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    MLS Week in Review – Round 11

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The rest of the world’s attention may be squarely on the end of the European season and the goings-on in Brazil, as preparations for this summer’s FIFA World Cup conclude (hopefully safely and in time), with players beginning to trickle into training camps, but in the US and Canada another round of MLS action took place over the weekend.
    Despite many of the league’s top players departing for their respective national teams, it was another full schedule, with a single midweek fixture followed by nine on the weekend (eight on Saturday and a single Sunday match).
    Leaving aside the surprise midweek away win from Philadelphia, the weekend proper resulted in three draws and a single away win, allowing for a sense of normalcy after last round’s madness.
    28 goals were scored, including a perfect five-for-five from the penalty spot, while some 34 yellow cards were shown, as well as three reds, two straight and one accumulative. Kansas City’s centre-back crisis saw the highly-touted Erik Palmer-Brown (subject of transfer inquiries from the likes of Juventus) to make his debut; not exactly the circumstances or result that he or Coach Peter Vermes would have liked for his introduction to the league.
    From KC blooding youth to the un-chosen responding to World Cup snubs, this weekend had a little something for everyone watching.
    Whether cracking strikes, glaring misses – from one of the most in-form strikers in the league no less, or thunderous red cards, this weekend covers the gambit from scintillating, as with the continued form of New England, to the down-right discouraging, as Dan Gargan will attest with his misconstrued throw-in.
    Many teams found themselves desperately short-handed, not just due to call-ups, but injuries and suspensions that start to bite as the schedule wears on deep into its third month.
    As if that was not enough, there was a contentious Rocky Mountain Cup clash, the first of the season, on the docket.
    Before the results, the goals of the round:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Plenty of candidates this weekend, starting with the Jermain Defoe blast that started the weekend off on the right note, collecting a leading pass from Bradley Orr and beating Luis Robles with an unstoppable finish high to the short-side:
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    Wonder if Roy Hodgson saw that one?
    Up next, Seattle’s Obafemi Martins, another player left off his nation’s roster for the upcoming tournament, with a display of ludicrous skill, unbelievable awareness, and more than enough confidence, chipping San Jose’s Jon Busch in the most ridiculous manner:
    YouTube, “Embedding disabled by request” – wait, what? Tricky MLS, lucky there is more than one way to skin a cat…
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    And finally, if goals were a commodity (they are, of sorts), Columbus’ Federico Higuain would have the market cornered when it came to sumptuous chips. Well, he got up to it again with this stunner against Portland on Saturday:
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    Donovan Ricketts had no chance.
    On to the results…
    Midweek Result in a Sentence (Or Two; Maybe Three)

