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    Michael Mccoll
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    Michael Mccoll
    DeMerit has been plagued with injuries since joining the Caps before their inaugural MLS season, making just 71 appearances in his four seasons. He may have been a great MLS defender, but we'll never know because he was never healthy enough to make a real impact and that was a major problem for the salary he was collecting.
    None of that is DeMerit's fault of course, but it does factor into the equation and too often when he came back into the line up his weaknesses were all to apparent. For all his good defensive work in the air, it was a different story when he was having to deal with speedy players running at him. He looked too slow on too many occasions and rarely seemed to be a threat in the opposition's box.
    But it was the injuries that's been the Caps killer.
    The first injury came in that debut 2011 season, when DeMerit suffered a groin injury during a friendly with the US national team in March. He missed around two months and some other flare ups over the course of that season reduced him to just 21 appearances, as the Caps finished rock bottom of MLS.
    At least in 2012, we got to see more of him on the pitch. A lot more. He made 31 appearances, grabbed his first and only goal for the Caps in the club's first ever MLS away win and played a full and gruelling 90 minutes in the All-Star game. The Caps suffered for that latter "highlight" with some poor play in his first game back at RSL. One of several poor games that season.
    Were the Caps finally going to get their money's worth and we would all see whether he still had the skills to pay the bills?
    As it turned out, no, as the injury jinx struck again and he went down to an Achilles injury just six minutes into the new 2013 season. His fightback was tremendous and the hard work he put in to be able to return to the pitch in September will be inspirational for many injured athletes. He showed a desire to not give up and want to keep playing.
    But he was never really the same and you feared it was just a matter of time before he'd be injured again. I was all for trading him in the offseason to free up some salary cap and to remove that risk, but unfortunately for Vancouver, after losing Camilo, they couldn't get rid of the 'face of the franchise', especially with the celebrity status that seemed to go with DeMerit.
    Instead they were stuck with a defender that was starting to show flaws and signs of the game catching up to him. He only made 11 appearances this season and for me, they will be remembered for the two penalties he gave away against San Jose and Seattle. He wouldn't have been one of my first choice starters in the position and the team haven't really missed him too much since he's been out.
    The past two seasons, he didn't even play a combined number of minutes that matched that injury riddled debut season. The ankle injury against Philadelphia, that looked so innocuous at the time, being the straw that broke the camel's back.
    A team like Vancouver can little afford one of their biggest earners to be constantly injured.
    The Whitecaps can do better at centreback. They have already got better at centreback.
    DeMerit's retiral will not only take his $247,500 guaranteed salary off the Caps' books (although not all of that this season, that figure might just be about $100,000), it allows them to bring in an experienced replacement now with an eye to him being here for three or four years.
    If they choose to do so. Which you have to feel they will as I don't think you can look at the existing centrebacks in the squad and be comfortable in thinking that this is the group to take the Caps forward.
    To get such a player (a Steven Caldwell or Liam Ridgewell type of character) may need DP money or they may be able to get him on a similar contract to DeMerit. The Caps only have one DP spot available and for me that is far better suited to going to an experience striker that can consistently finish.
    Either way, they now have some wiggle room and cash to play with. They just need to get rid of Nigel Reo-Coker's salary now too.
    The Jay DeMerit Story, that so many of us watched on DVD, is an inspiring story. It's a tale of a player who never gave up on a dream and represented his country at the highest level in a World Cup. It's a remarkable story really and one that was worth telling. It is truly sad that it has to come to an end through an injury and his body finally telling him no more. A player always wants to choose to bow out on their own terms.
    But for the Whitecaps, this is an opportunity to move forward a little quicker than they may have planned for and continue that long term plan that Carl Robinson wants to put in place. It will certainly be interesting what moves they choose to make now. Jay DeMerit was never part of the future of this club. He was a part of the history, but now the Whitecaps can look ahead and build new ones of both.
    Duane Rollins
    Toronto FC flipped its No 1 pick in the allocation order to Houston for defensive midfielder Warren Creavalle.
    It's difficult to get excited about, or to take issue with the trade. It was clear that TFC didn't have the cap room to bring another US international on board (in this case DaMarcus Beasley), nor was the US international available really what TFC needed.
    So, to get anything for a pick that wasn't going to be used otherwise is something.
    What Creavalle is, is a defensive depth player. He's just 23 and is known to be strong on that end of his game. Don't expect much of anything from him going forward.
    He played in 10 games for Houston this year, starting in four. In that time he was contributing 0.4 aerial wins, 1.7 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 0.9 clearances for a Defensive Involvement per 90 number of 4.6.
    The clearance figure is oddly low for a DMC and it might reflect a preference by the player to play out of trouble. Creavalle is fairly tidy on the ball with an 82.1 pass completion rate.
    When compared to TFC's other central midfielders, he's clearly a step behind the starters.
    Michael Bradley's DI is 6.2 (with an 82.7% rate) and Collin Warner comes in at 8.7 and 78.4%.
    You'd have to imagine Ryan Nelsen sees Creavalle as a late game, shut-down defensive sub. There his comparisons would be Kyle Bekker and Jeramy Hall.
    Bekker is a 4.7 DI (0.2, 1.2, 2.2, 1.1) and 79.4% while Hall is 3.3 DI (0.3, 1.0, 1.3, 0.7) and 80.3%.
    Those frustrated by a lack of opportunity for Canadian players will look at the nearly identical line Bekker has and ask why he hasn't been given the opportunity to be that defensive lock-down guy. There is no good answer other than Bekker consistently fails the eyeball test of the team's technical staff. Rightly or wrongly, Bekker is considered soft by TFC and is not trusted in late game situations.
    Regardless, whether Creavalle should play above Bekker is a different debate than whether TFC got full value for the trade. Without knowing if there were other signings available to the Reds it's hard to truly say, but on a surface look adding depth for (next to nothing) is an OK, in uninspiring, piece of business.
    Grant
    Los Catrachos quickly turned into the underachieving son that rah-rah Concacaf boosters glossed over quickly while boasting about the exploits of the more successful progeny. Once the Hondurans discovered they couldn’t hack their way past France or Switzerland, there didn’t seem to be much of a plan B. At least they managed a goal against Ecuador, really the lone enjoyable moment amid three losses. The Central American nation is now 0-6-3 all-time at the World Cup. This latest tournament was arguably a step backwards from the zero-goal showing in South Africa -- back then at least they managed a draw against Switzerland.
    Things were so bad that Honduran federation president Rafael Callejas reportedly emailed his Concacaf counterpart Jeffrey Webb and apologized for his nation’s showing at the tournament. Roll that around in your head for a moment. When you’ve reached a position where you feel you need to apologize to Concacaf for embarrassing behaviour, you’ve really managed to tunnel your way a few stories below rock bottom. Just to pick one cringeworthy example: this is an organization formerly run by a guy who allegedly tried to line his own pockets with money earmarked for Haitian earthquake relief.
    Fan anger
    Hondurans themselves were also generally upset, if it’s possible to gauge the zeitgeist through online articles and the angry comments beneath them. And as journalists picked over the carcass of the team’s World Cup performance, some unflattering stories began to seep out. Take first-choice keeper Noel Valladeres. He plays his club football for the Honduran club side Olimpia. It’s one of the most popular teams in the country, but most of its players probably earn wages that would make a CFL player blush. That’s if they’re getting paid at all. This juxtaposes uncomfortably with the bling garnered by the team’s European-based players, and probably with its MLS ones too.
    Nine of Honduras’ 23-man World Cup squad play professionally in Honduras. This includes regular starters like Valladares, defender Brayan Beckeles, midfielder Luis Garrido and mainstay striker Carlo Costly. In other words, a reasonably important chunk of the squad.
    In fact, Valladeres told a Honduran radio station last Friday that the players who play abroad “look down” on their home-based compatriots. All the countries in the Americas - both north and south - deal with a similar situation, but when you are one of the poorest in the hemisphere it’s not hard to imagine that situation would be magnified. The radio host also highlighted comments on social media about players from Honduras' foreign legion rolling into Brazil sporting Gucci shoes and Channel handbags. We’re clearly not talking the DEFCON 1 level of dressing room insurrection seen within say, the Cameroon squad, but the implication is that all may not have been harmonious.
    Generational change
    The good and/or possibly bad news for Honduran supporters is that this squad will undergo something of a generational change. In Brazil, its median age was 28. Players like Valladeres (37), Carlo Costly (32), Victor Bernardez (32) and Maynora Figueroa (31) will slowly cede starting spots to the Andy Najar’s and Juan Carlos Garcia’s of this world. The team will probably sport a different look at this year's Copa Centroamericana and next year's Gold Cup, along with a soon-to-be announced new manager. The change will accelerate throughout qualifying for Russia 2018.
