Jonathan Osorio
Osorio returned to the Toronto lineup on Saturday after missing two matches with a hamstring concern to help his side beat Chivas USA 3-0 – it was his nineteenth start and 22nd appearance of the season.
Taking up a central midfield position in advance of Michael Bradley, Osorio was very impressive, bringing a measure of liveliness and verve to a plodding Toronto outfit – something coach Greg Vanney admitted has been missing from the side in attack.
The Toronto, Ontario-native would involve himself thoroughly in the build-up, picking up an assist on Jackson’s opening goal in the 23rd minute,
Aside from moving the ball very well - misplacing just four of innumerable passes, Osorio committed himself to making runs into the box, troubling the Chivas defenses and opening up lanes for teammates – such as when Luke Moore burst in, only to hit the crossbar.
Bossing the midfield, Osorio was suffered two fouls, including one from Nathan Sturgis that saw the Chivas midfielder booked for thumping into the back of the TFC player, catching him with a painful knee to the spine in the 38th minute.
He would leave the match in the 68th minute with Toronto three-goals up, to be replaced by Warren Creavalle.
Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé
Gagnon-Lapare maintained a starting spot in Montreal’s lineup on Saturday against San Jose, helping his side achieve a 2-0 win on the night, though they could not stave off elimination – it was his second start of the season and third appearance.
Having appeared at the base of the midfield in his first two outings, Gagnon-Lapare exhibited his versatility by manning the left-back position and keeping a tight-lid on the energetic runs of Cordell Cato, a rather tricky winger when on his game.
The Sherbrooke, Quebec-native was not only solid defensively, assisting in keeping Montreal’s seventh clean-sheet of the campaign with six recoveries, two interceptions, a tackle and a clearance, Gagnon-Lapare was willing and able to get forward, overlapping on Ignacio Piatti to make space for the Argentine to roam.
He was credited with three key passes – whatever those are, and displayed a fair bit of attacking flair with this excellent run to get on the end of a Heath Pearce ball before cutting inside to poke a ball forward for Jack McInerney, who shot wide.
The homegrown rookie also showed excellent reading of the match, picking off a loose pass to spring Marco Di Vaio on a later occasion, leading to a Felipe look at goal.
The win was the first he had tasted in MLS as a player with the Impact first team; all that having gone the full ninety minutes midweek against New York in a successful Champions League effort that put Montreal in the driver’s seat for progressing from their group.
Will Johnson
Having missed his first league match in over a year when he was rested for last weekend’s draw against Colorado, Johnson returned to the Portland starting eleven for their 3-0 win over Vancouver on Saturday – it was his 28th start of the season for the Timbers.
Resuming his defensive midfield role alongside Diego Chara, Johnson played a sturdy defensive game having exerted himself fully midweek with one of his more dominating performances of the year, scoring a goal and collecting a pair of assists in Portland’s 4-2 win against Honduran side CD Olimpia –
Tasked largely with keeping a tight watch over Vancouver’s playmaker, Pedro Morales, Johnson was limited in his forward movements – he did not have a single attempt at goal, but kept Morales, and thus Vancouver, off the score-sheet with the aid of his teammates.
The Toronto-born midfielder’s passing was tidy, if largely limited to the middle third of the pitch, and he racked up just three recoveries and an interception, while committing two fouls to the one he suffered.
That one foul suffered came courtesy of countryman, Russell Teibert, and led to Portland’s opening goal after a quick free-kick
With the win, Portland leapt over one Canadian club, Vancouver, into possession of the fifth spot in the East; next weekend, Johnson and company travel to Toronto, where he can perhaps doom another Canadian side to a season without a post.
Russell Teibert
Teibert made his seventh-straight start for Vancouver in their disparaging loss at Portland on Saturday – it was his seventeenth start and 24th appearance of the season.
With the Whitecaps abandoning their diamond midfield, Teibert lined-up alongside Matias Laba at the base of the midfield and did very well to keep a close watch on a rampant Portland attack through most of the opening half-hour, until his foul on Will Johnson led to a quickly taken free-kick that caught the defenses napping – one can see Teibert’s reaction to Valeri’s strike at the end of the clip above.
Prior to that, the match had been very even, with the Niagara Falls, Ontario-native as lively as ever, making an early steal to burst up the middle, later muscling past Johnson by nutmegging his international teammate to get in a shot towards goal – it was blocked and went out for a corner (the first of two such blocked efforts).