    The Union ended their nine-match winless streak in the most unusual of places, winning away to defending champions, Kansas City, on Wednesday night, courtesy of goals from Danny Cruz and Cristian Maidana, either side of a cracking Dom Dwyer strike.
    For Sporting, it was their first loss at home of the season, continuing a trend between the two sides that saw the away team victorious on each of their three meetings the year previous; the bright spot of nineteen-year old Brazilian, Igor Juliao, making his MLS debut was marred by an injury concern to Aurelian Collin that will leave them short-handed heading into the weekend.
    For John Hackworth, upon whom boos rained on the previous weekend, that Cruz and the rest of the side searched him out in celebration, will have been welcome refreshment.
    Results in Brief
    Toronto 2 – New York 0
    The weekend proper began with an afternoon match between Toronto and New York on the shores of Lake Ontario. In truth, this duo should be hard and fast rivals, the biggest cities in their respective countries, each with a claim to be an international cultural centre, but the one-sided nature of the contest has prevented such animosity from building – New York entered unbeaten in the last ten – though that all may be coming to a change.
    TFC, fresh off a penalty kick shootout win over Vancouver in the midweek Voyageurs Cup, took a mere twelve minutes to go in front, when Bradley Orr pounced on Kosuke Kimura’s errant pass and slipped Jermain Defoe down the right-channel.
    The English striker made no mistake burying the chance with a right-footed rocket to the top right corner, leaving Luis Robles hopeless as Armando tried to recover with a sliding tackle to no avail.
    Toronto should have padded that lead before half-time and their profligacy nearly proved costly, as New York emerged from the second half, after a wardrobe malfunction, to turn up the pressure, including a pair of decent penalty shouts and a dazzling miss from red-hot striker, Bradley Wright-Phillips, who entered with eight goals in his last four matches (should have saved one for this match, perhaps).
    But TFC rode the pressure, finally closing out the result in the fifth minute of stoppage-time when a long Joe Bendik kick was contested by Luke Moore, Robles, and defender Chris Duvall. Somehow Moore rode the contact, staying on his feet as Robles and Duvall collided, allowing the recently-acquired striker to virtually walk the ball over the line.
    For Ryan Nelsen, it was just the sort of strong outing he was hoping for, after a start-stop beginning to the season had seen the Reds fall to three-straight losses (and four in their last five), while Mike Petke must once more lament a slow start that proved costly, as his New York continues to struggle away from home.
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    Philadelphia 3 – New England 5
    While most of the teams in the league used up all their goals last weekend, it appears as though the Revolution are just getting started, racking up another five-goal performance over a tired Union side playing their third match in a week.
    Centre-back AJ Soares started the scoring in the 13th minute, getting on the end of a whipped in right-sided free-kick from Chris Tierney with a near-post run, away from his marker, redirecting the service into the near-side of goal.
    Diego Fagundez, who notched his first two of the season last weekend, doubled their advantage in the 26th after a delicate ball over the back-line from Lee Nguyen picked out the industrious cross-field run of Teal Bunbury. Bunbury held up the play, drawing defenders towards him before laying off for the late-arriving Fagundez, who did well to get the ball out of his feet before sweeping a left-footed finish through a crowd and under the on-rushing Zac MacMath.
    Philadelphia would draw one back before half-time, with a cracking finish from Vincent Nogueira, blasting an unstoppable right-footer past Brad Knighton - in for the concussed Bobby Shuttleworth - after Danny Cruz collected a half-cleared Sheanon Williams long-throw and laid off to the Frenchman.
    But the rout resumed in the second half with Nguyen, Tierney, and Patrick Mullins scoring in the 49th, 57th, and 67th minutes – Nguyen after Daigo Kobayashi played him down the left-side of the box to cut inside onto his right-foot around the challenge of Gaddis and put his finish to the short-side through the legs of Austin Berry; Tierney from a devastating free-kick inside the arc (what a left-foot he has); and Mullins after a cheeky back-roll from Fagundez as the two crisscrossed inside the Union box, allowing the rookie to beat MacMath with a left-footer to the left-side of goal.
    Philadelphia would draw back a pair - first from Williams after a Cristian Maidana free-kick, having been cleared, was put back in by Sebastien Le Toux, flicked down by Berry, and pounced upon by the defender with a left-footed finish and then from Le Toux, via the spot, after Antoine Hoppenot was adjudged to have been taken down by Andrew Farrell as he surged into the box; Le Toux is a perfect nine-for-nine in Union colours from the spot, with a right-footed blasted high, down the middle having sent Knighton to his right – either side of a red card to Maidana for a lunging challenge on Steve Neumann in the 82nd minute, but it was too little, too late, as the boos once more poured down from the Philly faithful.
    For John Hackworth, it was a disparaging outing, having risen to such heights midweek only to crash back at home. Jay Heaps, on the other hand, must be licking his lips at the prospects of such a dynamic attacking team, who won their fourth-straight match - stretching their unbeaten run to six, though the late concessions will trouble a defender and competitor such as himself.
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    DC 1 – Montreal 1
    Another of the Eastern Conference’s strugglers looked to build off their controversial midweek win – on a last-minute penalty kick against FC Edmonton in the Voyageurs Cup – as Montreal travelled to DC.
    The two sides have, more-or-less, swapped positions this season, with DC touching the upper reaches of the table, while Montreal plumb to its deepest depths.
    The tea leaves did not portend well for the visitors, who have never won in DC, while the home side had triumphed in the last four meetings between the sides, but the Impact, after a rather quiet first half – aside from a near-own-goal off the head of Wandrille Lefevre – took the lead in the 56th minute through Jack McInerney.
    Hassoun Camara played up-field to Patrice Bernier who swept the ball immediately behind the DC back-line for Justin Mapp to chase from the right. Getting in front of Christian, Mapp drove towards the near-post before neatly pulling back to McInerney, who controlled the hard pass and touched in to the far-side of goal for his first league goal in four matches, having found his scoring boots, with goals in both legs of the Canadian Championship.
    It looked as though Montreal may indeed, against all odds, see out the victory – spared blushes by Luis Silva’s rasping drive caroming off the bar, only for ice-cold Eddie Johnson, who, without a goal in some 700-plus minutes of play, was left off the US roster for the World Cup, to level in the 84th minute.
    Defender Jeff Parke began the play with a ball up the left-flank that was helped on by Christian in-field to Chris Rolfe.
    Rolfe, in turn, laid a ball down the outside left of the area for DC spark-plug, Fabian Espindola to chase. His searching cross, too high for Jeb Brovsky’s stretch, found Johnson untouched at the back-post, for a downward header from the edge of the six-yard box.
    That Johnson, whose controversial comments about the quality of his teammates and their service rang around MLS circles recently, was mobbed on the side-line for nabbing his first of the season is indicative of a club that has banded together in harsh circumstance.
    Ben Olsen reiterated that sentiment post-match, going so far as to agree that they have not provided their target man with much to feast upon this season, secure in the knowledge that his side has lost just once in their last eight matches and that Eddie’s prowess will be important in the tough times.
    Frank Klopas, who was forced to make do with just six players on the subs bench due to injuries, including those to veterans and supposed leaders, Matteo Ferrari and Marco Di Vaio, will take heart from the durable performance, but knows that a win would have meant so much more.
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    Houston 1 – Los Angeles 0
    Up next was a grudge match of sorts, as finalists of two of the last three MLS Cups met once more, with twice runner’s-up Houston hosting Los Angeles in their sole meeting of the regular season.
    And it was the vanquished who took the spoils on the night, thanks in large part to a defensive breakdown by the Galaxy.
    Dan Gargan misread the signals from his keeper, Jaime Penedo, urging him to hold his throw-in as a call for the ball, putting the keeper under pressure from hard-working rookie Mark Sherrod. Penedo could not pick it up, allowing Sherrod to nick in and lay-off a pass to Giles Barnes, who deftly placed a right-footer in off the inside of the far-post for the game’s lone strike.
    Were it not for a stellar bit of defensive work earlier on the other end, it may not have been so, as David Horst retreated to the goal-line, backing up his keeper, to head a Samuel drive away from the Houston goal.
    Both sides were missing prominent pieces – with Brad Davis, Landon Donovan, and Omar Gonzalez away with the American national team – while, another soon to depart, Honduran Oscar Boniek Garcia, was forced off in the 23rd minute with an injury scare that required a lot of ice, but was reportedly more a precaution than a concern.
    Perhaps the lone bright spot for Bruce Arena and the Galaxy, who saw their winless run extend to four matches, was the debut of homegrown standout, Raul Mendiola, who did not look out of place in his half-hour run-out, though that another defensive breakdown was their downfall will be very concerning.
    For Dominic Kinnear, who saw his side rebound from that dreadful performance last weekend against Salt Lake, with a third-win in their last four matches, the ability to seize the moment, whether up top with a predatory strike, or at the back with game-saving plays, will be some encouragement after an earlier six-game winless skid had them resting towards the bottom of the conference – they now sit comfortably in third.
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    Dallas 1 – Chivas 1
    At the same time, the other LA-based team was asserting itself on the road, having finally ended an eight-match winless run with last weekend’s result in Colorado.
    Chivas USA, the red-headed step-child of the league, has found new life under head coach Wilmer Cabrera, and they looked to build on that first win in nine, away to a struggling Dallas, who entered the match on the back of four-straight losses, equaling an unwanted club record.
    Dallas’ results have been a microcosm of last season, surging to the top of the table, only to fall off a cliff – injuries to Mauro Diaz and Hendry Thomas amongst others, have not helped, but Oscar Pareja will know they are only part way through a long season; twists and turns are par for the course.
    Neither side could find much during the first half, but come the hour-mark, the visitors found a breakthrough when Martin Rivero hit a searching cross-field ball for Mauro Rosales attacking the right-side of the box.
    The ever-dangerous Argentine drove to the end-line before pulling back a goalmouth cross for Marky Delgado, a day off his nineteenth birthday, at the near-post. The youngster managed to get a right-footed stab on the high-velocity service, redirecting it past Raul Fernandez in the Dallas goal, to give the Ameri-Goats a lead.
    But a second-straight win on the road was too much to ask, with Colombian Fabian Castillo finding the equalizer for Dallas in the waning moments.
    Castillo, now in his fourth season with the club, has started to look every bit the designated player he was intended to be – stronger, faster, more devastating; what were before mere flashes have grown into a constant threat.
    Jair Benitez’ right-sided, in-swinging corner kick was cleared by Carlos Alvarez, but the Dallas left-sided defender collected the rebound and hit another ball across the face of goal, where Castillo managed to turn it in with a right-footed redirect inside the six.
    For Pareja and Dallas, salvaging a point and ending that losing skid were positives, though laced with disappointment. Cabrera, on the other hand, who could be discouraged at the late equalizer, took the positives of another solid outing, on the road no less.
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    Salt Lake 2 – Colorado 1
    There are few on the league’s manufactured rivalries that carry the kind of ill-will embedded in the Rocky Mountain Cup, contested by Salt Lake and Colorado.