    The broader question facing Honduras is where to go from here? The obvious answer is the 2018 World Cup. But after two straight showings that can charitably be described as flame-outs (both times arguably one of the tournament's worst squads) qualification may be a struggle. Costa Rica has firmly entrenched itself as number three in the Concacaf pecking order, at least amid the afterglow of their quarterfinals run. Its squad is younger and will soon feature more players at higher levels in Europe, including goalkeeping hero Keylor Navas at Reald Madrid and Joel Campbell at Arsenal. The Ticos are also better endowed resource-wise, and desperate to avoid the long drought that followed their run to the final-16 at the 1990 World Cup.
    And while there's no serious challenges from below (yeah, sorry Canada), Honduras doesn’t boast any up-and-coming players or coaches or ideas to excite fans and leave them expecting more at the next Word Cup. Against the backdrop of the country's fairly huge societal problems, implementing the sort of long-term, centrally planned framework to take that next step is kind of hard. That's the reality. At least for now, Honduras may have reached peak soccer.
    As good as it gets
    The counter-argument is that Honduras - its supporters, its players - should be happy with qualifying for a World Cup at all, ever. It’s a remarkable achievement for such a small country facing its tsunami of issues. It’s not as if the past eight years represent moments lost and opportunities missed. The phrase ‘Golden Generation’ is relative. Honduras has enjoyed a talented collection of footballers, yes, but hardly talented enough to accomplish much more than they did.
    The internet is littered with clips of television and radio commentators screaming, shrieking, crying and squealing with joy as "their" team wins this trophy or qualifies for that tournament. They're all entertaining, and some are more genuinely moving than others, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more ecstatic few moments of sheer release than the
    of Honduras qualifying for the World Cup after 27 years. These hysterical men unload what sounds like the entirety of pent-up frustration and joy of eight million Hondurans. Listening to that now it seems like madness that the fan base represented in those wails would be complaining a mere five years later that the team needs to do more at a Word Cup. For now and the considerable future, it may have done all it can.Image courtesy of Creative Commons
    James Grossi
    Tesho Akindele
    Akindele made his eighth-straight start for Dallas in their 2-0 win over New England on Saturday – it was his ninth start and twelfth appearance of the season.
    Up top alongside Blas Perez, Akindele was a handful for the faltering Revolution all night long.
    Prior to the match Dallas coach, Oscar Pareja, commented on his striking duo, “That chemistry is working very well. They're finding each other and they're working for each other very well. That combination is a good example of the chemistry they've developed throughout the season. They seem very natural in their movement and they're getting options. It's good to see that chemistry develop the way it has.”
    It did not take long for that threat to materialize with Akindele attacking down the left-side from a Moises Hernandez ball down the touch-line, taking on Stephen McCarthy before finding teammate, Andres Escobar, whose shot was parried by Bobby Shuttleworth – all three of his shots on the night would hit the target.
    Such probing would pay dividends in the 28th minute when Akindele
    – Paul Mariner on the New England broadcast team seemed to think Shuttleworth got fingertips to the shot. The rebound would fall to Escobar, who worked in down the left-side of the area to give the hosts the lead.He definitely forced a save out of Shuttleworth in the 62nd minute, right-footing a squared ball from Je-Vaughan Watson, nearly catching the Revolution keeper off-balance and showed very good strength on a pair of ensuing plays, holding off several defenders after pouncing on a ball in the box – he tried to turn around the outside, but could not get off a good shot or cross, and forcing a foul out of Chris Tierney as he drove towards the end-line – Tierney was booked for his troubles.
    The Calgary, Alberta-native would seal the result in the 91st minute, collecting a ball from Victor Ulloa in plenty of space down the right-channel, taking on and blowing past Andrew Farrell, before
    – it was the rookie’s third goal of the season and second in as many games.Feeling good, Akindele nearly helped treble Dallas’ advantage in the 93rd, exhibiting some nice interplay, good awareness to stay onside, and unselfishness in setting up a Mauro Diaz drive that required an excellent stop from Shuttleworth.
    Post-match he commented on a variety of subjects, namely his goal: “Victor got the ball and I just saw Farrell isolated. I took off and Victor found me with the ball. It was a nice pass and I just knew I could take him one-on-one with speed.”
    On gaining confidence: “Confidence is everything. We’re all here because we are good players but the thing that separates the people who are playing from the people who are not playing is just the belief in ourselves. I’m starting to believe in myself more and more every match and it’s paying off.”
    And on Dallas’ form: “Truthfully, we were playing well, even when we were losing. Now, things are just clicking a little more. We’re finishing our chances – ones that we were missing earlier in the year. There is not much difference in our play – we’re still working hard, just like we were. We’re just getting the little details right now. We’re finishing our chances and not losing concentration on defense.”
    Nobody is within grasp (yet) of Chicago’s Harrison Shipp when discussing rookie of the year consideration, but Akindele deserves to be in the conversation.
    Russell Teibert
    Teibert returned to Vancouver’s starting lineup for the first time in three matches in Wednesday night’s encounter in Toronto – it was his tenth start and fifteenth appearance of the season.
    Playing on the left-side of a midfield diamond, Teibert was his usual active self, and unlike most of his matches this season, he was free to push forward without the defensive duties of a central, holding role.
    As such he was causing all sorts of trouble with lively runs, swapping flanks with Nigel Reo-Coker on occasion, and darting in-field to get involved in the Whitecaps build-up. But it was on one of his wide moves that he caused the most difficulty for TFC.
    In the 50th minute,
    , allowing him to lift his head and pick out Darren Mattocks in the middle. The Jamaican easily stepped in front of Justin Morrow to touch in the finish, opening the scoring and giving Vancouver a short-lived lead – it was the Niagara Falls, Ontario-native’s second assist of the season, earning the praise of his teammate post-match.Teibert did have one very poor giveaway, allowing Dominic Oduro to intercept his pass, though he made amends quickly, pulling down Oduro to prevent a quick transition, drawing a yellow card – his second of the year.
    He would make way for Kekuta Manneh in the 82nd minute.
    Mattocks, when asked about his goal, pointed at Teibert, “I mean, it was a fantastic pass. I think Russell deserves all the credit for that goal and the build-up play by the team. I mean, for him to pick out a pass like that it it’s really amazing.”
    He
    .Last week, Teibert’s continued development was rewarded with a contract extension.
    Will Johnson
    Johnson resumed his midfield general’s role for Portland in their 2-1 win over Colorado on Friday – it was his twentieth consecutive start for the Timbers this season.
    At home and in desperate need of kick-starting surge to the post-season, Johnson was unshackled for once, pressing rather than sitting, allowed to use his anticipation to make things happen. It will be worth watching whether the addition of Liam Ridgewell, who made his debut against Colorado to shore up the porous back-line, will allow Johnson more freedom for the rest of the campaign.
    Allowed to get forward, Johnson did just that, making one alert run into the box on a Diego Valeri free-kick, just in case a rebound made itself available – it did not, before springing Fanendo Adi with a long-ball and hustling up-field to insert himself back into the play – his headed attempt to find the big striker on the follow up was slightly over-hit however.
    It was the Toronto-born midfield who made the penultimate pass in Portland’s 72nd minute equalizer, f
    , playing him towards the end-line from whence he cutback to Max Urruti at the near-post - it was his second assist of the season.Even though he was allowed to concentrate more on the forward aspects of the game, he still racked up some twelve recoveries, three interceptions, and a pair of tackles.
    He
    .Sam Adekugbe
    Adekugbe made his first appearance of the season, starting for Vancouver in their 1-1 draw against TFC on Wednesday.
    From the left-back position, the nineteen-year old was very solid, forcing a turnover that led to an early Darren Mattocks shot, involving himself in the buildup as much as prudent, and doing well to keep a lid on first, Jonathan Osorio, then Dominic Oduro.
    Oduro’s pace in particular will cause most defenders trouble, but Adekugbe did well to stay with the speedster, though he did see a yellow for a wild lunge that hacked down the TFC attacker – it was his first yellow card in MLS.
    He was nearly exposed in the final seconds, beat by Gilberto on a header, but it sailed over the bar – Adekugbe would cramp up from an awkward landing, requiring treatment.
    The second-year defender, who was signed to a homegrown contract last August, was understandably a little conservative, part of the reason that he misplaced just two passes all night.
    Doneil Henry
    Henry made his ninth and tenth starts of the season for Toronto in their two-game week, earning draws against both Vancouver (1-1) and Houston (2-2).
    Without the services of club captain, Steven Caldwell, Henry was called upon to do more, though he had an experienced veteran alongside him in the form of converted midfielder Bradley Orr.
    Defensively Henry was immense, racking up ten recoveries, eight clearances, five interceptions, and three tackles, stripping Erik Hurtado on one occasion, exhibiting some blistering pace to recover after getting caught up-field on a Darren Mattocks break – Orr would see a yellow card for blocking off the fleet-footed run, though he was a touch slow to step up on Mattocks’ goal – were it not for Teibert’s ball being so precise, more could perhaps have been expected of the defender.