Teibert’s passing was very good, misplacing just four all night, and inserting himself into many of Vancouver’s more dangerous moves, including one that saw a one-two with Pedro Morales before scooping a ball in for Erik Hurtado, alas the pass was headed clear.
He was given the run-around by Darlington Nagbe on one occasion, necessitating a shoving foul – one of three that afternoon from Teibert. And he was more than willing to track back, helping to quell the threats of Diego Valeri and Fanendo Adi on the break – a preview of what was to come in the second half.
With Vancouver going in search of an equalizer, the match opened up and Teibert pressed forward, leaving gaps at the back for Portland to exploit on the counter, which they did twice. Neither Adi goal was particularly Teibert’s responsibility, but it was telling that on each he was caught way up-field, unable to assist in shoring up the defenses.
Wandrille Lefèvre
Lefevre started a second-straight match for Montreal in their win over San Jose on Saturday – it was his twelfth start and fourteen appearance of the season.
Taking up the right centre-back spot – the opposite of his usual place, alongside Heath Pearce, Lefevre was crucial to Montreal keeping a clean-sheet and even helped to spur attacks, cutting out this hopeful cross with a stabbed clearance towards Marco Di Vaio, leading to Ignacio Piatti’s audacious chip attempt. In fact, his passing out of the back, always a strong point, was incroyable, misplacing just five of some forty-plus attempts.
The French-born defender of course contributed at the back, racking up ten clearances, seven recoveries, three tackles, and an interception, including this one last-ditch tackle on Chris Wondolowski to hurry a shot out of the dangerous San Jose striker, leading to an almighty collision at the end of a lunging slide.
Lefevre was spared any blushes on a later look, when he was caught flat-footed by a Shea Salinas ball from the left, allowing Atiba Harris a free-header, only for the big Earthquake to direct his effort wide.
A fine outing from the ever-improving defender, who also appeared at the end of Wednesday Champions League match, replacing Piatti in the 81st minute to shore up the Impact result over the Red Bulls.
Issey Nakajima-Farran
Nakajima-Farran came on from the bench for the second-straight match, replacing Andres Romero in the 69th minute with game scoreless, helping Montreal go on to beat San Jose – it was his ninth appearance for the Impact, five of which have come as a substitute.
While not involved directly in either of Montreal’s late goals, Issey played a dynamic role in forcing the San Jose defenses to think, backing them up with runs and drawing them into the midfield with shots from distance – both his efforts were from very long range, firing straight at Jon Busch on one occasion and drifting one wide of the post on another. Implanting the idea of such a threat can open up spaces for teammates, who would go on to add a pair of goals in the final ten minutes of play.
The Calgary, Alberta-native’s impact on the stat-sheets was minimal, with three completed passes and three recoveries, a foul each way, and a loss of possession his only marks, aside from the shots. But one cannot discount that the Impact would go on to win with the aid of his running.
Tesho Akindele
Akindele made a second-consecutive start for Dallas in their 2-1 loss at Los Angeles on Saturday night – it was his seventeenth start and 21st appearance of the season.
Playing up top with Blas Perez, Akindele had a relatively quiet match with the Galaxy dominating large stretches of the match – in the absence of Fabian Castillo, there was a little less space for him to operate within and he was largely starved of service throughout.
Without a single attempt on goal and denied access and time on the ball in the final third, the Calgary, Alberta-native did play a small role in Dallas’ only goal,
Akindele would make way for Adam Moffat in the 75th minute with the match level at ones, a move that back-fired as Moffat was twisted up by Robbie Keane, leading to Alan Gordon’s game-winner in the 84th minute.
Dwayne De Rosario
De Rosario began Toronto’s win over Chivas on the bench, coming on in the 76th minute, replacing Daniel Lovitz – it was his fourteenth appearance of the season, ten of which have come from the bench.
Entering to raucous applause, but with the match already decided, the Scarborough, Ontario-native helped see out the result with his brief cameo.
The Rest
Sam Adekugbe, Karl Ouimette, Louis Beland-Goyette, Kofi Opare, Doneil Henry, Ashtone Morgan, and Kyle Bekker were all unused substitutes for their respective sides.
Anthony Jackson-Hamel came on in the waning moments of Montreal’s Champions League victory over New York on Wednesday, replacing Dilly Duka in the 91st minute to kill a little time. Beland-Goyette was an unused sub that same night.
All videos 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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