    As the league reaches maturity, whether the majority of these prefabricated clashes will fade into history with the shoot-out and peacockishly garish uniforms, is unknown, but at least a few, those that have blossomed, reinforced by actual events, will undoubtedly flourish – this is one of those.
    Colorado, who finally retook the silverware last season after six-years of dominance by Salt Lake, had quite the task on their hands. True, they entered unbeaten in the last four meetings, but Salt Lake were yet to lose this season and the home side in this contest has not lost since 2007 – that is a very long time in MLS.
    It took just 23 minutes for a short-handed Salt Lake – with Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando, and Alvaro Saborio away on national duty - to put themselves into the lead.
    As they are wont to do, Salt Lake compressed the play on one side of the pitch, the right on this occasion, before exploiting the created space on the other side. Tony Beltran played into Devon Sandoval, Saborio’s replacement, who in turn moved in-field towards Javier Morales.
    Morales fed the ball wide to the left, outside the Colorado right-back, for the run of Joao Plata, who finished across Clint Irwin for his sixth goal of the season and fourth in as many matches, since returning to the starting lineup from injury.
    Controversy would hand Salt Lake a second, with Morales himself converting from the penalty spot, after Sandoval was apparently taken down as he ran across the face of goal, attempting to round the Colorado keeper. Irwin protested that he made no contact; Drew Moor, the defender tracking Sandoval did appear to give a slight shove, but was it enough to warrant the penalty?
    Either way, Morales dispatched it coolly, eyeing the keeper to his right before placing a high right-footer the other way.
    Colorado, in search of a way back into the match, would find consolation in the 83rd minute, setting up a tense finish, when Moor made amends with a powerful header from a right-sided Dillon Serna free-kick, curled to the back-post.
    Jeff Cassar, whose ability to replace Jason Kreis at the helm was widely questioned, has proved himself more than equal to the task, guiding his side to a third-straight win, while extending their unbeaten start to the campaign to an impressive eleven matches.
    Pablo Mastroeni, who has endlessly tinkered with his lineup, rarely fielding the same eleven in back-to-back matches, hailed the combative effort of his side, undone by an inability to find the necessary goals to swing the tide.
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    Seattle 1 – San Jose 0
    No match this round was as affected by the international absences as the Western Conference tilt between Seattle and San Jose, missing a combined five players – Seattle’s trio of Clint Dempsey, Brad Evans, and DeAndre Yedlin, and San Jose’s duo of Chris Wondolowski and Clarence Goodson.
    Add suspensions to Shea Salinas and Victor Bernardez (who may have been off for Honduras anyways), as well as injuries to Alan Gordon, Steven Lenhart, and newcomer Yannick Djalo, and the visiting Earthquakes were at a severe disadvantage, dressing only sixteen players for the match.
    Despite that lack of choice, Mark Watson’s San Jose put in a brave performance, only undone on the night by a touch of sheer class from Obafemi Martins, responding to being snubbed from the Nigerian squad announced for the upcoming tournament.
    In the eighth minute of play, Marco Pappa played the ball wide left to Gonzalo Pineda, who put a ball to the near-post area for Martins to chase. Holding off the attentions of defender Jordan Stewart, Martins sized up the turf-bounce of the ball and somehow hit a looping touch virtually over his own head with his left-foot that sailed towards the far-post, falling inside the net, much to the bemusement of keeper, Jon Busch, who could only grimace in response.
    Busch would be called upon again, making a series of fine saves throughout, while Martins and Pappa sent efforts just off target, and were it not for an alert clearance from Shaun Francis in the 84th, Ossie Alonso may have sealed the match.
    Sigi Schmid would have entered the match unsure of how his side would respond to last weekend’s five-nil drubbing in New England, without the services of three regulars, but exits knowing that he has the pieces to plug those gaps, though a short-handed San Jose was hardly the stiffest test.
    Watson, expressed his pride at his team putting in a good account of themselves, given the tough circumstances, but will need a some players to return to health in short order, least the absences really haunt.
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    Portland 3 – Columbus 3
    Two sides who missed out on last weekend’s goal-fest made amends in Saturday’s nightcap, notching three apiece in a six-goal, back-and-forth thriller.
    Max Urruti opened the scoring after six minutes when Will Johnson forced a turnover in midfield and fed Steve Zakuani down the left. The tricky winger poked a pass for Urruti, who wrestled control of the ball after a miss-touch and slammed a left-footer past Steve Clark at the short-side, roofing into the top corner.
    But Portland, as they often have this season, failed to stay sharp, allowing Wil Trapp to waltz through two defenders in the centre-circle before playing up to Hector Jimenez, who in turn found Federico Higuain sauntering down the right-channel. When he was not pressured, the Argentine did what he does best from those positions, abusing the opponent’s keeper with one of his trademark chips that sailed beyond a helpless Donovan Ricketts and off the underside of the bar in the 14th minute.
    The home side suffered a further blow when young right-back, Alvas Powell took a heavy touch and tried to make amends with a ridiculous sliding tackle that sent Chad Barson somersaulting through the air, drawing the most obvious red card of the season to date.
    Reduced to ten, Portland were stung in the fifth-minute of first-half stoppage-time when Futty Danso recklessly hauled down Giancarlo Gonzalez in the box, preventing him from getting on the end of a Columbus free-kick, prompting the referee to point to the spot, from which Higuain notched his second of the evening.
    Down a man and a goal, Portland emerged determined, but it was not until the 80th minute that they found their equalizer, when captain Johnson pounced on a Columbus mistake.
    Diego Valeri hit a long cross-field pass for Jack Jewsbury, who lost out as three Columbus defenders collapsed on him. But a heavy touch from Tyson Wahl, allowed Jewsbury to touch into the path of Johnson, whose right-footed drive deflected off Gonzalez en route to goal.
    Columbus would respond less than a minute later when Ethan Finlay reinstated the advantage with a deflected strike of his own, after twisting up Jorge Villafana as he cut in from the right-side to unleash a left-footer that took a massive redirection off Danso, nestling into the right-side of goal as Ricketts dove to the left.
    The Timbers would not let their heads drop, brining on recently-acquired, towering Nigerian striker Fanendo Adi in the 83rd minute and the big man, on his debut, would not disappoint.
    Valeri hit a deep, central free-kick, lofted towards the left-post, where Adi rose highest, knocking down to the other-post where Gaston Fernandez, of course, arrived for a simple right-footed touch to equalize in the 85th minute.
    The frustration at repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot is wearing on the Timbers, as Johnson’s post-match interview illustrates, but Caleb Porter know that their current four-match unbeaten run (with just one loss in their last seven) contains within the signs of life that will see them correct their current trajectory in due time.
    Gregg Berhalter, whose Crew remain winless in eight matches, will take heart in ending a three-match losing streak and lengthy (335 minute, to be exact) goal-less streak, while wondering why they could not close out a ten-man opponent.
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    Chicago 2 – Kansas City 1
    Sunday’s lone fixture saw a rested and enthusiastic Chicago, fresh off the nine-goal drama in New York, host a depleted Kansas City.
    International call-ups for Matt Besler and Lawrence Olum, (Graham Zusi as well), and injuries to Ike Opara and Aurelien Collin, had KC scrambling for centre-backs, Peter Vermes, opting to run out seventeen-year old, Erik Palmer-Brown for his MLS debut in a make-shift back-line.
    Seven minutes in and Chicago’s deadly trio of Harrison Shipp, Quincy Amarikwa, and Mike Magee exploited that weakness, when Shipp threaded Amarikwa in down the left-side of the box and goalkeeper, Eric Kronberg was judged to have tripped up the forward, allowing Magee to strike from the penalty spot – after the usual confusion from the Fire as to who would take it.
    Considering he had been denied by Philadelphia, Magee struck confidently, eyeing Kronberg one way and finishing low to his right.
    Eight minutes on, Chicago were gifted a second penalty, when Benji Joya battled with Palmer-Brown near the end-line and an unfortunate touch off the ankle of the young defender gave the attacker a route, to goal, prompting a panicked shoved.
    Again Magee would take, placing his right-footer to the exact same spot, having frozen Kronberg, who went correctly, but could not reach after a slight hesitation.
    Chicago would clamour for another mintues later, when Palmer-Brown clipped the heels of Dilly Duka, but a third spot kick would not be forthcoming.
    The youngster’s night went from bad to worse, when a pair of second-half yellow cards fifteen minutes apart, saw him dismissed from his debut – a tough introduction no doubt, but plenty of room to grow in his burgeoning career.
    Dom Dwyer, who had hit the post in the first-half, found some consolation in the 68th minute, getting on the end of a curling, right-sided Benny Feilhaber free-kick at the back-post with a powerful header, collecting his fourth goal in the last three matches.
    With the win, Frank Yallop’s charges, who had gone eight matches without a win to start the season, picked up a second-straight victory, lifting themselves out of the mire at the bottom of the East.
    Vermes’ side, playing their third match in eight days, shorn of too many starters to adapt, fell to a second-straight defeat and must regroup for a Friday night fixture.
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    CanCon
    As usual, the extended review of the Canadian performances of the weekend will be posted midday, tomorrow, and feature some notes from the second legs of the Voyageurs Cup, as well as strong outings from Will Johnson, Jonathan Osorio, and Patrice Bernier, amongst others.
    Overheard
    Toronto’s Luke Moore how often he gets to walk the ball into the opponents net: “Not enough, to be honest with you! I think any striker would take three or four of those a season. I kind of gambled and got out of the way a little bit and was lucky it dropped into my path. You just say a little thank you to the gods. It’s a bit of a gift. You’ve got to be there to put it in so I was happy with it. It was a great little gift for me.”
    Colorado’s Drew Moor implores his side to come out fighting, rather than waiting until after their bell has been rung to respond:"We can't wait to take a punch in the face before we start playing in a game like this."
    While his manager, Pablo Mastroeni, admired that they responded, at least: “I think our guys battled like warriors out there today. I think we were able to impose ourselves for the better part of 60 minutes. The lack of finishing was what let us down in the end.”
    Then there was Jon Busch’s reaction to Obafemi Martins’ finish: "You tip your cap to him. That's a big time finish from that angle. The only place you expect him to put it is at the near post. That's the only angle he's got and he finds the back post. You tip your hat to him because there's nothing you can do. Doesn't matter who you are or where you play, that's a good goal. He's a world class forward and he proved it tonight on that one."
    And what about this one: “…Heart of a lion, but the brain of a goldfish…”
    Want to know who said that quote of the season candidate? Tune in to tomorrow’s CanCon review.
    See It Live
    A moment of minor hilarity when New York’s Chris Duvall had his MLS debut held-back by three minutes due to a wardrobe malfunction. It appeared he (or the kit manager) forgot his jersey in the dressing room and he had to wait on the sideline at the start of the second half for it to be found and then for play to stop before he could enter the fray.
    Hilarity of a different kind came in the form of Bradley Wright-Phillips’ epic miss that same match:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#ec=tqdm94bToDRdWfMXUptA_OJnUpx1h6dL&pbid=4bfc225f82bf46c48dfb065eda97f74f"></script>
    What about Jon Busch’s reaction to that Obafemi Martins goal?