    At the opposite end of the pitch, Henry was just as dominant, meeting a Collen Warner free-kick in the 17th minute, though there was not enough power on the header to cause David Ousted too much trouble.
    There was a scary moment for Toronto fans when Henry was caught on the knee by Nigel Reo-Coker, going down with a yelp and drawing a yellow card, but he recovered quickly.
    On the weekend, Henry was just as crucial against Houston, compiling twelve more clearances, as well as six recoveries and a pair of interceptions.
    The Brampton, Ontario-native was once more a force at the back, getting a strong clearance on a potentially troublesome Brad Davis corner kick – a common refrain this night, putting in a big block on Giles Barnes, and stepping in several times to prevent Will Bruin from finding space.
    Henry wasn’t afraid to mix it up, going beak-to-beak with Houston’s Kofi Sarkodie when displeased with the high boot the opponent left dangling as the Toronto defender went in for a challenge.
    He would be booked in the 58th minute, somewhat harshly, when his feet got tangled with Barnes in a chase – it was his fourth yellow card of the season – and was far from perfect: once playing a poor ball that led to a Houston chance - Joe Bendik would save any blushes, before getting his wires crossed with the keeper, touching out for a corner when Bendik was en route to collect, and was nearly punished for his overaggressive defending when Bruin beat him to a loose ball, but Bendik again made the save.
    Jonathan Osorio
    Osorio started in both of TFC’s draws this round - his eleventh and twelfth starts of the season.
    On the right-side of the midfield against Vancouver, Osorio had a relatively quiet night, compared to his dynamic display last weekend – perhaps a little worn down with the hectic schedule.
    He did play one particularly good ball down the right-side for the overlapping Mark Bloom, who found Jermain Defoe at the near-post, only for the in-form forward to fail in making good contact. It was, however, a loose pass from the Toronto, Ontario-native that led to Vancouver’s goal.
    Osorio would make way for Dominic Oduro after 59 minutes.
    Come Saturday in Houston, Osorio was swapped over the left-side of midfield, opening up the right for Oduro and replacing the injured Jackson. He had one decent look at goal early, from an Oduro pull-back, but it was deflected wide.
    His real contribution to this match was on the defensive side of the ball – his frustration at being by-passed as TFC looked to spring its attackers against the glacial Houston back-line was evident on several occasions. Nevertheless, Osorio put in a shift, tracking deep into his own box on one occasion to cut out a troublesome Brad Davis pull-back, showing some nice hustle to get back and force a turnover with a sliding challenge, before making yet another interception of a Houston ball near his own penalty spot.
    He would make way for Daniel Lovitz in the 70th minute.
    Kofi Opare
    On the bench for Wednesday’s 5-1 win over New England, Opare returned to the Los Angeles lineup for Saturday’s encounter in Kansas City, ultimately falling 2-1 – it was his first start in four matches and just his fifth of the season.
    Paired with Leonardo in the centre of defense, Opare was tasked with keeping a lid on the very difficult Dom Dwyer – though his side lost, that Opare played a role in preventing the league’s second best goal-hound from getting on the score-sheet is a mark of achievement.
    He was caught under pressure on one occasion, forced into conceding a deep throw-in and was later a touch flat-footed on a Dwyer run, but LA keeper, Jaime Penedo, was quick off his line to snuff out the danger with a sliding clearance.
    The Niagara Falls, Ontario-raised defender did tally seven clearances, five recoveries, one tackle and one interception, winning three fouls and committing just one.
    When last Opare graced this review, it was pondered why he had not been called into a national team camp – apparently there is some sort of passport complication which prevents his eligibility; hopefully it will be sorted out in the coming months. Thanks to the reader who pointed out the issue.
    Patrice Bernier
    Bernier made his sixth-straight start for Montreal in a 2-1 losing effort away to Columbus – it was his twelfth start and seventeenth appearance of the season.
    Paired with Felipe once more in the middle, Bernier was called upon for the unenviable task of keeping Columbus playmaker, Federico Higuain off the ball as much as possible.
    Despite sitting so deep, Bernier was still able to influence the match, playing one neat touch to Marco Di Vaio that nearly led to Justin Mapp giving the visitors the lead and later nicking possession off the boot of Tony Tchani, touching the ball away to Jack McInerney who in turn found Felipe, only for him to drag his shot wide.
    The one time he was caught a little up-field, Montreal was severely exposed, as Felipe is not a defender, and Bernardo Anor was allowed to turn, face goal, and line up his shot too easily, leading to his 75th minute winner.
    The Brossard, Quebec-native would make way for fellow Canadian Issey Nakajima-Farran in the 80th minute with the Impact trailing.
    Post-match, Bernier was adamant and honest, stating “It’s a repeat of what has already been said in the last few weeks - I’m crushed. We have a quick turnaround now in Salt Lake and we have to get points. Our window of opportunity keeps getting smaller and smaller. We have to get results.”
    He also commented on their poor road form – now winless through thirteen away from home, “You’ve seen our season. You’ve seen the last few games. There were some clear-cut chances to take the game, two great shots on the other team, the goalie made some great saves. It’s crushing. It’s one of those seasons.”
    Before noting the gravity and reality of the situation, “We have to get results. There is a short window left for us to believe that something can be done. With that, you start thinking of next year. There’s a short window of games. The good fortune is that we have a few games this week, but we have to get results.”
    Issey Nakajima-Farran
    Nakajima-Farran entered Montreal’s loss in the 80th minute, replacing Patrice Bernier, with the Impact in search of an equalizing goal – it was his second-straight appearance from the bench, brining his season total up to eleven, split between TFC and the Impact.
    Taking up Bernier’s central position, the Calgary, Alberta-native provided some lively legs, while looking to spring attacks with passes into the wide areas – once finding Andres Romero and then Marco Di Vaio on a later occasion, the striker in turn nearly picked out the run of Felipe with a cross that sailed a little too high for the Brazilian.
    Dwayne De Rosario
    De Rosario was on the bench for TFC’s midweek draw against Vancouver, but made a cameo appearance in Saturday’s draw at Houston – it was his first appearance in five matches, bring his season total to nine, all bar three from the bench.
    Replacing Luke Moore in the 80th minute, the Scarborough, Ontario-native took to the pitch in the town against the team with which he made his name and fame in MLS, spending some eight seasons with the club, five in San Jose and three once they moved to Texas.
    Maxim Tissot
    Tissot entered Montreal’s loss in Columbus in the 89th minute, replacing Justin Mapp – it was the Gatineau, Quebec-native’s ninth appearance of the season.
    The Rest
    Kyle Bekker, Rob Friend, Ashtone Morgan, Karl Ouimette were all unused substitutes for their respective sides.
    Ashtone Morgan and Russell Teibert were named to the MLS Homegrown Match, scheduled to take on Portland Timbers’ U-23s during the All-Star festivities.
    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.
    You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing at Partially Obstructed View
    James Grossi
    Up first, from Friday night’s match,
    for Portland against Colorado.In a similar vein, Columbus’
    ; equally as crucial to the result against Montreal.And finally, what about
    on Saturday? Tough to get over the wall and under the bar from such range, but Feilhaber showed exactly how it is done.Honourable mentions: Jeff Larentowicz’ powerful header in Chicago; the diagonal build-up on Joao Plata’s strike for Salt Lake
    On to the matches:
    Midweek Results in a Sentence

    The Union won their first home match since March 15th, a span of eight games, on goals from Conor Casey, Fred, and Sebastien Le Toux with Bradley Wright-Phillips responding for the visiting Red Bull, once more set up by Thierry Henry, who tallied his league-leading tenth assist.

    CJ Sapong put the visitors ahead before half-time, only an Igor Juliao own-goal to level the score after Aurelien Collin was dismissed harshly, setting the stage for a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Benny Feilhaber, continuing Kansas City’s four-game road winning streak and condemning Columbus to a seventh-consecutive winless outing.

    Canadian rivals exchanged goals at the start of the second half, with Darren Mattocks putting the visitors ahead, only for Jermain Defoe to level from the spot after Nigel Reo-Coker fouled Jackson in the Whitecaps box.

    The Galaxy found sweet revenge for last season’s 5-0 drubbing in New England, on a goal from Stefan Ishizaki and braces from Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes; Lee Nguyen would provide consolation from the penalty spot in a match that saw two red cards, one each to AJ Soares and Dan Gargan.
    Results in Brief

    The weekend kicked off early with a Friday night Western Conference clash between Portland and Colorado. Hosts Portland had not won a home match in five, were currently mired in a four-game winless run all told, and at risk of falling adrift of the playoff race, while Colorado were hoping to take advantage of their opponent and continue their unbeaten run of three matches.
