Blake Smith in what was likely a pre-arranged substitution in the 72nd minute.
Post-match the Montreal captain commented, "I was pleased to step back on the field and contribute. It was a frustrating game because we showed a lot of effort but couldn’t take a point. We created several scoring chances and played well defensively against a team that is hard to beat at home. We are progressing and we want to continue in this direction next week at home."
Doneil Henry
Henry went the full ninety in Toronto’s win over Seattle.
From his left centre-back position alongside Steven Caldwell, Henry put in another physically dominant performance – whether outracing Obafemi Martins to a loose ball or winning a header over Marshall (not an easy feat), he was a force to be reckoned with.
It was his header than turned a Seattle half-clearance towards Osorio, leading to Defoe’s opener, while the big centre-back got on the end of a TFC corner kick to nearly grab one of his own – taking a shin to the face for his troubles:
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His defensive aggression was both an asset – stopping Dempsey dead in his tracks on one occasion – and a detriment - by getting draw in on Marco Pappa, he allowed space behind for the midfielder’s back-heel to play in Martins, only to be saved by Caldwell’s big block; while it was his lunging tackle near the halfway line that played a role in the odd-man rush that led to Dempsey’s goal in the 68th minute.
He finished the match, despite rubbing his hamstring after a big tackle on Chad Barrett in the closing minutes.
The Brampton, Ontario-native completed 17 of 23 passes, lost possession seven times, had one headed shot - off target, committed two fouls and suffered one, while making thirteen clearances, six recoveries, a pair of interceptions. He also won two of his three tackles.
Will Johnson
Johnson made his second consecutive start for Portland in their 1-1 draw against Chicago, the club he began his MLS career with back in 2005, on Sunday.
Again alongside Diego Chara at the base of the Timbers midfield, Johnson was the driving force of the side, though he failed to capitalize on several good looks at goal throughout the match.
First he whistled a low free-kick wide of the post, then curled a volley from a Diego Valeri free-kick off target, before being denied by Chicago keeper, Sean Johnson, when a chance fell to him at the back-post.
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He later made an attempt to get on his bike for a high ball in the Chicago box, only for Gonzalo Segares to get enough in the way to prevent connection, and finally, most frustratingly, Johnson failed to capitalize on a dreadful Fire mix-up that gave him a clean look at an open goal, only to roll a weak shot wide.
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And those are just a few of the chances he missed on the day.
The Toronto-born midfielder completed 31 of his 39 passes; lost possession nine times, attempted five shots – two on goal, while making eight recoveries, three clearances, two interceptions, and won one tackle.
Dwayne De Rosario
De Rosario made the first appearance of his second-stint with Toronto FC in their win over Seattle – it was his 58th MLS appearance for the club.
Starting the match as a forward, paired up top with Defoe, De Rosario was lively if slightly understated in his performance, perhaps indicative of his willingness to play a little more for the team than many expect.
It was, in part, his intelligent pressure that helped force the turnover that led to Defoe’s second of the afternoon:
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He would possibly have had one of his own, if right-back Mark Bloom had not picked the wrong pass in a counter, where De Rosario did very well to hold the line having put himself in excellent position to ghost in unmarked with a simple through-ball, but the pass never came.
De Rosario drifted between playing out-and-out striker and dropping into the midfield to counter Seattle’s numerical advantage in the middle; especially taking care to do some more often once the two-goal led had been achieved, before making way for the fresh legs of Andrew Wiedeman in the 63rd minute.
The Scarborough, Ontario-legend completed 10 of his 16 passes, lost possession just eight times (very good for De Ro), had his one shot blocked, made a pair of recoveries, and tellingly committed three fouls, while winning two.
The Rest
Ashtone Morgan was on the bench for TFC in Seattle, he entered the fray in the 93rd minute – even if the unofficial scoresheet says he entered in the 89th (he didn’t) - replacing Jackson, mostly as a substitute to kill a few seconds off the clock.
Kyle Bekker, Karl Ouimette, Wandrille Lefevre, and Bryce Alderson were all on the bench as unused substitutes for their respective sides (Toronto, Montreal, Montreal, and Vancouver, for those not paying attention).
Russell Teibert missed out on Vancouver’s 1-1 draw at Chivas with a hamstring concern that had kept him out of training, if not on the injury report.
A handful of Canadians have been sent out on loan to USL PRO – Toronto’s Quillan Roberts and Manny Aparicio were sent to Wilmington, while Vancouver’s Jackson Farmer, though not technically part of the MLS roster, has joined Charleston.
All videos and quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
Each week James takes a look at the contributions of Canadians in the league and the league as a whole.
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