    And then there was Alvas Powell’s rush of blood to the head.
    Controversy
    Not much on the controversy front this weekend, aside from the usual handball pleads that litter any tense match.
    But a pair of penalties were awarded when attackers went to ground after attempting to round a keeper; always a contentious play:
    ?What about when
    ? Contact? Upcoming Fixtures
    A pair of midweek matches before the twelfth weekend of MLS action gets underway early, with an interesting Friday night fixture, followed by six matches on Saturday and a further pair on Sunday.
    Wednesday: DC-Houston; Los Angeles-Dallas. Friday: Kansas City-Toronto. Saturday: Vancouver-Seattle; New York-Portland; Columbus-Chicago; New England-DC; Colorado-Montreal; Salt Lake-Dallas. Sunday: Los Angeles-Philadelphia; San Jose-Houston.
    All video and quotes (and gif) 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
    Guest
    Since I like numbers I'm going to start with one -- 1.5.
    That's Toronto FC's points per game rate. Since MLS bizarrely has given the Reds three bye weeks already, it's the only number we can use to measure just how good or bad the Bloody Big Deal has been.
    The perception is the latter. A three game losing streak and an absolute inability (unwillingness?) to hold the ball has made even the truest believer skeptical.
    That perception is further backed up when you look at the MLS standings and see TFC in its familiar place below the big red line.
    A 1.5 points per game rate places Toronto well above that red line. In fact it's tied for sixth in the entire league.
    Huh.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Now, even the most basic of numbers can be misleading. Nine of TFC's 12 points came in their first four games. It's been bleaker since. However, it's here that we look at another number.
    105:30.
    That would be Jermain Defoe's goals per minute rate. He's roughly on pace for 30 goals (if he remains healthy which, of course, is the rub).
    Although most of the early season narrative has been about the indisputable value of Michael Bradley, we should not lose sight of how important the man who puts the bloody in the big deal is.
    When Defoe is healthy he scores. When he scores TFC wins. Goals are the thing. Always. It's why the strikers get the headlines and the prettiest WAGs.
    When evaluating another game in which Toronto once again yielded (and I do believe it's by design) most of the ball the take away is really that simple. Defoe is healthy again and, as such, it's game on again.
    TFC may not be pretty to watch, but they are (once again we stress WHEN HEALTHY) an above average team in MLS in 2014 because their top end talent is amongst the league's elite.
    Thanks to some good old English arrogance regarding MLS, TFC gets to keep one half of that elite tandem during the World Cup.
    Rule Britannia and may good health shine on Wayne Rooney.
    Please allow us to continue to provide this service beyond the end of 2014 by contributing to our month long fundraising campaign.
    Donations can be made in the following ways:
    1) EMT money transfer to CSNDonation@gmail.com (make password BloodyBigDeal)
    2) PayPal donation to dgrollins@gmail.com
    3) Cash donation provided in person at TFC event (or if for podcast, to Kevin at an Impact game)
    4) A mailed cheque (email me at DuaneGRollins@gmail.com for address)
    Guest
    By the time Issey Nakajima-Farran, in his last action as a Red, scored the clinching goal in the penalty shootout that saw Toronto FC into the 2014 Voyageur’s Cup final it was, technically, Thursday morning back in the Eastern Time Zone. Now, after flying back across a continent, TFC face an important home match versus the New York Red Bulls a mere 63 hours later in the earliest game of the MLS weekend.
    Fortunately, this year’s edition of the Red Bulls are nothing like consistent and look unlikely to repeat their Supporter’s Shield title of 2014. What the Red Bulls do look capable of doing, however, is scoring goals. While they have played four more games than Toronto their tally of 18 goals for more than doubles the Reds’ pitiful seven goals from seven games.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    New York lost a wild shootout last weekend that handed the Chicago Fire their first win of the season even though they managed to score four goals themselves (with Bradley Wright-Phillips suffering through the rare instance of scoring a hat trick in a losing cause). It was the second time this season that the Red Bulls conceded four or more goals in a game. So, while they have kept more clean sheets than TFC, it’s also understandable why New York have conceded 17 times already in 2014 with more than half of those goals coming in only two games.
    Certainly, with the first opportunity to market the meeting of Jermaine Defoe and Thierry Henry in MLS, the league would be more than happy with the game exploding into a goalfest. The two former Premier League stars were on opposite sides of the North London divide for years and there will be a certain surrealism to seeing them line-up representing two North American teams. While this is hardly Henry’s first visit to BMO Field it’s still a strange feeling to realize that a player like Nick Hagglund, who was playing college soccer last year, could find himself marking a World Cup and European Championship winner.
    If TFC are to be successful, however, they’ll have to start winning without the services of World Cup bound Michael Bradley. While foreseen well in advance, his call-up to the United States national team, and at least month-long absence, is a massive loss for the Reds. With Jeremy Hall still out with an injury and the just added Collen Warner suspended head coach Ryan Nelsen has virtually no option other than to name Kyle Bekker and Jonothan Osorio in central midfield.
    It will be the job of the young Canadians to match the irrepressible energy of the Dax McCarty in New York’s midfield. Widely regarded as the engine of New York’s team McCarty contributes the determination, ball-winning, and, often enough, timely goal scoring that has made the difference for the Red Bulls. That said, New York will have their own selection dilemma as their other marquee Designated Player Tim Cahill as been called up to the provisional roster of Australia’s World Cup team and unavailable to partner McCarty in midfield.
    Ultimately though, regardless of who’s available or who they’re playing, Toronto FC need to start getting results. The World Cup break is looming and the hot start to the season has cooled off leaving the Reds in the dangerous position of starting to see the Eastern Conference’s playoff positions disappearing into the distance. Yes, they have games in hand, but until you actually win some of those games the standings aren’t going to look very encouraging and the pressure will simply keep mounting.
    It’s always absurd to us the phrase “must win” for anything other than an actual must win game but getting back on-track versus a dangerous but vulnerable New York team looks essential. Three losses in a row is a slump, four might be a crisis.
    Guest
    Dear readers,
    There is little doubt that the amount of writing to appear on The 24th Minute has decreased over the last year. That's not by desire, but it's not by accident either.
    The simple truth was that a site that was once moderately profitable, then a break even proposition, now loses money. It costs money to run CSN. I lose money -- by virtue of not being able to pursue paid writing -- when I post to CSN.
    So, I've been forced to go with a quality over quantity approach. Although I'm happy with the stuff I've produced over the last year (especially some of the stats articles, which are a developing area in soccer writing and, to me, help us understand the game better) I am not happy with the amount of writing.
    I'm especially not happy because I remember how good CSN was and know how good it can be again -- the site that lead the way on CSA reform, broke trades and signings (JDG, to name one) and was the first to report that top flight soccer was returning to Vancouver (and Portland).
    I want the site to be that again. I know, based on how many people read the site then, I'm not alone.
    But, that requires support. I realize people can't give money everywhere, but I also know that between this site and the three different podcasts (two current) I've been involved with over the years I have also provided a lot of material that has entertained, amused and enraged you. Hopefully I've enhanced your TFC and national team viewing.
    So, I'm asking for readers to support the 24th Minute. It's the first time I've done so since 2009.
    Over the next month I will attempting to raise $2,400. That works out to $200 a month for 12-months. With that I will guarantee the following for the rest of the year:
    1) A minimum of 10 unique posts a week
    2) Expanding coverage to include all pro teams in Canada and League 1 Ontario
    3) A return to enterprise reporting
    4) The debut of one, long-form magazine style story per month.
    You will see what this looks like starting tomorrow as we will operate in that fashion during the fundraising efforts. Additionally, I will hold a 24-hour blogging marathon sometime in the next week as part of the fundraising effort.
    I will also be trying to raise $1,500 for the Two Solitudes podcast (to be split with Kevin Laramee). With that money I will upgrade the sound quality and expand the show to two regularly scheduled podcasts a week. Title sponsorship of the podcast for the next 12-months is available for that figure.
    I also will guarantee that I will not request support again until Victoria Day weekend 2015. Once a year is fair. More than that is begging.
    There are four ways to support this, ranked below in order of preference.
    1) EMT money transfer to CSNDonation@gmail.com (make password BloodyBigDeal)
    2) PayPal donation to dgrollins@gmail.com
    3) Cash donation provided in person at TFC event (or if for podcast, to Kevin at an Impact game)
    4) A mailed cheque (email me at DuaneGRollins@gmail.com for address)
    In terms of what's an appropriate donation, that's up to you. No amount is too small. Larger amounts can come with promotional benefits attached. Please indicate if you wish the donation to be only for the podcast.
    The reality is that without this support I will very likely be forced to stop at the end of the 2014 season.
    Thank you for your consideration and for reading over the years.
    Duane Rollins
    Victoria Day weekend, 2014
    Guest
    The more things change...
    TFC has traded a player they've had for less than two months. Issey Nakajima-Farran is off to Montreal for central midfielder Collen Warner. Oddly, TFC also gave up allocation in the move.
    On the surface the trade was so unexpected, so insane that most assumed there were more moves in the works. There was some suggestion that the Reds were making room --likely through a three way trade -- to bring in Brek Shea as an allocation claim.
    However, the noise from the club seems to suggest this is as it seems. Issey plays a wider role than Warner and Warner is more defensive minded. In the press release Tim Bezbatchenko said that Warner was coming in as cover for Michael Bradley during the World Cup.
    He's a (very) poor man's Bradley, but it appears that that's all this is. TFC felt that Bradley's role was so vital to the current tactical set-up that they needed to treat a useful player that had already been put through the ringer for months by them (held in limbo on trial from January until April) like, well, crap.
    That's the thing: Under old management TFC had a horrible, damaging reputation with player agents. That reputation was based on them constantly trading players and not communicating in a direct way.
    Issey's agent told Sportsnet this morning that they were not aware of any trade discussions.
    There must be something in the water at MLSE headquarters that makes smart people dumb.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Regardless, it's done. So, we must strip all humanity away as well and evaluate the move on a purely sport way. Subjectively, Warner has been a target for scorn amongst Montreal supporters all year. He's seen as having a poor touch and as being prone to giveaways.
    He's a nice guy though, most say.
    Not the most promising subjective view, especially when you consider Issey's two goals and tireless play thus far has made him a fan favourite.
    So, we need to be objective. How does the hard performance data compare.
    Using Whoscored.com, here's what we know.
    Issey 1.8 shots + key passes, 0.4 fouls suffered, 3 turnovers, 2.8 defensive involvement (all per 90 minutes played - DI is combination of tackles, clearances, interceptions and aerial wins)
    Warner 1.7 S+KP, 0.4, 3.3 FS, 4.8 DI
    Quick analysis: nearly identical offensive numbers (other than face Issey has two goals while Warner has none), similar turnovers and much better defensive numbers from Warner (although how much that comes down to the players playing slightly different roles is up for debate).
    Passing numbers: (assists, KP, Ave Passes, pass %, long balls, through balls)
    Issey 0, 0.6, 16.4, 76.8, 1, 0
    Warner 0, 0.8, 26.2, 80.9, 2.2, 0.3
    Warner is moderately better across the board.
    Overall, goals aside, Warner is slightly better. Since goals are one of the least useful measures to use when evaluating midfielders (too much luck involved) TFC likely "wins" the deal based only on purely objective measures.
    They lose on human measures. And, the numbers aren't so much better to justify that.
    Guest
    There's nothing like a good Cup tie to get the blood flowing and excitement and heartbreak was served up in abundance at BC Place on Wednesday evening.
    Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC put in one hell of a battle in their Canadian Championship semi-final second leg clash. AFTN photographer Tom Ewasiuk was there capturing the game for us. Here's a selection of his photos from before, during and after the match.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    You can find his full gallery from the game on Dropbox <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8fdxs4vxpleqmve/AAB4DYPtaeOlWaTZpyM_tgaka#/" target="_blank"><u><b>HERE</b></u></a>.
    <center><b>
    Do it for Canada guys