    Considering they had not scored in their last three visits, the evening began well for the travelling side with Deshorn Brown giving them the lead after sixteen minutes from an almighty goalmouth scramble. Dillon Powers’ left-sided, in-swinging corner kick was met at the edge of the six yard box by Drew Moor, but Donovan Ricketts was on hand to block his effort, the rebound was bobbled by Fanendo Adi, who could not clear, allowing Brown to force it over the line. Diego Valeri would hook it out of the goal and the scramble continued, but the linesman deemed the ball to have entered the goal and Colorado were in front.
    The lead stood for the remainder of the first half and Portland coach Caleb Porter went to his bench on the hour mark, bringing on Diego Valeri and Max Urruti – his substitutions paid near immediate dividends.
    Urruti would level the match in the 72nd minute on a sweeping move that saw Valeri flick a Gaston Fernandez ball to Darlington Nagbe, who in turn played in-field to Will Johnson. The captain spotted Jack Jewsbury in acres of space down the right and fed him a ball towards the end-line, which Jewsbury pulled-back to the near-post for Urruti to lift over the sprawling Clint Irwin.
    Five minutes later the other addition, Valeri, would decide the match with a right-footed blast from 25 yards after the interplay of Diego Chara and Nagbe found him in space above the Rapids area. Chris Klute was slow to press, allowing Valeri to rifle a bending strike into the top right-corner, away from Irwin in goal.
    The 2-1 win, their first since the start of June reinvigourated the Timbers, snapping their winless spell, while they welcomed recently-signed designated player, Liam Ridgewell to the fold. Pablo Mastroeni’s Rapids, who entered on the back of a pair of draws, have now won just one match in their last six games.

    Normally MLS prefers to save the headline fixture for later in the evening – perhaps an indication of the relative strength of the Western Conference – but Saturday began with the marquee match of the round, when the combined winners of the last three MLS Cups met in the early evening.
    Each riding two-game winning streaks and long unbeaten runs – five in the case of KC and eight for LA – this match was set to be an entertaining one.
    And Benny Feilhaber wasted no time getting off the mark, following up his sumptuous midweek stoppage-time winner with a devastating free-kick inside the opening ten minutes. Granted a look at goal from just outside the area to the left of the arc, three Sporting players stood over the ball, but it was Feilhaber who hit, after a minor hesitation. His right-footed effort cleared the wall and curled into the top left-corner of the goal, leaving Galaxy keeper, Jaime Penedo absolutely no chance.
    Kansas City would double their lead on the hour, when a left-sided in-swinging Graham Zusi corner kick sailed to the back-post. Penedo would get fingertips to it, pushing it wide, but Aurelien Collin collected and sent a cross back towards the left-post. Jacob Peterson rose to meet it, forcing another fingertip intervention from Penedo, who touched the header onto the bar, only for Lawrence Olum to head in from mere yards when the rebound eventually fell inside the six yard box.
    Though KC got the first two goals, Los Angeles, fresh off that five-goal mauling of New England came to life in the second half, finally getting their breakthrough in the 79th minute when homegrown debutant, Bradford Jamieson (the Fourth or IV) inserted himself into a build-up.
    A broken short-corner was cleared to Baggio Husidic, who headed forward, Jamieson (earning an assist in his debut), flicked it on neatly into the path of Robbie Keane, streaking down the right-side of the box. The Irishman, who ended a long (by his standards) five-match goal-less run midweek, made no mistake, touching a right-footer past a sliding Andy Gruenebaum.
    Sporting would hold on for the 2-1 win, stretching their winning streak to three and unbeaten to six – the perfect way to celebrate the announcement of long-term, designated-player deals for World Cup stars, Graham Zusi and Matt Besler. Though their unbeaten run has come to an end, the Galaxy have used this streak to force themselves squarely into playoff consideration, sitting in fourth place with game in hand on all their rivals.

    While the opening gambit was a silky affair, this one was anything but, as New York and San Jose combined for eight yellow cards in their Saturday meeting.
    Even the goals were scrappy with Bradley Wright-Phillips continuing his impressive form, this time from the penalty spot after Steven Lenhart was called for an atrocious handball, stretching to flick away a Thierry Henry corner kick.
    With his seventeenth goal of the season, all bar one coming in the last baker’s dozen matches, Wright-Phillips is on a tear, coolly slotting his right-footer more-or-less down the middle having drawn Jon Busch into committing early to his right in the 33rd minute.
    With the second half the tension gradually rose – six of those bookings came in steady procession after the 64th minute – before Lenhart would find redemption for his error, registering his first of the season in the 85th minute with a cracking right-footer inside the New York box. Atiba Harris drove a ball into the area from the right that fell to Lenhart in a pocket of space above the penalty spot. His first cushioned touch was heavy, nearly giving Jamison Olave and Dax McCarty time to step up and close him down, respectively, but the striker reacted quickest, whipping the bouncing ball under Luis Robles to the bottom right-side of the goal.
    That it was his first goal of the season is symptomatic of what has ailed the Earthquakes this season – they have just seventeen goals for through as many matches, compared to two-plus per match in their Supporters Shield winning season. Could this be the spark they need to claw out of the basement?
    The 1-1 draw was fair enough, allowing New York to bounce back from the midweek defeat in Philadelphia and San Jose to halt a four-match losing skid.

    With Columbus winless in seven matches and Montreal yet to win on their travels, observers were correct to assume not much would come from their Saturday night encounter. Instead, viewers were treated to a clinic of finishing.
    Marco Di Vaio nabbed the first in the 35th minute after Justin Mapp intercepted a telegraphed pass from Bernardo Anor up the attacking right. Mapp played up to Di Vaio on the edge of the Crew area, who twisted up returning World Cup-star, Giancarlo Gonzalez, as he worked his way down the right-side of the box and expertly beat keeper, Steve Clark, with a low right-footer to the far-side of goal.
    Anor atoned for his error in the 56th minute on a sweeping move that began when right-back Chad Barson moved in-field to find Tony Tchani. The midfielder moved the ball on to Anor, who had drifted in-field from his wide position to hit a screaming left-footer into the bottom right-corner of the goal from above the arc, past Evan Bush - making his first MLS start of the season in place of Troy Perkins.
    The Venezuelan, who only seems to score in bunches, completed his second brace of the season in the 75th minute with a glorious finish: A long Heath Pearce clearance was headed forward by Gonzalez to be nodded down and back to Anor on the attacking edge of the centre-circle by Aaron Schoenfeld. Anor was allowed to turn and run at goal, side-stepping weak pressure from Felipe. Continuing unobstructed, he lifted his head to hit a right-footed screamer from some 25 yards, sailing into the top left-corner of the goal.
    The 2-1 win was the Crew’s first in eight matches, and their first at home since the end of May, drawing them back level for the final playoff spot in the East – a three-way tie with New England and Philadelphia, while condemning the Impact to a third-straight loss and a thirteenth winless on the road, leaving many questions hanging over the clubs failure to push on from last season’s playoff appearance.

    The round continued with another all-Eastern affair, pitting Chicago and Philadelphia against one another in a duel for crucial in-conference points. Long winless spells have marred both club’s campaigns – Philadelphia enduring a nine-match run and Chicago eight and six-match slogs – but both had hoped those misfortunes were squarely in the rearview.
    After an uneventful first half, Chicago took the lead from a Harrison Shipp corner kick in the 60th minute, the excellent rookie curling his right-sided, out-swinging delivery to the penalty spot where Jeff Larentowicz had escaped his marker, Maurice Edu, for a free-header, guiding his finish into the top left-corner of the Philadelphia goal.
    The Fire had ended their recent six-match winless run by dint of a last-minute Sean Johnson penalty save on New England’s Chris Tierney in the 84th minute last weekend and the keeper was called upon again to preserve the win, in the 91st minute this time, when Gonzalo Segares was harshly called for a handball.
    Sebastien Le Toux, whose shot had struck the upper arm of the defender, took the attempt himself and just managed to squeeze his right-footed attempt past Johnson, who read his intentions, correctly diving to his right, but coming up short on this occasion.
    It was the fifth goal in his last six matches from the Frenchman, who continued his perfection from the spot for the Union – twelve from twelve all-time – to earn his interim manager, Jim Curtain, a point against his former club from his playing days.
    The draw sees both sides continue their unbeaten runs, but does little to impact their positions on the table, each currently on the outside looking in.

    Up next was the third of four cross-conference encounters with in-form Dallas hosting a sputtering New England.
    Dallas was the hottest team in the league through the five rounds, taking an early lead in the standings only for an eight-match winless run to curtail their early advantage. New England too were once darling of the league, riding a five-match winning streak to the upper echelons of consideration, only to come crashing back to earth with six-straight losses.
