Tesho Akindele
Akindele made his tenth-straight start for Dallas in their 0-1 win over Chivas on Sunday night – it was his eleventh start and fourteenth appearance of the season.
In tandem once more with Blas Perez in attack, Akindele was again fantastic, dragging Chivas defenders all over the pitch, ranging wide to each side, and stretching the defense by leading the line on occasion, all in the effort to make space for his teammates to exploit.
It was his goal in the 49th minute that stood as the winner,
He took his finish expertly, committing to the run, getting goal-side his defender and making the simple, but far from easy, contact necessary to redirect the ball goal-ward – it was his fourth of the season and third in the last four matches.
The Calgary, Alberta-native nearly returned the favour to Castillo on two occasions: poking in an inviting feed after a run up the right – Chivas keeper, Dan Kennedy, was quick off his line to snuff out the danger, and then delightfully flicking the back-end of a one-two into the path of the Colombian, who rounded the defenses but could not beat the post.
One hopes that he will be one of the players suiting up for the national team come next month’s friendly against Jamaica in Toronto – the combination of movement, size, strength, and finish that he embodies is a fixture Canada desperately needs.
Anthony Jackson-Hamel
Jackson-Hamel became the seventh homegrown signing for the Montreal Impact on Friday and the next day he was taking to the pitch for his first, replacing Jack McInerney in the 65th minute as Montreal fell 0-2 to TFC on Saturday.
Some Twenty minutes later, the native of Quebec City nearly added the first goal of his professional career, finding the space in the box to get on the end of an Eric Miller cross, directing his header low to the far-post, but Joe Bendik was sharp to push the effort wide.
The now 21-year old, his birthday was either Saturday or Sunday – there is contradictory information out there – spoke with reporters after his debut: “I think it’s all happening fast, but I’m very happy for the opportunity and I’m going to keep working hard at the trainings and I’ll be ready for the next game if they need me again.”
He continued, “But, I was ready for the opportunity if the coach needed me. It was a culmination of four years of hard work, being part of the Academy, so I’m proud today, but it would have been nice if we won and that header went in. But, there will be more chances.”
Before adding, “They told me yesterday, like everybody else and I didn’t know if they would put me on but I was ready. The style of play is more physical and faster but I’m ready for my next game.”
He earned the praise of coach Frank Klopas with his cameo: “One of the positives from today is the way Jackson played, he did very well. He’s a young guy who stepped in and did extremely well. He was strong in the box and held up the ball well. I’m very happy for him.”
Expect to see more of him in both MLS and the Champions League.
Doneil Henry
Henry returned to the Toronto lineup for Saturday’s win over Montreal having served his one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation during Wednesday’s loss at DC – it was his twelfth start of the season.
He
Paired with Nick Hagglund in the centre of the Toronto defense, Henry was again impressive, racking up eight clearances, four recoveries, four interceptions, and a block.
The Brampton, Ontario-native’s most impactful play of the afternoon came in the 54th minute, when he
Will Johnson
Johnson made a 22nd consecutive start for Portland in their 3-1 loss to Los Angeles on Saturday, continuing his run of having started every single league match for the Timbers this season.
Alongside Diego Chara at the base of the midfield, Johnson was faced with the difficult task of keeping a lid on the dynamic movements of the Galaxy attack, with all its moving parts.
Forced on the back-heel against an oft-rampant Galaxy, the Toronto-born midfielder was regularly forced deep into his own area,
His passing was excellent, even if he was not afforded the chance to get forward regularly, misplacing just three passes all night – he had just one pass, incomplete, in the attacking third.
Johnson tallied six recoveries, three tackles, and a pair each of interceptions and clearances.
Patrice Bernier
Bernier started a ninth-straight match for Montreal in their loss to Toronto on Saturday – it was his fifteenth start and twentieth appearance of the season.
Patrolling the midfield with Eric Miller, Bernier’s passing was, as usual, sublime, moving the ball wide with ease, though his attempts to push forward failed to find their aim with regularity.
The Brossard, Quebec-native collected thirteen recoveries, always well positioned to gain possession, but he could not single-handedly prevent Toronto from threatening on the counter or moving the ball into the wide positions – plays from which both their goals were scored.
He did have one excellent look at goal in the first half, dragging his shot wide of the far-post from outside the area.
Post-match, he was honest in his assessment of the disappointment: “I don’t want to make any excuses for today. This was derby game against Toronto. I understand that not everyone understands the rivalry, but we should have been more up for this one. We didn’t answer the bell tonight”
But looked forward to Tuesday’s Champions League match, which the Impact would win: “We have to prepare mentally for this Champions League game. We are in a tough spot and we hope the fans will come out and support us. We need their help to get out of this"
The theme from Bernier these past few weeks and months has been to move on from the struggles, a sentiment he reiterated once more: “We have an opportunity to have a fresh start with this tournament; especially playing at home we are looking forward to it. We have to be ready for it. We can`t switch off right away from the spell we are in right now, but this tournament is different and gives us the opportunity to start off fresh and maybe turn the tide around for us for the rest of our regular season.”
Jonathan Osorio
Osorio entered Toronto’s 3-0 loss at DC United in the 66th minute, replacing Dominic Oduro with TFC already down two goal, shortly thereafter it was three and the match was all but over – it was his third appearance from the bench this year.
Come Saturday, he returned to the starting eleven for the win over Montreal, taking up position on the left-side of midfield, with free reign to move in-field and insert himself into the build-up – it was his thirteenth start of the season.
His passing was fantastic, a large part of Toronto’s midfield domination for much of the match, misplacing just four all match and adding four key passes – whatever they are.
The Toronto, Ontario-native
Russell Teibert
Teibert began Wednesday’s match in Chicago on the bench, before entering the fray in the 57th minute, replacing Gershon Koffie with the score tied at zeros.
Staying deeper in the midfield, his passing was solid, but conservative, rarely venturing forward as the match would end in a stayed scoreless draw.
It was the Niagara Falls, Ontario-native’s sixth appearance from the bench and sixteenth overall of the season.
Reportedly, he was one of the stars of the inaugural Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game, though, of course, the match was not available in Canada – which was odd.
Kyle Bekker
Bekker remained an unused substitute for Wednesday’s loss in DC, though he did see some limited minutes at the end of TFC’s win in Montreal, replacing Collen Warner in the 84th minute – it was his first appearance in nearly two months, bringing his season tally to ten, eight of which were starts between April and June.
The Oakville, Ontario-native had one attempt at goal in his brief cameo, his effort drifting wide.
The Rest
Ashtone Morgan, Dwayne De Rosario, Wandrille Lefevre, Maxim Tissot, and Kofi Opare were unused substitutes for their respective sides this round.
All video 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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