    A BC Place BC flag tifo

    Robbo and Ryan - best of frenemies

    The Whitecaps' Starting XI

    Doneil Henry cancels out Vancouver's away goal just four minutes in

    TFC celebrate but there's still a long night ahead

    Erik Hurtado celebrates his 43rd minute equaliser

    And the crowd goes wild - game on

    Time is running out, but down goes Hurtado. Penalty!

    Pedro Morales coolly slots home the spot kick

    Pedro Morales DP - deadly at penalties

    Kekuta Manneh should have won it in normal time

    And down goes Doneil Henry in a heap

    Henry feeling the worse for wear

    TFC come within the width of the post of an extra time winner

    Marco Carducci comes so close to being the shootout hero

    But Joe Bendik does just that, saving from Manneh

    The agony of defeat but so much to be proud of</b></center>
    <center>** Tom goes by the name <a href="http://www.twitter.com/residualimage" target="_blank"><b><u>Residual Image on Twitter</u></b></a>. Give him a follow. **</center>
    <p>
    Guest
    On one side of the country, we had one team's owner hurling invective back and forth with the other team's head coach, on the pitch, after a contentious stoppage-time penalty denied victory to the popular second-division underdogs.
    On the other, we had the highest-paid team in Major League Soccer bunkering for the majority of the game against a starting XI comprised mostly of U-23 players and barely -- barely -- hanging on in a penalty shootout against a goalkeeper who isn't old enough to legally buy booze.
    In both cases, the semifinals of the Canadian Championship tournament were decided on last-minute penalty kicks scored by Canadian midfielders against Canadian goalkeepers.
    Just another night of wildness in the ongoing myth-making exercise that is the Voyageurs Cup.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    First, to Montreal, where "everyone's second-favourite team", the Eddies, had their away-goals aggregate lead wrenched away in the most heartbreaking fashion imaginable -- deep into an abnormally-long amount of stoppage time, on a penalty kick decision that anyone watching the replay (including referee Drew Fischer, if he can bring himself to do it) would conclude was incorrect.
    Of course, the aggrieved Canadian soccer Twittersphere did the au courant thing in the footballing world -- they threw out ridiculous, unsubstantiated claims of match-fixing. And while many who made those suggestions last night, in the heat of the semi-anonymous mob mentality, have probably re-evaluated their views since then, it's still worth addressing.
    It was a bad call. Surely no one disputes this. But to throw out match-fixing allegations every time a bad call happens not only belies a fundamental misunderstanding of how match-fixing generally takes place, but also belittles the hard work, sacrifice and self-endangerment that people such as Declan Hill and my friend Ben Rycroft have undertaken in order to expose actual instances of result manipulation. (It would also mean that every game in the history of the sport has been fixed, which is hopefully untrue.)
    Sometimes make-up calls happen. Sometimes officials (in all sports) find themselves subconsciously making decisions in favour of the home team and/or the favoured team that they may not make the other way. Sometimes referees simply make mistakes.
    It really would have been a neat story if Edmonton had made the final. And the way they fell out of the tournament was heartbreaking. Devastating. Possibly unjustified. But not a conspiracy. Just another instance of the cruel way in which sports can rip out our souls and lay bare our base emotions... feelings like vengeance, which is surely something that soccer fans in Alberta are already craving.
    Hell, the base emotions were on full display right on the pitch at Stade Saputo, when Joey Saputo and Colin Miller exchanged what could only have been polite pleasantries in the game's aftermath.
    "That was a good game by your team!"
    "I agree, yours as well!"
    "GOOD LUCK IN THE FINAL!"
    "GOOD LUCK IN THE NASL!"
    "WHICH WAY IS THE EXIT OF THE STADIUM?"
    "IT'S THAT WAY, LET ME FORCIBLY AND REPEATEDLY POINT IN ITS DIRECTION SO YOU DON'T GET LOST!"
    "YOUR KINDNESS IS MATCHED ONLY BY THE QUALITY OF YOUR COMPANY'S DAIRY PRODUCTS!"
    "HAVE A SAFE TRIP HOME!"
    Um, yeah, I've got nothing else to add. What a scene.
    Over on the west coast, Ryan Nelsen apparently saw fit to channel his inner Jose Mourinho, deciding that a flukey fourth-minute goal from Doneil Henry (that could easily have been disallowed either due to a foul or for offside) was going to be more than enough, and having his troops lean back for most of the rest of the game.
    Credit is due here to whoever cut together the "Game in Six" for Toronto FC, because it really made the game look like a titanic back-and-forth struggle. The reality is that the Whitecaps were directing one-way traffic for the majority of the contest, and anyone who's ever seen TFC play a game during its existence -- or who has any idea who Tobias is -- knew that the equalizing goal was bound to come during the final 10 minutes of the second half. Sure enough, it did.
    Some brave goalkeeping from Joe Bendik in the game's latter stages -- and the decisive stop on Kekuta Manneh during the kicks from the penalty mark -- were the difference for the Reds, while 17-year-old Marco Carducci, making just his second professional start for Vancouver, showed glimpses of why those within the Whitecaps organization and the CSA are high on his future.
    Heck, I offhandedly and unthinkingly mentioned during the game that Carducci is probably sixth on the goalkeeper depth chart for the senior men's national team right now. But even with a night to sleep on it, I think that may not be too far from reality. Can anyone give me evidence to the contrary?
    In the end, it was a thrilling game at B.C. Place that -- again, judging by the wholly unscientific rubric of social media reaction -- had fans in Vancouver disappointed in the result but proud of the performance from a team full of youngsters over the two legs of the semifinal.
    And, of course, long-time 'Caps fans couldn't help but hang their heads at the fact that Vancouver is now 0 for 13 in its attempts to win the Voyageurs Cup.
    But the "can Vancouver ever win the damned thing?" storyline is just one of the many narratives that forms the rapidly-evolving image and history of this weird little competition of ours. The Miracle in Montreal in 2009. The thunderstorm during the 2011 final. The addition of Edmonton and, this year, Ottawa -- and, in the years ahead, perhaps even more teams?
    The tournament is set to move to the summer months starting next year, which would not only avoid scheduling conflicts with such trifling sporting events as NHL Game 7s, but also allow (theoretically) for earlier qualifying rounds to be played during May and June. That's where things are headed. How it will look, when it will happen and who it will involve... that's all yet to be determined. But it's coming.
    As for this year's competition, Toronto and Montreal will slink into the two-legged final, surely both sheepishly aware that it was only through good fortune and the soccer gods that they found their way through a pair of charged and memorable semifinals.
    Well, unless you're one of the conspiracy theorists who would add "the machinations of the villainous CSA" to the reasons why Toronto and Montreal made the final. But hey, if you're reading this, clearly you still care enough about the tournament to want to read about it... so they've still got you!
    And they've gotten more and more people as the years go along. Amidst all the controversy, amidst all the wildness and heartbreak, the Voyageurs Cup (not just the competition itself, but the trophy awarded at the end) is ingratiating itself into the Canadian public consciousness. It's here to stay.
    Next year, how ravenous will Whitecaps fans be to finally see their team get over the hump? How psyched will those in Edmonton be to see their team attempt to avenge this year's injustice? How excited will the fans in Ottawa be at the chance to be part of the madness? And how many fans in how many other cities will be looking forward to the day when their local club will join the party?
    The Voyageurs Cup is 13 years old. Just hitting maturity. Growing pains are inevitable. Of course it's still imperfect. And it's never ideal for a pair of exciting semifinals to be defined and remembered by referee's decisions or on-field arguments between team officials.
    But hey, that's what happens when you hit your teenage years -- you make mistakes, you learn from them and you grow.
    That's of little solace to fans in Vancouver and Edmonton in the immediate future, of course. But so long as the Voyageurs Cup continues to produce real emotion, real excitement and real memorable moments -- while, oh yeah, giving young Canadian players a chance to shine in meaningful game scenarios -- it will continue to blossom into a massively important part of the sport's evolution in this country.
    And yes, some day -- no one knows when, but some day -- Vancouver will actually win the damned thing.
    .
    Guest
    <i>Match report and post game reaction from the Canadian Championship semi-final second leg clash between Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC.</i>
    <b><u>Match Report by Steve Pandher:</u></b>
    Vancouver Whitecaps may have won the match by a score of 2-1 but they lost the overall tie on penalties to TFC, eliminating them from the Canadian Championship.
    The home side fought back through goals from Erik Hurtado and Pedro Morales after Doniel Henry had scored an early opener for Toronto, but suffered more Voyageurs Cup heartbreak when TFC converted all five of their penalties and Joe Bendik saved from Kekuta Manneh to send the visitors through to final 5-3 on penalties.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    It didn’t take long for TFC to make up the away goal and they opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Doniel Henry scored his first of the tournament.
    The ball was sent in from a Michael Bradley free kick which got by a charging Marco Carducci with the help of Nick Hagglund. The ball crashed off the bar and Christian Dean was able to save it off the line but couldn’t clear it too far and Henry was on hand to tap it in.
    After that first goal the majority of possession belonged to the Whitecaps and they were able to create a number of chances. The closest ones were from Kekuta Manneh, who had two opportunities around the six yard area with both missing the target.
    Despite the possession advantage TFC came close to widening their lead but Carducci came up with a diving stop off a Bradley free kick from 25 yards out. Pedro Morales cleared a header off the line off the ensuing corner.
    The Whitecaps gained some life just before halftime when Erik Hurtado scored his second in as many matches to even the score. Morales collected the ball in middle third and floated a pass over the TFC backline, which took a bounce before Hurtado fired it by Joe Bendik.
    The second half continued in a similar fashion to the first and the Caps carried the bulk of possession as TFC soaked up the pressure. However it was the visitors with the first chance when after a turnover, Gilberto was sent in on goal but Carducci came up big with a sprawling stop to keep the game even.
    A number of chances were created by Vancouver in that second half with Manneh and Morales clear in on goal. Both instances saw a heavy last touch which allowed Bendik to get forward and clear the ball from danger.
    With less than five minutes left in regular time the Caps pulled ahead on the night and equalized the semi-final when Henry fouled Hurtado in the box. The penalty would be taken by Morales who beat Bendik for the go ahead in the game and tying one in the series.
    With the extra time being mostly uneventful and lacking any clear chances, the semi-final would be decided in penalties.
    Bendik came up big as he stopped Manneh in the second round. Both teams converted the remainder of their chances which saw TFC winning the shooutout 5-3 and advance to play the Montreal Impact in the Voyageurs Cup finals.
    Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    Marco Carducci; Nigel Reo-Coker, Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leverón, Christian Dean (Sebastián Fernández 82’); Russell Teibert, Bryce Alderson (Matías Laba 67th min); Nicolás Mezquida (Omar Salgado 71st min), Pedro Morales, Kekuta Manneh, Erik Hurtado
    Substitutes not used
    Paolo Tornaghi, Jordan Harvey, Gershon Koffie, Andy O’Brien
    Toronto FC
    Joe Bendik; Nick Hagglund, Doneil Henry, Bradley Orr, Ashtone Morgan (Mark Bloom 79th min); Issey Nakajima-Farran, Kyle Bekker (Daniel Lovitz 64th min), Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio; Luke Moore, Gilberto (Dwayne De Rosario 83rd min)
    Substitutes not used
    Julio Cesar, Jermain Defoe, Andrew Wiedeman, Ryan Richter
    Scoring Summary:
    4’ – TOR – Doneil Henry
    43’ – VAN – Erik Hurtado
    86’ – VAN – Pedro Morales
    Penalty Kicks
    TOR – Bradley Orr – Scored
    VAN – Matías Laba – Scored
    TOR – Luke Moore – Scored
    VAN – Kekuta Manneh – Saved
    TOR – Dwayne De Rosario – Scored
    VAN – Sebastián Fernández – Scored
    TOR – Michael Bradley – Scored
    VAN – Russell Teibert – Scored
    TOR – Issey Nakajima-Farran - Scored
    Match Stats:
    Shots: Vancouver 24 – Toronto 11
    Shots on Goal: Vancouver 9 – Toronto 5
    Saves: Vancouver 4 – Toronto 7
    Fouls: Vancouver 23 – Toronto 21
    Offsides: Vancouver 2 – Toronto 3
    Corners: Vancouver 9 – Toronto 5
    Cautions:
    16’ – TOR – Kyle Bekker
    29’ – VAN – Carlyle Mitchell
    58’ – TOR – Doneil Henry
    79’ – VAN – Omar Salgado
    89’ – TOR – Bradley Orr
    90’+2’ – TOR – Mark Bloom
    <b><u>Post game reaction:</u></b>
    HEAD COACH CARL ROBINSON
    Thoughts on the team’s performance:
    “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I keep saying I’m proud of them, but what a performance that is. And we won the game today. Obviously we lost the cup tie, but we won the game, but there was only one team that was ever going to win that. We dug ourselves a little hole because they got in with a straight ball like they tried a lot last week in Toronto, but we didn’t give up. We kept fighting, kept creating chances, obviously we took it to extra time. Probably the only disappointing thing is when we got the 2-1 lead goal we got two more chances there in normal time to win the game, and I think that’s the only disappointment because I think they were gone, they were dead on their feet, and then extra time; we got dead on our feet. We got tired and it probably got played out then ‘til penalties.”