    While the visitors were still reeling from the five-goal hurting laid on them by LA, Dallas had not played a league match in over two weeks and looked the fresher of the sides by far. That attitude and energy paid off in the 29th minute when Andres Escobar took on a pair of New England defenders after Tesho Akindele’s blast caromed off the crossbar – keeper Bobby Shuttleworth may have employed in fingertips in a save.
    Either way, Escobar collected the rebound on the left-corner of the box, before working past Darius Barnes on the outside with some South American-trickery and driving towards goal. Andrew Farrell made a last-ditch block attempt, only to set the right-footed shot kick up off his trailing leg to lift over Shuttleworth and hand Dallas the lead.
    Having scored a mere three goals through six losses, New England could not threaten the Dallas net, and Akindele, who was a constant threat, sealed the result in the first minute of stoppage-time. Moises Hernandez forced a turnover at his left-back position and played up the touchline to Michel, who checked back and in-field to Victor Ulloa. The homegrown midfielder in turn found Akindele streaking into space down the right-channel. One-on-one with Farrell, their duel embodied the current spirits of their clubs – Akindele, full of running and confidence, and Farrell, weary and forlorn.
    With the slightest of effort, Akindele blew past the defender on the outside and beat Shuttleworth with a strong right-footer to the short-side – the lack of attention to detail has been costly for the Revs during this woe-some spell.
    The 2-0 win, stretching their unbeaten run to five matches and their home winning-streak to three, was enough for Dallas to leap from fifth to second in the congested West – a place they would retain with other results falling their way – though they are a full nine points arrears of league-leading Seattle. New England fall to a seventh-consecutive defeat, though given the muddled East, they shockingly still hold onto fifth spot with 23 points from nineteen matches.

    A week removed from their six-goal thriller, Houston and Toronto again combined for four first-half goals, though this time the second half devolved with a lack of rhythm.
    Winless in seven after last week’s loss, the Dynamo were gifted the opener in the eleventh minute when Bradley Orr and Joe Bendik got their wires crossed on a simple Giles Barnes header forward. Bendik rushed out to collect only for his defender to touch back for a clearance; Will Bruin astutely maintained a semblance of pressure and was on hand to latch onto the calamity and right-foot into the open net.
    TFC would respond seven minutes later following some tidy passing up the right: Jonathan Osorio played out wide to Dominic Oduro who hit an early cross through the top of the box that was cushioned by Justin Morrow towards Gilberto in the middle.
    The Brazilian’s first touch could not corral the effort, but given such space in the heart of the Houston area, he pounced with the second, blasting a low right-footer to the left-side of goal, beyond the reach of Tally Hall.
    Barnes, who was instrumental in both Houston goals last weekend, would reinstate the lead in the 26th minute, collecting a poke forward from Ricardo Clark behind Michael Bradley on the left and surging towards goal. With space to run, Barnes angled to the right before hitting a low right-footed effort to the bottom left-corner of the goal, curling away from Bendik, perfectly inside the post.
    Toronto wasted a chance to equalize from the spot in the 28th minute after Luke Moore was felled by Corey Ashe – Bradley’s right-footer beat Hall, but not the post - but as with their last meeting, TFC would draw level before the half-time whistle, courtesy some continued strong work from Moore. The Englishman, who was near anonymous with Chivas, has been a revelation since joining TFC, registering three goals and collecting his first assist this night, after Bradley squeezed a ball into space down the left.
    Moore chased it down, beating AJ Cochran in a footrace before taking on the defender, getting to the end-line and driving a cross through the goalmouth which Oduro turned in with his midsection from inside the near-post.
    Though Houston came out in the second half with intent and Toronto wilted in swampy heat and in the midst of a tough stretch of matches, neither side could find anything more than a few yellow cards, as the match got a little heated at times, most notably Jermain Defoe and David Horst squaring up, head to chest.
    Though the 2-2 draw satisfied no one, continuing Houston’s winless run to eight and Toronto’s unbeaten run to three (though they have just one win in their last six), it was likely the fair result.

    Saturday night’s action culminated in a hard-fought draw between the Western Conference sides.
    It took 73 minutes of grappling for Vancouver to find the breakthrough and they were fortunate to do so, as a controversial refereeing decision gifted them a chance from the spot after Nat Borchers expertly tackled the ball off the foot of Darren Mattocks, only for the official to point to the spot.
    Salt Lake protested vehemently, but Mattocks, who scored midweek in Toronto, confidently right-footed past Nick Rimando with the keeper going the other way – it was the first penalty kick to beat Rimando this season, having saved the previous three he had faced.
    The protestations continued afterwards, drawing a crowd, and the hosts would have their revenge eight minutes later from a lovely sweeping move that began when Chris Wingert cut out a hopeful Carlyle Mitchell clearance on the right, chesting it forward towards Javier Morales, who turned towards goal and found Luke Mulholland in space above the back-four.
    He, in turn, laid off to Kyle Beckerman who spotted Joao Plata wide open on the left with Steven Beitashour caught narrow. Plata angled his touch into the area and lashed a low, left-footer across David Ousted before the Vancouver right-back could recover, for his eighth goal of the season and second in the last three matches.
    The feistiness continued through the remainder of the match, though neither side could find a winner, despite there being some seven minutes of stoppage-time.
    Though disgruntled with the how, the single point allowed Salt Lake to keep pace with Dallas, tied for second in the West, despite winning just once in their last eight matches, while Vancouver collect a second-straight draw away from home against difficult opposition and sit in a three-way time for the final spot in the conference.

    Sunday’s lone fixture saw two of the form teams in the league take to the pitch for a contest that few would have predicted to be worth the spotlight at the end of last season.
    DC were historically bad in 2013, while Chivas have been a shambles for the last four seasons, but this year each has found some solid footing, with United entering on the back of two-straight wins, firmly ensconced in second-place in the East and Chivas winners of their last four and unbeaten in five, riding the hot boots of Cubo Torres.
    The home team had won the last two meetings between the club and this night proved no different, as DC racked up three goals before Los Ameri-goats could reply.
    The first came in the 25th minute after Oswaldo Minda shoved Chris Rolfe to the ground in the corner of the penalty area, prompting the referee to point to the spot – Eddie Johnson finished with aplomb, blasting his right-footer to the top left-corner; Dan Kennedy would get the slightest touch, diving to his right, but could not prevent the ball crossing the line.
    Perry Kitchen added the second in the 59th after a wonderful knock down from Johnson, deadening a long Rolfe free-kick from the right at the back-post for the defensive midfielder to left-foot from the penalty spot to the right-side of goal.
    And Luis Silva added the third in the 70th minute, blowing past Carlos Bocanegra on a ball down the left-side of the box from Chris Korb, before opening up his body to right-foot across Kennedy to the far-side of goal and revealing a shirt message that saw him booked for excessive celebration.
    Torres, who had goals in Chivas’ last five matches, continued his pace, converting a consolation strike from the penalty spot after Steve Birnbaum shoved Mauro Rosales to the ground inside the DC box. Torres’ bizarre run up should probably have forced a retake, but with the result already decided the referee opted to let it stand and DC protested only mildly.
    The 3-1 win was DC’s third-straight, allowing them to keep Kansas City within their grasp – one point behind the leaders with a game in hand, while the loss ends the visitors winning and unbeaten runs.
    CanCon
    The extended Canadian Content review will be posted midday tomorrow (Tuesday).
    After a few dry rounds, the Canadians returned to the pitch in force this week, collecting ten starts and three substitute appearances – top performances from Tesho Akindele, Russell Teibert, and Will Johnson will feature, as well as the first appearance of the season from Sam Adekugbe.
    Overheard
    Frank Yallop was nonplussed at the penalty call that cost his side two points, “I just saw it. One of the worst calls I’ve ever seen, to be honest. His arm was against his body, it hits Gonzo [segares] in the arm on his chest, not away from his body. I just don’t understand how he can call that. I really don’t. Especially that, I gotta tell my guys, ‘nice try, unlucky,’ and what do I say next? I’ve nothing to say to them, because they gave everything they had, I thought we were excellent tonight.”
    Gonzalo Segares was a touch more diplomatic, with some bite on the back-end, “We all make mistakes and today the referee made one - we are all humans. I don’t need to see a replay to know that’s not a PK. Hopefully the referee union will look at it and there will be a suspension for the ref, and we’ll move on. It’s tough to swallow, but we’ve got an important game on Wednesday against San Jose in which we’ve got to go there and get three points.”
    He continued, “I really don’t know why he called it because I think he hesitated a lot and I don’t think he had a clear view. If he had a clear view he would have seen that hit me right on the arm that was tucked in to my chest.”
    The Fire website put up a gif of the play in question – full clip below.
    See It Live

    results in hilarity, as TFC cock up what should have been a very simple clearance, gifting Will Bruin the opener.Luis Silva welcomes Kaka to the league with an
    What was
    about – rare to see the reverse move in a run-up, illegal?Controversy
    Aurelien Collin’s midweek red card for an aerial challenge with Adam Bedell was rescinded by the Independent Review Panel, allowing him to play come the weekend.
    Some thought Nigel Reo-Coker’s foul on Jackson did not warrant a penalty kick.
    AJ Soares saw red for catching Juninho in LA – Soares walks the line, but did it warrant a sending off?
    Dan Gargan was sent off that same match for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
    Then there was the Gonzalo Segares handball – a highly debatable decision.
    But was Nat Borchers being penalized for an excellent tackle the worst of the lot?
    Upcoming Fixtures
    A rare treat upcoming this week, due in part because of a littering of midseason friendless against various sides on the docket, as the round of eight matches are spread over six days, starting on Wednesday and ending on Monday – six straight days of MLS soccer culminating in a delicious Monday night clash between Seattle and Los Angeles
    Wednesday: San Jose-Chicago. Thursday: Salt Lake-Montreal. Friday: Colorado-Chivas. Saturday: Toronto-Kansas City; New England-Columbus. Sunday: Vancouver-Dallas; Montreal-Portland. Monday: Seattle-Los Angeles.
    All video and quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
    Each week James takes a look at the league as a whole.
    You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing at Partially Obstructed View
    Michael Mccoll
    Robbo rang the changes in all areas, with Jordan Harvey coming back in to the left back role after his suspension, the only one in defence.
    Midfield DPs Matias Laba and Pedro Morales were rested for this one, with Mehdi Ballouchy coming in for his first MLS start in over a year, Gershon Koffie returning to DM and Nicolas Mezquida taking on the number 10 role.
    Mezquida was joined by his fellow Uruguayan Sebastian Fernandez, as the Caps hoped to rekindle some of the electric play they showed preseason. Omar Salgado also came back into the starting line-up, making his first MLS start since May 2012, whilst Darren Mattocks pushed up to be the lone striker, as an out of form Erik Hurtado dropped to the bench.
    The Whitecaps had to weather an early storm, but weather it they did.
    RSL pushed hard in the opening stages and Caps keeper David Ousted had to fly across his goal in the third minute to turn a Javier Morales free kick around the post.
    The home side kept the pressure on and were causing some confusion and scrambles in the Caps' box but they could find no way through and soon ran out of ideas.
    As the half went on, it was the Whitecaps who came into their own and they had several chances to take the lead but wasted them all.
    Mattocks used his speed to get past Nat Borchers, but drilled a low shot just past the right post in the 38th minute, then a minute later Fernandez should have put the Caps ahead by fired wildly over from ten yards out.
    With four minutes of the half remaining Koffie's low, long range drive got the narrowest of deflections to send it just wide of the right post, in what was to prove to be the last real action of the half.
    Vancouver would have gone into the break happy not just to be still level but knowing that this game was there for the taking with their makeshift side.
    RSL came out with more urgency again at the start of the second and Devon Sandoval headed a Joao Plata cross wide left three minutes in.
    Again the Caps held firm and started to turn the game in their favour, but it no clear cut chances created.
    Both teams made substitutions to try and get something going and Morales fired a dipping free kick just over from the edge of the Caps box in the 70th minute.
    The game was finely poised but it was Vancouver who took the lead.
    Borchers won the ball with a great tackle on Mattocks in the box but the ref pointed to the spot in the 71st minute and the Jamaican picked himself up to drill the ball home low into the left corner.
    RSL were aggrieved at the decision and a stramash broke out in the middle of the park which led to Fernandez and recent sub Laba picking up yellows, but there should also have been ones issued to RSL's Morales and Beckerman, which would have been a second for the latter.
    The home side turned that anger they felt to the good and drew themselves back level with nine minutes remaining.
    Once again it was the Capkiller Plata that did the damage, burying a cross low into the net from the corner of the box.
    RSL now had their tails up and pushed for the winner, putting the Whitecaps defence under some pressure.
    Again they held firm but as the game went into stoppage time, Robbie Findlay raced clear and onto a long ball but Ousted came out quick and bravely put his face in the way of the ball and the rebound bounced off the RSL sub and over the bar.
    Neither side could grab the winner and in the end both will feel kind of happy and kind of disappointed at the same time with a share of the spoils.
    Vancouver are left once again to rue their missed chances. With an ever tightening playoff race in the West, the importance of these misses and the points lost as a result may soon prove to be crucial.
    FINAL SCORE: Real Salt Lake 1 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
    ATT: 20,265
    SALT LAKE: Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran (Olmes Garcia 78), Chris Schuler, Nat 'The Beard' Borchers, Chris Wingert; Kyle 'That Hair Must Stink' Beckerman, Luis Gil (Luke Mullholland 57), Ned Grabavoy, Javiar Morales; Joao Plata, Devon Sandoval (Robbie Findlay 58) [subs: Jeff Attinella, John Stertzer, Cole Grossman, Aaron Maund]
    VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Mehdi Ballouchy (Matias Laba 63), Sebastian Fernandez (Pedro Morales 78), Nicolas Mezquida, Omar Salgado (Erik Hurtado 65); Darren Mattocks [subs Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Andy O'Brien, Russell Teibert, Kekuta Manneh]
    ** Post game reaction to follow **
    Aaron Campbell
    The Good:
    The Start For Pedro Morales
    18 games in MLS, 6 goals (tied 12th in MLS), 8 assists (tied 2nd in MLS) and amazing plays that have brought excitement to supporters at BC Place. Included in that number was another assist in this one.
    Vancouver has had a MLS history of DP's starting slow in the league. Morales has come to Vancouver and been everything he was advertised to be. He has led on the pitch to the point where he has worn the captain's armband with Jay DeMerit out. Stepped up and scored some big goals when the team needed them.
    His passing ability may be second to none in MLS. Great balls over the top, amazing cross field bombs right to players running down the flank and corners that actually give the Whitecaps chances to score.
    His lower back injury has calmed down, this may be because he is getting use to the travel, time zone changes and playing on the BC Place turf.
    The future is bright for Pedro.
    The Average:
    Sam Adekugbe
    With Jordan Harvey getting the red card last game this opened the door for young Canadian Adekugbe to get his second MLS start.
    The young left back didn't disappoint. He looked like a veteran out there. Wasn't out of position much and stayed calm when the attack would come his way. The future is bright for him and he should be a Whitecap for years to come.
    He should benefit well from a USL Pro team next season, a chance for him to get quality minutes as a starting LB and covering Jordan Harvey for the MLS club. If he hasn't already claimed the starter's job by then.
    The Bad:
    Giving Away Crucial Points
    It has been a theme all season. Crucial mistakes by Whitecaps players lead to crucial points being lost. The penalty by Nigel Reo-Coker was déjà vu all over again.
    It has been questionable calls against Jay DeMerit, Matis Laba picking up a red card for picking up the ball on a no call or Jordan Harvey last week getting sent off.
    Even with all those points being left on the pitch, if the Whitecaps can beat RSL this weekend they can move into second place in the Western Conference. The dropping of two points last night saw them fall out of the playoff places. That's the fine lines between success and failure in the West this year.
    At the beginning of this season they were getting wins when they should have been getting draws and draws when they should have been getting losses. These past 6 games they have been settling for draws instead of wins.
    Aaron Campbell
    STARTING XI:
    11 - Nigel Reo-Coker
    Silly foul on Bradley at the end of the first half. Put the ref in a position where he had to make a penalty call to loss two crucial points. Koffie got his rest. Expect to see Nigel on the bench versus RSL.
    10 - Erik Hurtado
    O' where o' where has his scoring touch gone? O' where O' where could it be? The last handful of games we have been seeing 2013 Hurtado. I am sure the goals will come but it might be time for Manneh to get a start.
    9 - Johnny Leveron
    Yes he stepped up and gave the ball to Morales who gave it to Teibert who found Mattocks in the box for a goal. Other then that he was average at best.
    8 - Darren Mattocks
    Put himself in the right position for the goal. Still needs to be more aware of who is with him on the attack. Too much head down run at too many defenders for my liking.
    7 - Sam Adekugbe
    Filled in nicely for Jordan Harvey. Didn't do too much and did what he was asked to do. A good job in his second MLS start.
    6 - Carlyle Mitchell
    The best out of the two CB's. Doing everything right to make sure he will continue to get starts. Forming a great bond with Leveron. May spell the end of O'Brien if he keeps it up.
    5 - Steven Beitashour
    Mr. Reliable. Unless you look specifically for him you would hardly know he was on the pitch. That's not a bad thing. Does his job game in and game out.
    4 - Pedro Morales
    Got the assist on Mattocks goal to get his 8th of the season and is now tied 2nd in MLS. Had good movement off the ball but his teammates didn't find him in time.