    On not capitalizing on chances:
    “It’s decisions at the right time, but I think today, someone asked me why I’m not playing my strongest team. I said, well tell me what my strongest team is? And that’s the reality of the performance today, players who haven’t played that much football come in and for their first or second game it was absolutely fantastic that they could compete at this level as well.”
    On Toronto’s goal and Marco Carducci’s play:
    “I think it was an aerial challenge, he looked to foul, I was trying to say to the fourth official it was a foul but, you know he’ll learn from it… but besides that he kept us in it with one or very good saves as well. He had a very solid game.”
    GOALKEEPER MARCO CARDUCCI
    Thoughts on the match:
    “Obviously it’s disappointing. We ended up losing on PKs, but at the end of the day, we win the game, and of course it’s exciting. You play for those moments. For me, I got to experience that with all the fans at home, it was just surreal. I had a lot of fun.”
    On pumping up the crowd before penalty kicks:
    “Yeah, I thought it was an appropriate time to do that, so it was really great. The fans we have were behind us the whole time. I thought I’d use that to our advantage.”
    On traffic in front of the net:
    “Yeah I don’t want to make too many comments now. For me, what was important was how I reacted, and I think I did that well. Of course the game’s 90 minutes, 120 minutes sometimes, so you’ve got to just let it go and then continue on with the match.”
    DEFENDER CARLYLE MITCHELL
    Thoughts on the match:
    “I think it was a really great performance, really tired legs. It was a difficult game, and the guys showed heart. We came out, we won the game, but we lose on penalties – but that’s football.”
    Thoughts on yellow card:
    “Yeah, for sure it was a yellow card, but there was a fall before you know. I tried to even it up, but it was a yellow card. You have to make the right decision.”
    Thoughts on Jermain Defoe not playing:
    “It doesn’t matter who is there, you know. It’s 11 versus 11. Everyone’s a player. Jermain Defoe could be who. He has to go out and play football.”
    STRIKER ERIK HURTADO
    Thoughts on the match:
    “I couldn’t be more proud of the guys, you know. We actually won the game, but PKs [are] a 50/50 coin toss. As I said, I couldn’t be more proud. At home, [we] worked our butts off. It’s just unfortunate.”
    Thoughts on his goal:
    “Yeah, we won the ball, and Robbo’s been trying to tell us to move forward. We’re trying to get forward, and I just yelled at Pedro to hit me, and he gave me a great ball. I just ran by the defender, and just had to put it in the back of the net.”
    Thoughts on his game:
    “I’m playing with good confidence. It just feels good to finally put goals in the back of the net.”
    Thoughts on scoring his first goal at home:
    “Yeah it was great to score at BC Place in front of the home fans. It was awesome.”
    Thoughts on his performance and what it means for the rest of the season:
    “We’ve got to take it game by game. We’ve got to focus on practice next week. We get to take a few days off, and now to regenerate our legs. We’ve just got to get focused on the game against Seattle.”
    STRIKER OMAR SALGADO
    Thoughts on game:
    “Yeah it was great. It was a great atmosphere and it was a great game. It was a really fun game to play in. It was unfortunate we couldn’t get pass the next round, but I think we should be proud of ourselves.”
    Thoughts on nearly scoring at the end of regulation:
    “No I didn’t hear the first whistle. I heard the second whistle after I scored, so it was unfortunate. I just want to get a goal. A goal we needed to get through. So unfortunate, but on to the next one.”
    Thoughts on his scoring chance and collision:
    “It was just a fast thing. The keeper was coming at me. I had a defender on the side. I just tried to poke it somewhere. The keeper was coming straight at me. I don’t really know what happened after that. Everyone collided, and the ball just kind of bounced up everywhere. It was just unfortunate.”
    TORONTO FC
    HEAD COACH RYAN NELSEN
    Thoughts on the match:
    “I thought it was a thrilling game for the crowd. It was a really good spectacle for the Canadian Cup. It was two young teams out there and with a bit of experience on both teams. It was just a really good competitive game.”
    On the floater shots taken on Marco Carducci:
    “I’m not going to apologize for it, he’s a young keeper, he’s 17 and hopefully games like this he’ll learn. That’s how you do it as a young kid. I thought he was very good today. He’s got a great future and all that, but when you’re a young kid and you’re in goal on a situation, be ready for it.”
    On coming into the game up 2-1:
    “Well I think that unfortunately that late goal at Toronto kept them in the tie. We knew we were going to get a chance here; we knew we were going to score here. And it would’ve been over, and so that kind of kept them in there. We played a really young team as well, very inexperienced guys that played together. You know we had Luke [Moore] who has just turned up on our team, we had Daniel Lovitz come on, and Nick Hagglund, and it was his first game in probably six or seven weeks, so actually in terms of minutes played their guys played a lot more minutes probably than our guys.”
    Performance of Joe Bendik:
    “We just expect that of Joe now. That’s why he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the league. He’s got such a bright future, and I wouldn’t be surprised after this World Cup if he gets a call-up.”
    GOALKEEPER JOE BENDIK
    On tonight’s performance:
    “I thought it was really good. All the guys who came on, all the guys who were starters, they played 120-plus minutes, that’s tough to do especially after all the travel and we have a game on Saturday, so mentally, that’s incredible from all those guys. I can’t speak enough about them.”
    On whether he guessed or kind of knew where Manneh was going with the penalty kick:
    “I saw in both games that he had a little tendency – he liked that side. Every time he cut in, he would try to go for that near post. I told myself at the beginning of the game, or last night, that if we went to penalties, then he would go that way, I ran it through my head. I knew I just had to make one save and the guys would finish them off.”
    On TFC’s 5-for-5 showing in PKs:
    “The guys are top class. We took penalties the other day in training and I think I saved maybe one. They were incredible tonight. Their finishes were incredible. To come down to the wire like that, then to finish it so well is a good characteristic for this team.”
    On whether the match gave him personal satisfaction, in showing his abilities, even though he’s backing up Cesar:
    “Of course. Every day in training, we still talk, Julio and I, so there’s no difference in the way that we train, the way that we play, and I think that both our performances show that. For Julio, the guy wins everywhere he goes, so maybe he’s rubbing off for TFC.”
    On playing Montreal in the ACC finals:
    “I like it. I think I speak for everybody – we’d rather go to Montreal than to Edmonton. I like the rivals, also it cuts down on our travel for the league, so that’s nice, but it’s good to have that rivalry so close.”
    DEFENDER DONEIL HENRY
    Thoughts on the match:
    “I thought it was really competitive, I thought both teams really did play well. At some points, we were in possession and really attacking-minded. Vancouver really did fight back.”
    Thoughts on his goal:
    “I credit that to the team 100%. It wouldn’t have been anything without Nick’s first effort to go out and challenge it. I was hungry to get a goal – I’m just happy to help the team get an away goal, it was very important. You could see the boys battled really hard and we did it.”
    On the play that got Whitecaps FC a penalty kick:
    “You can ask the referee. Very questionable to me. In that situation and position, I don’t see why it’s a penalty. At the end of the day, he makes the calls and we won the game - a little karma.”
    On whether Toronto was lucky to get away with being down 2-1 after regulation after Vancouver dominated play:
    “We’re definitely not lucky. This is a team that works hard and in Toronto, I thought that we should have had a lot more goals and lucky that they scored in the dying parts of the game. No, this is a team that definitely put in a lot of work. Everything that we have went into making it to the finals. I think we really do deserve it.”
    On TFC’s penalty kick prowess:
    “We did it in training on Monday and some of the penalties were really good. Including myself, I was ready if I got my chance to step up. A game is not only 90 minutes. Sometimes it goes into overtime, golden goal, and sometimes it’s decided by penalty kicks. We were ready for the situation if it got to it, and we took full advantage.”
    On how they will fare against New York on Saturday with the quick turnaround:
    “I think that all the guys are in high spirits right now and definitely riding with a lot of confidence. We’ll do what we have to do to recover and fully regenerate our bodies, but otherwise, I’m ready for New York. A couple of guys got some rest and I feel really positive going into the weekend.”
    On playing Montreal in ACC final.
    “Bittersweet. Last year’s qualifying semi-final round, we faced Montreal and beat them 2-0 at home, and then got spanked away. We didn’t go to the finals, obviously. Definitely when we get the chance to face Montreal, we’re going in there with everything to get those two legs, to go in there and bring the Canadian Cup back to Toronto.”
    <p>
    Guest
    With just hours remaining till kick off, we weren't going to do a preview of tonight's Voyageurs Cup clash between the Caps and TFC, but with the excitement building here at AFTN Towers, we thought we'd share some quotes with you ahead of the game that we haven't put out there yet and a couple that are already on the interweb, but worth reading again anyway!
    Tonight's clash should be close. Both teams have made a (bloody) big deal about the need for an early goal. Vancouver want one to get right back into the tie and Toronto need one to what may kill things off.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    From talk at TFC training yesterday, you get the impression that Toronto want to really try and dominate possession for long periods and throw Vancouver off their gameplan of a wave of early attacks.
    Easier said than done when you have attacking players yourself.
    <i>"It's very difficult to sit back in any game and hope to defend like that for a long period,"</i> TFC captain Steven Caldwell noted. <i>"We have to be confident getting the ball and we're not going to go kamikaze but try to take the game to Vancouver and try to get a goal or two to make the night a little bit easier for us."</i>
    Trying to stop that happening of course will be the Whitecaps' 17-year-old keeper Marco Carducci. He's ready for the challenge and playing for Canada on the national stage at last year's U17 World Cup has been good preparation for playing in front of a near sold out BC Place.
    <i>"Those games I played in with the national team were obviously massive games,"</i> Carducci told us yesterday. <i>"There were times where we were playing in front of almost 20,000 people, so it definitely did help. I'll try to use those experiences just as much as every other game I've played in going into this game."</i>
    Marco's preparation for this second leg came down in Seattle on Saturday, where he was back in goal for the Residency U18 side. A big difference from playing in two MLS stadiums and against world class opposition. Was it a hard adjustment to make getting back into the swing of things at youth level?
    <i>"It had to be a really quick adjustment. It doesn't matter. Of course, it's a different level and it's under 18's compared to Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley, but for me, no matter what game I go in to, I try and treat it the same way."</i>
    It's been a whirlwind eight days for the young keeper. Did he get much time for the whole first leg experience to fully sink in?
    <i>"Maybe at the end of the game. Even afterwards you don't really realise it until the day after. During the game, you just try to remain focussed and try to stay in the moment, but definitely afterwards it sunk in a bit more."</i>
    Carducci may be starting off his professional career, but at the other end of the spectrum 'Caps captain Jay DeMerit, who is said to be retiring after this season, feels that although last week's performance from the young guns in Toronto deserved merit, there's still a lot of work to be done.
    <i>"I think there was a lot of good performances out there, from a group of talented young guys, but only half the job is done because we didn't get the win there,"</i> DeMerit noted on Monday.
    <i>"I think we also need to keep things into perspective because we need to win this game on Wednesday. They know that and the guys that are going to play and contribute, if they can play the same way, hopefully we can just tighten the screw a little bit defensively, then we have a good chance."</i>
    DeMerit will sit the game out again, as likely will TFC captain Steven Caldwell.
    With the weakened line-ups at times, it would be easy for fans, especially the more casual ones, to get the impression that the Canadian Championship doesn't mean much.
    For me, nothing could be further from the truth. It still remains one of my favourites times of the football calendar over here and if you speak to the Canadian players on each team, they want that pride of lifting the Voyageurs Cup.
    But it's not just the Canadian players, even the incomers want a piece of the action, and being Scottish like myself, Steven Caldwell loves a good Cup tie!
    <i>"The Cup always means something important,"</i> Caldwell said. <i>"There's a trophy at the end of it and there's obviously a place in the Champions League, also very important to this club, so it's a big game for us. We're really focussed on finishing the game off.
    "We were in a good position in Toronto and we let a late goal slip in, which we were disappointed about, but it's gone now. We have the lead. We're going to try and take the game to Vancouver and obviously look to score goals, not just protect our lead, so it's going to be an exciting game."</i>
    Let's hope so.
    'Mon the Caps.
    <p>
    Guest
    To advance to the 2014 Canadian Championship final all Toronto FC needs to do Wednesday night in Vancouver is something they haven’t done all season: draw a match. So far, after eight competitive games, the Reds have won four and lost four. If, at the end of 90 minutes, the score is level on the night, TFC will have done enough.