    3 - Matias Laba
    Very strong game for him clogging up the middle. Had to cover for Reo-Coker when he was out of position. Stepped up to play his old team.
    2 - Russell Teibert
    Second assist of the season. Well behind last year's pace but he is picking up his game. Silly yellow card but is starting to find his role on the team.
    1 - David Ousted
    Kept the Whitecaps in the game. Made some big saves to keep the Whitecaps up 1-0. Didn't have a chance on the Defoe penalty kick. Overall a great game by Ousted.
    SUPER SUBS:
    3 - Sebastian Fernandez
    Last minute sub. Didn't have a chance to make a difference.
    2 - Kekuta Manneh
    Should get the start versus RSL for Hurtado. Let's have him up top as a striker and see what he can do.
    1 - Gershon Koffie
    Might have come away with a full 3 points if he started over Nigel Reo-Coker. 100 MLS games down and hundreds of more to come hopefully.
    Grant
    Costa Rica only has 4.5 million people
    It’s always dangerous to play this numbers game -- China has 1.5 billion people so they should win every World Cup! -- but a quarterfinal showing by a nation that lacks 1) as many people as the Greater Toronto Area and 2) a magnificent soccer pedigree like Uruguay, proves it’s not so much the overall resources as how a country chooses to deploy them. Unfortunately, it's far easier to wax vaguely online about coaching, youth development and clearly demarcated paths from U5s to the senior national team than it is to actually build those things.
    But you do need some starlets
    Costa Rica currently boasts three players who excel at the highest levels: Bryan Ruiz, Keylor Navas and Joel Campbell. That number may change now that players from this World Cup side are being linked willy-nilly with clubs all over Europe. The point is that you don’t need 11 superstars to boss Concacaf but you do need a handful to make a difference on the world stage.
    Screw the wheat and get the job done with chaff
    Seven of Costa Rica’s starting 11 against Greece play their club football in either Scandinavia, Bundesliga 2, MLS or the Costa Rican league. Admit it, that sounds positively Canadian men’s national team-ish. Cut to a beautiful summer day with a meadow and some fluffy clouds, perhaps a bottle of wine, then stretch out and wonder what might have been if Asmir Begovic, Jonathan de Guzman, Junior Hoilett et al had been enthusiastic participants in the 2014 qualifying process all along...
    God Canada, we need a league (here’s where it gets depressing)
    The Primera División de Costa Rica Costa is both figuratively and literally a long way from the European glamour pitches and the well-funded academy conveyor belts churning out talent to fill them. Save for a few relatively storied clubs like Saprissa and Alajuelense, the league is also a long way from MLS and Mexico’s top league. The maximum salary in the Costa Rican league hovers around $12,000 per month (in a relatively low-cost living environment of course). But it’s an outlet where Costa Ricans can earn a living playing soccer if they are any good.
    Because here’s what a league can do
    Any guesses on how many of the 23 players on Costa Rica’s World Cup roster were developed by pro clubs in Costa Rica, before in some cases moving on to North America and Europe? Twist your elbow and shoulder awkwardly to pat yourself on the back if you blurted out, “all of them!” Interestingly, Los Ticos are also rather homogenous, with 22 of the 23 players born in-country. Miserable trivia enthusiasts should note that defender Oscar Duarte is the exception, born in Nicaragua before moving next door at a young age.
    Hurry in! Top quality managers still available at competitive prices
    According to the Daily Mail, the Costa Rica FA pays national team manager Jorge Luis Pinto $440,000 annually. A pretty decent return for a quarter final spot compared to some of the other monster wages reportedly paid to national team managers (we’re looking at you Fabio Capello). CSN editor-in-chief Duane Rollins has previously reported that the Canada manger earns in the range of $150,000 to $200,000 a year. That puts this country at the distinctly lower range (re: absolutely bottom) of the World Cup manager wage table, but Pinto proves that a governing body doesn't need to bankrupt itself attracting quality talent.
    Just make sure you find one, and just maybe, it's quarterfinals time
    Jorge Luis Pinto was very very clear in the months leading up to the World Cup. His side would rely on a well-drilled, defense-first system. They would be stingy, and focused, and any goals conceded would cost opponents buckets of sweat. Sure, a lot of managers say things like that. But Pinto's system worked when it counted and by the end of the group stage the Guardian had dubbed him the South American Jose Mourinho. Delving into the collective psyche of eleven strangers kicking a ball on television is a tricky bit, but Los Ticos always gave a palpable sense they believed they could win. Perhaps the only darkish cloud hover over Costa Rica's post-Cup bliss is whether Pinto will stay on or seek more lucrative pastures.
    Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
    Michael Mccoll
    As expected, Carl Robinson made some changes, some forced, some tactical.
    With left back Jordan Harvey out suspended, Residency alumni Sam Adekugbe came in for his first start of the season and only his second ever MLS start. Robinson made three other changes to the side that lost to Chivas USA on Saturday. Nigel Reo-Coker came into the midfield for Gershon Koffie, to add some bite and experience and to go up against Michael Bradley. On the wings Russell Teibert and Darren Mattocks came in for Sebastian Fernandez and Kekuta Manneh, both of whom dropped to the bench.
    Toronto made two changes from the side that stormed back from a two goal deficit on Saturday to beat Houston Dynamo 4-2. Michael Bradley returned to the starting line up for Dominic Oduro and Bradley Orr stepped in for Steven Caldwell, who went off with a quad tear in the Dynamo win.
    It was the Caps that had their tails up early and Darren Mattocks connected with a Pedro Morales cross to send a ball across the face of the goal in the 2nd minute but with no takers.
    Morales whipped a free kick narrowly past the right post in the 9th minute as the home side let Vancouver move the ball around fairly comfortably.
    That was soon to change and TFC started to assert their own pressure on the game.
    Collen Warner floated a free kick into the box that just eluded Jermain Defoe at the back post, before Doneil Henry got his head on another free kick but his effort was straight at David Ousted in the 17th minute.
    The game fell into a lull with Vancouver letting Toronto have a lot of possession but neither team were able to create any real chances.
    That lull was nearly broken in the 41st minute when Defoe had the ball in the net after Ousted spilled a deflected shot by Luke Moore, but the English striker was in an offside position.
    The half came to an unexciting end with Toronto likely to be the slight happier with the game looking like it could turn their way.
    TFC upped the tempo right from the start of the second half and Ousted had to get across his goal to turn a Bradley free kick past the post two minutes in.
    The Whitecaps responded with a spell of their own pressure and after a couple of near things, they took the lead in the 50th minute.
    Morales played the ball outside to Russell Teibert and the Canadian's low cutback into the box was clinically finished by Darren Mattocks from eight yards out.
    TFC made some changes but Vancouver weren't looking too troubled. The home side got themselves back in the match though in the 63rd minute when Reo-Coker's clumsy challenge on Jackson in the box led to a penalty which Defoe finished with ease.
    The goal sparked the game into life, with both teams looking for the go-ahead goal.
    Jackson forced Ousted to tip a dipping shot over in the 69th minute but there was no real goal threat from either side as the minutes ticked down.
    Substitute Nick Hagglund's diving header in the last minute had Toronto fans out of their seats but it flew over and second later it was fellow sub Gilberto who had a great chance with a header over.
    That was to be it. Vancouver can be happy with a fighting road point against one of the in-form teams in MLS but they'll be disappointed by the nature of their downfall and the lack of clear chances created.
    Now they move on to another tough road game at Real Salt Lake. Another draw wouldn't be catastrophic but the signs are there that the Caps need to strengthen their squad in this transfer window if they want to be challenging for the playoffs come October.
    FINAL SCORE: Toronto FC 1 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
    ATT: 22,591
    TORONTO: Joe Bendik; Mark Bloom (Nick Hagglund 55), Bradley Orr, Doneil Henry, Justin Morrow; Jackson (Gilberto 77), Michael Bradley, Collen Warner, Jonathan Osorio (Dominic Oduro 59); Luke Moore, Jermain Defoe [subs Not Used: Chris Konopka, Kyle Bekker, Daniel Lovitz, Dwayne DeRosario]
    VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron, Sam Adekugbe; Matias Laba, Nigel Reo-Coker (Gershon Koffie 71), Russell Teibert (Kekuta Manneh 82), Pedro Morales, Darren Mattocks, Erik Hurtado (Sebastian Fernandez 90+3) [subs Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Andy O’Brien, Nicolas Mezquida, Omar Salgado]
    [*** Post game reaction to follow ***]
    Duane Rollins
    It isn't really an advanced concept to recognize that MLS teams usually perform better at home than on the road. It's a universal truth, actually, that all sports teams do (the reasons for which are actually fascinating and not fully understood, but that's a far greater topic than this post proposes to tackle).
    It's also well understood that MLS has an infuriatingly unbalanced schedule. In the middle of a season it's not uncommon for some teams to have several games in hand with the rest of the league.