    The needless concession of a stoppage time goal in Toronto last week left a bitter taste in the mouth of TFC fans leaving the stadium and made it easy to forget that Toronto is still in a strong position to advance. Win at home, and draw away; it’s the classic recipe for advancing in a two-legged aggregate tie.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The frustration stems from the fact that their position should have been stronger.
    Fielding a full-strength line-up against a Whitecaps roster almost exclusively comprised of younger reserve players Toronto failed to take the sort of stranglehold on the tie that was on offer. That said, Reds fans will remember how quickly the 2-0 advantage earned in last year’s semifinal first-leg evaporated in Montreal during the return leg.
    Furthermore, it’s easy to overstate the importance of the away goal that Toronto conceded. Should the Reds score in Vancouver, the advantage will be negated. The only possible score line that would see TFC eliminated on away goals would be a 1-0 win for the Whitecaps. If a full-strength Toronto line-up can’t score an away goal themselves, one would be hard pressed to argue that they deserve to advance.
    Now the suggestion is that Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson is more than prepared to name another line-up disproportionately weighted towards his younger squad players. For a club that’s never managed to lift the Voyageur’s Cup it’s an interesting decision. Even more incredibly, in spite of fielding what would conventionally be considered a weakened side, Robinson has earned praise in some quarters for naming such a Canadian-heavy line-up in Canada’s national championship.
    In Toronto, amidst the annual discussion about how seriously the club can afford to take non-league competitions in the face of seven playoffless campaigns, it’s hard to imagine that Ryan Nelsen would have been afforded that opportunity. While it might be perfectly reasonable to accept that another trip to the CONCACAF Champions League is only worth taking if it can be won with reserves, the politics of TFC fandom make it hard to assert that publically.
    The lesson here is that, in the end, principles aside, a coach will almost always be judged by results. Name a weakened line-up and lose and you’ll be accused of “disrespecting the competition”. Name a full-strength line-up and lose and you’ll be accused of not giving young players a chance. Win, and either complaint will, at best, almost certainly ring hollow to fair-minded observers.
    So, in addition to a place in the Voyageur’s Cup final, that’s what’s on the line Wednesday in Vancouver: the credibility of both coaches’ approach to the competition. It makes for an interesting subplot and could have ramifications in the way the tournament is approached in the future.
    And it’s not even clear which would be better for the long-term. That’s a question that only a future, yet to be written, history could answer but it could be, in a few years, we look back upon this series in an entirely different context.
    Enjoy the match.
    Guest
    <i>In our "Around The League" series, we chat with some of the more interesting and sometimes lesser known players from the teams that Whitecaps meet in MLS action. We continue it this week with Toronto FC's Scottish captain, Steven Caldwell</i>
    It's just over a year since Steven Caldwell left English Championship side Birmingham City for a new adventure across the Atlantic in MLS.
    With his new club Toronto FC registering just one win in their first 11 games after he signed, you would be forgiven for thinking that the former Scottish international must have been questioning his decision and wondering just what the hell he'd come to.
    Nothing could be further from the truth.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    "From pretty much the second I was there, I knew it was the place I wanted to spent the latter part, if not the rest of my career in," Caldwell told AFTN after wrapping up TFC's training session at BC Place ahead of Wednesday's Canadian Championship semi-final second leg.
    There's been a few UK players heading over to MLS in recent years. Some have been successful and stuck around, whilst others have struggled with adapting to the league for whatever reasons. From a Whitecaps standpoint, Barry Robson immediately springs to mind for an example of the latter.
    Some have found it easy to settle and love the experience, whilst again, others and/or their families struggle to feel at home in their new environment, as I'm sure Kenny Miller's wife would attest to.
    None of that is a shock. It's going to happen and you could find a stream of players from various nationalities that fit into those pigeon holes.
    Spending a few minutes with Steven Caldwell however and one thing becomes clear very quickly. He is loving life at TFC and in Major League Soccer.
    "Thoroughly enjoying it. It's a fantastic league with a lot of very, very good players. It's been a real experience for me to travel across North America and visit some tremendous cities, this [Vancouver] obviously being one of them.
    "So to enjoy my football and to be part of a building a club that we want to be, challenging for trophies like this [the Canadian Championship] and the MLS Cup as well."
    Caldwell had a 15 year professional career behind him in England before heading over to Canada, playing ten of those in the Premier League.
    At 32 he still had a few years left in him at the top level and he was still in demand in both England and Scotland. So how did the move to MLS come about in the first place?
    "I was excited to try something new at that stage of my career. I felt I'd done most things in England and I was leaving Birmingham and I was not really enjoying my football the latter stages of my Birmingham career. It was a bit frustrating and I got a call from Ryan.
    "He asked me if I'd like to come for a loan period, to see if I liked it and they liked me. No harm done if it never work and I just felt it was a good opportunity. I'd heard great things about Toronto as a club and as a city and I wanted to give it a go."
    They say you have to experience the bad to appreciate the good and it was a horrible first season for Caldwell in Toronto.
    The team finished second bottom in the East, with the third worst record in MLS overall and registering only five wins and four clean sheets after Caldwell joined.
    From a personal standpoint however, the season did have some success, with the Scottish defender taking over the captaincy in July when Darren O'Dea left.
    But that was the old TFC, before the arrival of their executive saviours and big money marquee signings.
    It's hard to really envisage that this year's side won't make the playoffs, for the first time in the team's history, with the talent they have at their disposal. All that said, it has been something of an up and down start to the season for Toronto.
    "It's tough. Every game's tough. It's a very difficult league to win consistently and we've had some tremendous victories this season and we've also had some disappointments, especially at home in the last two league games.
    "Like you say, it's up and down. It's a long season, there's still many, many games to go. We feel like we're in a nice position. We're way behind in games played on a lot of teams, which is kind of exciting and frustrating and we would like to have played similar games to most teams. We feel we are in a little bit of false position but we've got to stop talking about it and actually get on a little bit of a run and climb up this league."
    For a player that has taken the pitch at a number of top stadiums in Europe, both at club level and internationally for Scotland, it's pleasing to hear how much he enjoys the facilities he has found so far in MLS.
    "My favourite is probably Kansas City, but I love so many of them. They're so different to stadiums in the UK. They're just kind of unique."
    Pinning him down to just one selection was difficult, so what other ones have left a lasting impression on him so far?
    "I love Philly. Obviously Red Bulls is really nice but it's kind of similar to UK stadiums. I like Dallas. They're so unique and so different. I like playing in DC as well, even though it's an old, two big stadium, it's still got that feeling and it's got a lot of history to it. This place [bC Place] is fabulous.
    "I'm honestly hard pushed to think of one I don't like playing in. They're that good. Portland's incredible. Seattle's obviously a huge one but they fill it mostly so it's very exciting to play there.
    "There's so many good stadiums and ours is pretty good. Hopefully we're going to improve it in the winter and it's going to be really better than it is. Put a roof over some of the stands and fill it in a little bit at the sides I think.
    "It's definitely an expanding league and with that comes the expansion of the capacities and the standard and qualities of the stadiums."
    Wednesday night's game at BC Place will be Caldwell's first experience of playing in Vancouver and on the infamous turf.
    "It's a very poor pitch to play football on. I'm sure it's every bit as frustrating for Robbo and for Vancouver to have play on this most weeks. Disappointing but what a fabulous stadium it is.
    "It's outstanding. I'm really impressed with it. It's some sight and just a shame that we can't have a nice grass pitch to move the ball on."
    He won't find many people here disagreeing with that.
    With so much travel involved in MLS, it's always nice to hear a player from overseas wax lyrical about the whole experience of seeing different cities. As mentioned, it's something which Caldwell feels has been an enjoyable part of his MLS experience so far.
    And although this will be his first time playing in Vancouver, he has been here before.
    "It's a real beautiful city. I've been once before actually, in 2005, but for a very brief time. It's nice to be here this time and be here kind of early and have a little bit of a look around and experience it. My sister lived here for a while as well and she only has good things to say about the place."
    A year into his MLS career, Caldwell is content, happy and hoping for a much different upturn in fortunes for Toronto FC this season.
    But whilst he would recommend coming to MLS to any of his friends and former teammates back home in a heartbeat, the Scot doesn't feel it's going to be that easy for a lot of them to come over, especially with the wealth of domestic talent that we are starting to see in the league.
    "There's a lot of people in the UK who would love to have the opportunity to come here, to play in these stadiums and these cities. I'm pretty sure that most people are trying in some part of their careers to get here but it's a difficult thing to do.
    "We've got a lot of excellent players in North America, and obviously South America, that play in MLS, so you have to prove your worth and certain things have to align for that to happen."
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    Guest
    <b>Vancouver, B.C.</b> - Toronto may be in Vancouver for Canadian Championship action tomorrow night but when it comes to striker Jermain Defoe, it's another tournament that is dominating the discussions around the Englishman right now.
    Defoe was left out of England's 23 man World Cup squad that was announced yesterday, with manager Roy Hodgson looking to the future and naming a young roster.
    Hodgson named four strikers in the squad, with Defoe and West Ham striker Andy Carroll amongst seven players on standby for any injuries.
    "Obviously I was shocked, as you can imagine," Defoe told reporters in Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon. "Especially when you've been involved in every squad and then, for some reason, you're not included. But always remain positive and continue to do what I'm doing."
    Much was made of Defoe's World Cup aspirations when he announced that he was heading over the Atlantic to Major League Soccer, but many in England have been blaming the move to MLS as one of the key reasons for his omission.
    It's an argument that gets short shrift from Defoe.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    "No, because I've been here two months. Does it really change much? I don't think so," Defoe answered bluntly when asked if he felt making the move had played a part. "I mentioned before the squad was announced, the manager knows most of the players. The fact of me being here two months that shouldn't play a factor at all."
    "I've come over here and done exactly what I used to do at home and that's play well and score goals."
    Defoe indicated that there hadn't been any real discussions with Hodgson after being left out.
    "He said he just wants to go with the young kids, that's it."
    The snub is a major disappointment for the 31-year-old striker who has represented England at senior, U21 and youth levels. Defoe was part of England's World Cup squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, scoring in the group game against Slovenia, having been named as one of five players on standby for the 2006 World Cup, alongside the Whitecaps' Nigel Reo-Coker.
    But despite not making the trip to Brazil, for now at least, Defoe is adamant that he will not be retiring from international football.
    "I'm not going to retire just because someone doesn't put me in a squad. I would never do that. I ain't going to turn my back on my country because I still feel I've got a lot to offer.
    "The games I've played and just been involved with the England squad over the years have been great. That's why I never really talk about stuff, you know. Even before I just said we'll see what happens.
    "Obviously I want to go to the World Cup and I think my record speaks for itself. I'll just continue to work hard and enjoy my football."
    That record is 19 international goals in 55 senior caps for England, the last of which were a brace in the 8-0 win over San Marino in March.
    There appears to be no plans for Defoe or any of the other players on standby to fly out to join Hodgson's pre tournament camp in England or Miami. That may still change, but for now, all of the striker's focus is on Toronto.
    "At the end of the day, I just want to be here and help the team. Help my club, help the boys to get results. That's my main focus at the minute to be honest. Just to continue playing and doing what I'm doing.
    "But obviously I wouldn't like to say. It's still a long way to go and people get injured, but at the same time, if it doesn't happen then it doesn't happen. I wish the team good luck, all the young players that are in the squad.
    "I wish them good luck because I've had that experience being at a World Cup and it's the best thing ever. yeah, it's special."
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    Guest