    Those two factors make it difficult to handicap how strong a team's position is mid-season. Take Toronto and Los Angeles this year for example. Both are quite a distance from the top of their conferences, but both have played far fewer games than those they are chasing.
    It was with that in mind that I used to keep track of something I called the "home-away adjusted MLS standings projection (H-AAS)." It was a simple formula that determined a team's points per game at home and away, calculated how many more points they could expect to get if they maintained the same PPG pace for the remainder of the year, and added it to the amount of points already on the board.
    Many people mistook the H-AAS as a prediction. It's not. Form can change quickly and teams can dramatically move up and down the projections.
    No, what the H-AAS is, is a snapshot. Think of it as a statistically based power rankings. Its strength and weakness likely lies in its simplicity.
    That said, it did actually prove to be fairly predictive in past seasons. A team's projections in July were often fairly close to where they ended up.
    The reason I stopped doing the projections? That's a simple answer: I cover TFC. We didn't need a projection to understand how the Reds were doing over the past few years.
    But, what about now?
    West
    1. Seattle 72 pts (1st overall)
    2. Los Angeles 55 (4th)
    3. Salt Lake 54 (5th)
    4. Colorado 50 (7th)
    5. Vancouver 49 (8th)
    6. Dallas 45 (11th)
    7. Chivas 44 (12th)
    8. Portland 38 (13th)
    9. San Jose 31 (18th)
    East
    1. Toronto 60 (2nd)
    2. DC United 59 (3rd)
    3. Kansas City 54 (5th)
    4. New York 48 (9th)
    5. New England 47 (10th)
    6. Chicago 38 (13th)
    7. Columbus 35 (15th)
    8. Philly 34 (16th)
    9. Houston 33 (17th)
    10. Montreal 27 (19th)
    Again, just a snap shot. However, it does illustrate a few things.
    1) Just how good Seattle's first half has been. They have to be a clear favourite to win the title and are next to a sure thing to win the Supporters Shield.
    2) Toronto fans need to start thinking beyond simply making they playoffs. The Reds are a playoff run and a Seattle loss away from hosting the championship game (at this pace. Insert caveat about no guarantees here)
    3) Vancouver is having a very good season and look strong for a playoff berth.
    5) Montreal filling the "one Canadian team must be terrible quota."
    As stated, the H-AAS can change quickly. We will continue to track it through the summer and into the stretch run.
    Michael Mccoll
    "It's really important to move on from Saturday and realise that one bad game shouldn’t turn into more,” goalkeeper David Ousted told reporters at training on Tuesday.
    "There's been some good games and some bad games. There's definitely room for improvement but we're in the thick of things and can still make second place if we win [against Toronto]. We're happy with where we are."
    It’ll be tough but they now have the ideal chance to bounce back right away when they take on Toronto FC tonight.
    Four games, one win, one draw, two defeats. That’s how it reads these past few weeks. The Whitecaps have played some mixed football in that spell but haven’t been taking their chances.
    At the other end of the pitch, there’s been two clean sheets and two games with sloppy defending. Which defence will turn up tonight remains to be seen, but one thing that is certain is that there will be continued changes to the backline.
    With Jordan Harvey suspended, there will be a new face at left back, whether that is first round 2014 SuperDraft pick Christian Dean, or more likely, the homegrown Sam Adekugbe. Whoever it is, it means three different players in the Caps’ back four than their first choice starters.
    "I've got young players to come into the team that I've got 100% faith in,” Robinson said at training yesterday. “I'll make a decision on what I'll do. Johnny and Carlyle have come in and done very well, Andy's just getting himself up to fitness as well. I've got Christian Dean from the draft who's a fantastic prospect for us as well.
    "Obviously the left back situation as well, Jordan's played every minute of every game, will be a concern. Whether it's Christian or Sam that steps in there, I've got no worries with that. Another young player will bring the average age down but I've got full confidence in them."
    For the second straight game, that young, inexperienced defence will be going up against one of the hottest goalscorers in MLS right now. On Saturday it was Erick Torres, tonight it is Jermain Defoe. Torres scored the crucial go ahead goal fro Chivas at the weekend, and the Whitecaps will be hoping they can snuff out tonight’s goal threat.
    A daunting prospect but Robinson has faith in his young steeds.
    "Listen, the league's exciting,” the Caps coach mused. “You want to play against the best players, whether it's Jermain Defoe, whether it's Thierry Henry, whether it's Robbie Keane. You're talking about world class attacking players.
    “It's great for Toronto. This is tools they've got in their team, so we'll need to do our job correctly. We've got to make sure we do our job collectively and put our own stamp in the game.
    “I think Ryan's done a good job. He was here last year, he's had a chance to remould his squad the way he wants to. They've got some very fast players in the team now, which gives them a different dynamic.
    “Obviously they've got Jermain up who scores goals. Any team that's got a goalscorer, we were subject to that on Saturday with Cubo Torres who's in a great run of form and one chance, one goal, so if you've got a goalscorer in your team, you've always got a chance. They've certainly got that, so they're a dangerous team."
    With a makeshift back four, Vancouver really need the experienced Ousted and right back Steven Beitashour to come up big, keep the line tight and vocalise at every opportunity.
    Ousted knows that communication will be key to prevent the Caps from switching off and losing men in the box again. Like Robinson, he trusts though coming in to do the job, but knows it will be a difficult game in store.
    "First off, we've got some great defenders in here. Whoever plays is good enough to play in the team. There's going to be some communication issues but we've got to sort them out. As long as people communicate when they get in there, we're going to be alright.
    "[Toronto] are definitely a strong team, not just their top guys. On the whole they're a strong team and it's going to be a tough match"
    Michael Crampton
    Thus, with Montreal enduring a Toronto FC-like season and looking unlikely of being capable of catching up to the other Canadian teams, the only head-to-head league meeting of TFC and Vancouver has become a “six-pointer” in traditional football league parlance. Having already ended the ‘Caps opportunity to play in continental competition for the first time by eliminating them from the Canadian Championship earlier this year, the Reds can put a serious dent in any ambitions the Whitecaps may harbour regarding next year’s tournament as well.
    Entering play, the Whitecaps enjoy a slender one-point advantage in the standings. However, like so many of Toronto’s opponents this season, Vancouver has played more games than TFC. With a win, Toronto would overtake Vancouver in points and extend their existing points-per-game advantage.
    For Toronto, a win would also keep alive the possibility of surpassing their entire points tally from the 2013 season by the halfway point of the 2014 season! With 24 points from their first 15 games – compared to 29 points from the entire 34 game season last year – it will take two straight victories to achieve that statistical quirk but simply being that close at this point in the season should give an idea of the scale of the turn-around already effected in T.O.
    To win, however, Toronto FC will likely be looking to return to the tighter defense that served them well before the World Cup break. A four goal comeback against Houston, for their first win since their return to action, obscured the fact that the Reds conceded two goals for the third time in four matches. It’s always easier to win a match if you’re not giving up goals yourself and, with TFC still not a consistently dangerous team going forward (albeit improving), the regular concession of multiple goals has to be a concern for head coach Ryan Nelsen.
    Adding to Nelsen’s problems in defense will be in the unavailability of club captain Steven Caldwell in the centre of defense for the foreseeable future. The Scot suffered a quadriceps tear in the win over Houston and will be sidelined for what could be an extended period. That probably means a return to centreback for utility man Bradley Orr. Orr did well in cameos in the position earlier in the season when Caldwell was suspended and, with the extra defensive screen Collen Warner has been providing in central midfield, can be sacrificed from his occasional starting role in midfield to fill the hole at the back without forcing Nelsen to resort to pairing youngsters Doneil Henry and Nick Hagglund there.
    Fortunately for Toronto, Vancouver has their own problems in defense to deal with. Captain Jay DeMerit is out with an ankle issue and the red card picked up by Jordan Harvey in the weekend loss to Chivas USA means that he’ll be missing his first match of the league season for the ‘Caps. Harvey has been one of the quiet, steady success stories in 2014, that underpin so many successful MLS teams, and head coach Carl Robinson will have a question at left back he’s yet to have had to answer in his time in-charge on the West Coast.
    Duane Rollins
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    Official statement from Canada Soccer
    As highlighted in our Strategic Plan 2014-2018 Leading a Soccer Nation released in January 2014, the Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is committed to encouraging the growth of the game in our country and governing it professionally, in collaboration with our various partners.
    As such, Canada Soccer has ongoing conversations with all professional leagues in Canada and North America, building valuable strategic business relationships and sharing our organisation’s vision for the growth of soccer. Although still in the exploratory stage, our dealings with these organisations within the sport and soccer communities have been positive. Further information will be shared as tangible developments are made.
    Canada Soccer’s focus remains fixed on the key priorities outlined in the Strategic Plan 2014-2018 and will continue to build towards becoming a leading soccer nation.
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