    Jock Math: Week 9 MLS TSR update

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The biweekly Canadian Soccer News power rankings (I.e. the current TSR rankings) update below the jump:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Before we get into the numbers, a reminder of what TSR -- total shot ratio -- is.
    TSR is a complicated way to express a basic thing. Specifically, it's an expression of what percentage of a game's shots a team generates. This matters, because the more shots a team generates the more goals they score. That's not a debatable fact. And, to add to that, the more goals a team scores the more wins they get.
    Again, not controversial.
    So, teams with a high TSR value typically, OVER THE LONG RUN, do better than teams that have a low rating.
    If you're interested in seeing how well TSR correlates to points in a table you can read some great work on the subject (using the Premier League) here: http://pena.lt/y/2013/04/02/understa...o-in-football/
    Before we go on a word on outliers.
    They exist. They exist in every statistical evaluation, everywhere. Generally they exist because of a little thing sports fans hate to acknowledge: luck. Luck, OVER THE LONG RUN, typically runs out. When that happens no one knows, which is why the magic of sport really isn't ruined by numbers. They don't matter once the games start.
    There are some odd outliers so far in the MLS season. One of the reasons we are tracking TSR from the start to the end of the year is to try and understand those outlying numbers more. If a team with a poor TSR continues to do well all year (SPOILER ALERT -- RSL) then something else is going on beyond dumb luck (if it's the latter it will almost certainly correct over 34 games).
    (Week 7 ranking in brackets)
    1. Kansas City .652 (1)
    2. Los Angeles .620 (2)
    3. Philly .536 (11)
    4. Vancouver .521 (14)
    5. Houston .520 (8)
    6. Chicago .519 (3)
    7. Colorado .510 (4)
    8. Seattle .508 (15)
    9. Columbus .487 (9)
    10. Toronto .486 (13)
    11. New York .483 (12)
    12. Montreal .482 (5)
    13. Chivas .480 (7)
    14. Portland .477 (10)
    15. New England .460 (16)
    16. DC United .460 (17)
    17. San Jose .446 (6)
    18. Dallas .444 (18)
    19. Salt Lake .434 (19)
    Once again Salt Lake confounds. Keeping matters...
    Also, things are beginning to even out as teams even up away versus home fixtures and just plain have played more.
    Are these numbers predictive yet? Well, we probably will see some more moves in next few weeks, but we are close to the 1/3 mark. By the next update you can safely speculate in your favourite betting company futures market.
    Guest
    An extension to Canadian Soccer News’ MLS Week in Review, this article provides a closer look at the performances of the Canadian players who saw the pitch this week.
    The top three spots go to Will Johnson – for one lovely touch, Tesho Akindele – on the eve of his first start, and Kofi Opare – who did not miss a step in replacing Omar Gonzalez.
    Find out what they did to deserve recognition and who else earned their keep this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Will Johnson
    Johnson made his tenth-straight start for Portland on Sunday in their 1-1 draw at home against LA, continuing his run of starting every single match for the Timbers this season.
    Alongside Diego Chara at the base of the midfield, Johnson was once more handed a more defensive role; sitting deep to direct traffic, while keeping an eye on that pocket of space in front of the centre-backs that Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan seek to exploit.
    He was rather conservative when venturing forward, making one strong run up the left before feeding Jack Jewsbury - whose cross was cleared for a Portland corner kick, preferring instead to mop up any troubles, helping to keep the Galaxy off the scoreboard until stoppage-time.
    Johnson made one especially spectacular intervention, diving in to nick the ball off the foot of Juninho just inside the Timbers area – the Galaxy howled for a penalty, but the Timbers captain got all ball.
    He had one good look from the top of the area, but could not get the ball to settle – his only shot on goal came later and was a tame effort from distance that was easily saved.
    But when his team needed him most, after going down to a Keane header from a throw-in in stoppage-time, Johnson was the one who stepped up.
    First getting the ball into the box, then following up to maintain possession, before spotting Diego Valeri in space on the right side of the box and playing a cheeky back-heeled roller into the path of the Argentine, who slammed an equalized past LA keeper, Jaime Penedo:
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mvkV62Otzfg?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    The Toronto-born midfielder completed 41 of his 49 passes, had one shot – on target, won three headers and a tackle, losing another. He racked up four recoveries, three clearances, and an interception, while losing possession ten times in his ninety minutes on the pitch.
    Tesho Akindele
    Akindele, who spent Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at Seattle unused on the bench for FC Dallas, made his first MLS start on Saturday when his side travelled to San Jose, losing 2-1 – it was his third appearance of the season.
    On the right-side of the Dallas attack, Akindele had a nice battle going with San Jose left-back Jordan Stewart throughout the match. Taking on such an experienced defender was always likely to be a rather difficult task, especially in a team still finding its way with injury to Mauro Diaz robbing them of the creative engine.
    Stewart got the better of him through the early goings, until the second half, when Shea Salinas’ red card at the end of the first, tilted the field in Dallas’ favour.
    Akindele did well to get a cross past his opponent on one occasion, only for the behemoth Victor Bernardez to cut it out, and the tide began to turn when Tesho was called for a foul, attempting to win a header over Stewart.
    After that encounter, Akindele seemed to find the space to operate: nearly getting on the end of a David Texeira flicked header from a Michel chip that struck the post inches in front of the young Canadian; then beating Stewart in their next aerial battle, flicking a neat header down to play in Matt Hedges, who shot wide:
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    He had two further chances before taking his leave in the 89th minute, to be replaced by Andrew Jacobson.
    The first came in the 82nd, when Fabian Castillo sent a poked ball across the face of goal. Akindele misread his teammate’s intentions, coming to the near-post for a square-ball and could not reach the service to the back-post – though whether he would have been able to reach it anyways was a question for the physics majors out there.
    His final chance came seconds before he departed the pitch, but not until after he got sandwiched between Stewart and Ty Harden challenging for another hopeful cross. In the 89th minute, he got the better of Stewart and arrived unmarked at the back-post to get on the end of a left-sided Jair Benitez cross, but he could not direct his right-footed touch on goal, going agonizingly wide of the left-post with his side trailing by a single goal.
    All told a pretty good run-out against a tricky opponent – San Jose has a lot of size to confront on their back-line.
    The Calgary, Alberta-native completed 15 of 23 passes, committed one foul, won two headers, won and lost a tackle, and made six recoveries, two interceptions, and a clearance, losing possession twelve times.
    Post-match he commented, “I thought we had so many chances and if we played that game just like that ten times, I feel like we’ll score two goals nine times and that was just the one unlucky one for us.”
    Kofi Opare
    Opare also made his first start of the season, in LA’s 1-1 draw at Portland, alongside Leonardo in the centre of the Galaxy defense, replacing the injured Omar Gonzalez – it was his second appearance of the season.
    Prior to the match, in light of Gonzalez’ injury, Bruce Arena challenged Opare to step up to the task of replacing LA’s talismanic centre-back, “He’s a better player this year than he was last year. It remains to be seen if he’s a player that can play regular minutes,” adding, “I thought he had a good showing Saturday. Hopefully we’ll continue to see a little more when Omar disappears for a period of time.”
    For his part, Opare was up for it, “If Omar can’t play and Bruce needs me to step in, I have to make sure I’m ready physically and mentally to help the team and perform well”, while fellow defender, AJ DeLaGarza felt Opare was more than ready, “Kofi came in last year and made a name for himself. We’re confident he can get the job done.”
    Facing the potentially dangerous Portland attack, it was a task Opare was indeed ready for, barely putting a foot wrong in a steady, calm, if conservative, performance.
    He did make one wrong step, allowing Diego Valeri to nick the ball off his foot and break in, but his recovery was a thing of beauty, getting goal-side of the troublesome midfielder, before coolly touching the ball away to snuff out the threat.
    Opare showed his reading of the game, making one of his two interceptions by reading a dummy and stepping in to intercept the pass.
    He was one of the Galaxy defenders who collapsed on Will Johnson, making space for Valeri’s eventual equalizer - he can be seen sliding to block the shot in the video above.
    The Niagara Falls, Ontario-raised defender completed 16 of 22 passes, won six headers and a tackle, making three clearances and two interceptions, while conceding possession six times.
    Rob Friend
    Friend also featured in LA’s draw in Portland, making his second-straight start up top of the Galaxy formation – it was his third start of the season and sixth appearance overall.
    Paired with Robbie Keane in a classic big man-little man battery, Friend was a physical challenge for the Portland centre-backs, no slouches themselves in the size department – it was a thunderous battle.
    Three minutes in, he displayed his linking ability, playing a touch into the path of Keane, but nothing came of the chance. Friend also showed a little more variety to his game, making one nice run into the box that won a corner kick when Pa Modou Kah was forced into a recovering tackle and even dropping off the back-line himself to pick up a ball and fizz a shot from distance inches over the bar, troubling Donovan Ricketts in goal around the half-hour mark:
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    He also contributed defensively, tracking back to his own near-post to cut out a cross, factoring in on defensive set-pieces, getting a foot in on Alvas Powell as the spritely Jamaican tried to work toward goal, and once, amusingly, trying to close down fellow Canadian, Will Johnson – a thankless task, no doubt.
    The Rosetown, Saskatchewan-native completed 11 of his 21 passes, had one shot – off target, won eight headers, suffered three fouls and committed one, and made three clearances and one recovery, while losing possession times in his 72 minutes on the pitch.
    He made way for Samuel in the 72nd minute with the match score-less after putting in a solid shift.
    Karl Ouimette
    Ouimette started his fourth-straight match for Montreal in their 0-3 loss against Sporting KC on Saturday – it was his fifth appearance of the season.
    Having featured in their midweek loss at Edmonton, 2-1, in the Voyageurs Cup, Ouimette reflected on the importance of the tournament, “As a Canadian, you want to prove that Montreal, and Quebec, is the best in soccer. I experienced that as a young player as well, playing in national tournaments against Ontario and B.C. These are tournaments I like very much as there is a little added competition.”
    Come Saturday, three-quarters of Montreal’s back-line was comprised of their homegrown, domestic talents: Ouimette was paired with Wandrille Lefevre in the centre and Maxim Tissot was stationed at left-back; Kansas City would prove a good test of the youngster’s abilities.
    They did well to contain the threat of one of the league’s most dangerous sides, but that all came crashing down in the 17th minute when they failed to properly deal with a long Matt Besler throw.
    The long throw is a well-known weapon these days, but knowing and preparing do not necessarily mean that one won’t still be caught out by its devastatingly simple effectiveness.
    Ouimette tangled with Dom Dwyer at the near-post, allowing the service to fall, skimming off the thigh of Jacob Peterson and towards Troy Perkins in goal. Perkins got a hand to it, but could not hold and Collen Warner eventually handled on the line as he lay prone, leading to a red card and penalty kick to open the scoring:
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    Down a man against KC is no easy proposition, but Ouimette and the rest of the Impact side did well to restrict their chances. Before the red card, Ouimette had been very aggressive, clattering into a challenge on Peterson, upending his opponent in the process.
    Aggressive pressure was a tactic he continued, coming out of the back-line very quickly to give Dwyer a shove in the second half; one that was exploited on Sporting’s third goal, when Ouimette came out to confront Benny Feilhaber, only to see the ball moved immediately to Toni Dovale, who fed Dwyer into the gap vacated by the defender:
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    The Terrebonne, Quebec-native completed eleven of his fifteen passes, won four of six tackles and a header, committed and suffered two fouls each way, and made five recoveries, three interceptions, and three clearances, while losing possession just six times.
    Wandrille Lefevre
    Lefevre made his first appearance of the season in Montreal’s dispiriting loss to Kansas City, starting alongside Karl Ouimette in the centre of the Impact defense.
    As the right-sided of the pairing, Lefevre would have his hands full with Graham Zusi operating on that flank and Dom Dwyer preferring to drift to that side as well.
    His introduction to the match was unkind, taking a stray arm in the face from Dwyer just minutes in, but Lefevre shook it off and put in a sturdy shift.
    Lefevre recovered well to prevent Dwyer from getting on the end of a low goalmouth ball on one occasion and later arrived in time to mop up a wide open chance that fell to Zusi on the attacking left of the box – a wide open chance, but the ball would not settle, allowing Lefevre to take away the opportunity.
    Like Ouimette, he was aggressive in stepping into challenges, catching Zusi hard on one occasion, and he had one of Montreal’s two chances on goal in the match, with a header at the start of the second half.
    The France-born defender completed eleven of his twenty passes, had one shot – the header on target, won three tackles and two headers, made six recoveries, four interceptions, and three clearances, while losing possession nine times.
    Post-match he remarked, “I think it was absolutely harder to play with ten players today, but the fans come here to see a great game and I think we owe it to them to give better.”
    Maxim Tissot
    Tissot, who also featured midweek in Edmonton, made his third-straight appearance for Montreal on Saturday – it was his second start of the season.
    From his left-back position, Tissot had a nice little contest going with Captain America, Jacob Peterson, sending his opponent flying and yelping for a call on several occasions.
    He also did very well to help keep that Besler long throw from crossing the line initially (without the use of his hands) and later showed that same recovery awareness to get back and again knock over Peterson.
    Tissot, as well as Lefevre, was almost able to close the gap to prevent Dom Dwyer from scoring his second of the afternoon when Ouimette wandering out to pressure Benny Feilhaber, but was a fraction too late.
    The Gatineau, Quebec-native completed 33 of 44 passes, won two tackles and a header, made six recoveries, five interceptions, and two clearances, while conceding possession thirteen times as one of the few Impact players to get on the ball regularly.
    Patrice Bernier
    Bernier, who played all ninety minutes on Wednesday – setting up Jack McInerney’s opening goal, began on the bench for Montreal on Saturday, coming on in the 70th minute to replace Felipe – it was his eighth-appearance of the season and fourth from the bench.
    With Montreal already trailing 0-3, it was simply about seeing out the match, but Bernier brought with him a spark, twice playing in teammates for half-chances: first looking for Jeb Brovsky with a ball over the top that was cut out and then springing Santiago Gonzalez with a nice ball to the outside that came to naught.
    The Brossard, Quebec-native completed seven of nine passes, made one clearance and lost possession five times in his twenty minute cameo.
    Afterwards he was asked about Joey Saputo’s twitter comments, diplomatically responding, “I haven’t seen the president’s comments, but it’s his team. I can tell you that tomorrow we have to get going because we’re playing on Wednesday. On the good side – if you can say there’s a good side – we’re playing straightaway, so we can evacuate that bad feeling of losing two games. The rest is not up to me to comment.”
    Russell Teibert
    Teibert, who was integral to Vancouver’s efforts in Toronto midweek (sporting the captain’s armband for the first time), was rested when Vancouver travelled to Columbus on Saturday, only coming on for Pedro Morales in the 82nd minute – it was his eighth appearance of the season and first from the bench.
    His energy nearly sealed the match with a second goal, doing well to force a turnover on the edge of the Whitecaps box and spring a counterattack, sending Omar Salgado in alone, but the lanky forward could not keep his chip on target:
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    The Niagara Falls, Ontario-native completed five of six passes, won a tackle, made a recovery, and lost possession once in his eight minutes on the pitch.
    He spoke post-match on Wednesday about the honour of wearing the armband and the result:
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    The Rest
    Nana Attakora was on the bench for DC United when they beat Philadelphia 0-1 on Saturday.
    Vancouver fielded a handful of young Canadians in Wednesday’s opening leg of the Voyageurs Cup in Toronto, including goalkeeper Marco Carducci, Bryce Alderson, and residency pair, Marco Bustos and Kianz Froese, along with Russell Teibert leading the side – three more Canadians were on the bench Jackson Farmer, Jordan Haynes, and Mitchell Piraux.

    (with a beaming smile to boot), , while the friendship between Bustos and Froese was featured at the Vancouver site.Vancouver coach, Carl Robinson, said after the match, "If they continue going in the right direction, they continue to get their opportunity and they play like they did today then not only Vancouver Whitecaps FC but Canadian football is in good hands."
    Montreal’s starting lineup in Edmonton featured three Canadians – Bernier, Ouimette, and Tissot, while a fourth, Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare, an academy player, made his first appearance for the club replacing Callum Mallace in the 86th minute.
    Prior to the match Gagnon-Lapare was asked about making the first team roster, “It’s a great opportunity for me. It’s the first time that I get to travel with the team in an official first team game situation, so I have to take as much out of it as I can to continue to grow and improve as a player. This trip is definitely special for me as a Canadian player because it is the tournament to determine the best team in my home country. But, we have to make sure that we keep things in perspective, approach it as any other game and get a result down there.”
    The Impact bench also contained a handful of academy players, such as Victor Ndiaye, Anthony Jackson-Hamel, and Amine Meftouh – names to keep an eye on for sure.
    Toronto started three Canadians – all members of the first team – Doneil Henry, Kyle Bekker, and Issey Nakajima-Farran, while Dwayne De Rosario entered from the bench in the 79th. Ashtone Morgan remained unused on the bench.
    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
    Guest
    Canada manager Benito Floro will battle a fellow Spaniard in his bid to qualify Canada for the 2016 Copa America, as El Salvador has appointed Albert Roca [spanish link] its new national team manager. The move signals more retooling by Concacaf's middle powers ahead of a busy calendar year -- in February, Panama named Colombian Hernan Dario Gomez to lead its national team.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Where Panama opted for experience with Gomez, El Salvador hands Roca his first head coaching job. Such as his coaching chops are, the Spaniard earned them at the side of Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard -- through the successful Barcelona years as well as the not-successful Galatasaray and Saudi Arabia ones.
    Maybe the directors of Salvadorean football wanted someone raw and eager. Or maybe they couldn't convince candidates with more experience to take the job. Soccer is at a low point in the Central American nation. A real mess. Over the past calendar year at least 15 high-profile players have been banned from the game for life in relation to match-fixing with the national team. Others received less harsh suspensions, but probes into fixing of Concacaf Champions League matches could result in further embarrassment.
    El Salvador hasn't even played a match since losing 5-1 to the U.S. in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Gold Cup. It wasn't so long ago, well 2009, that El Salvador qualified for the Hex. So yes, Roca has his work cut out for him. In the short term, the focus will be on upcoming friendlies in June and the Copa Centroamericana in the U.S. this September.
    And for those interested in how much he will earn from that work, the paper La Grafica Prensa has been reporting that the Salvadorean federation will receive up to $25,000 a month from the national government to help pay both Roca and his assistants. This is an unsurprisingly non-lucrative gig in the wider realm of international jobs.
    Grant Surridge focuses much of his writing for CSN on the Spanish-speaking Concacaf world. You can follow him on twitter @SCGGrant
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