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    <i>[Match report and post game reaction from Martin Rennie, Kenny Miller, Gershon Koffie, Tommy Heinemann, David Ousted and Erik Hurtado following Vancouver Whitecaps' 2-2 draw with Chivas USA]</i>
    <b><u>REPORT:</u></b>
    When you’re chasing vital playoff points and the bottom of the Conference team come a calling, there is an expectation that you will get the job done. There is also a fear of a giant banana skin when that team is in form and taking points off your playoff rivals on a regular basis.
    Vancouver Whitecaps’ nightmare scenario nearly played at BC Place on Sunday afternoon before a stoppage time equaliser from Tommy Heinemann earned them a vital point.
    The Caps found themselves two down to a brace from Erick Torres after only 14 minutes and although they saw a glimmer of hope from a long range Gershon Koffie strike midway through the second half, they couldn’t find the breakthrough they needed before Heinemann struck the late leveller.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    After back to back defeats and falling out of the playoff race, this was a must win game for Vancouver. Not only to stay in touch with those around them, but with the way results went over the weekend, they could move up to fourth with a win.
    Martin Rennie made two changes to last week’s losing starting line up with Kekuta Manneh and Camilo Sanvezzo coming back in for the suspended Nigel Reo-Coker and the ineffective Darren Mattocks.
    The Caps fell behind in the third minute last week against LA Galaxy and it was a case of déjà vu when their groundsharing rivals went ahead with an equally stunning strike of their own.
    Andy O’Brien failed to fully clear a high ball into the box and his weak header fell right to Erick Torres and the in-form striker hit a stunning bicycle kick past David Ousted to stun BC Place. It certainly looked like the Dane should have done better.
    Vancouver had a great chance to tie things back up in the 7th minute.
    Matt Watson sent a long ball over the Chivas defence for Kenny Miller to run on to. The Scotsman did everything right but looked on in agony as his shot crashed off the outside of the right hand post.
    The agony turned to despair when Chivas doubled their lead in the 14th minute and it was that man Torres who struck again.
    Edgar Mejia delivered a perfect cross from the right and once more the Caps defence could not deal with the danger. Johnny Leveron jumped to meet the ball but if flew right over his head and on to Torres’ and the Mexican beautifully glanced the ball past Ousted from six yards out.
    The goal stunned the Whitecaps and it took them a while to refind any attacking threat in the half.
    The Caps finally showed some signs of life again when Kekuta Manneh got the ball on the corner of the box in the 35th minute, cut inside and fired a fierce dipping shot which Dan Kennedy palmed over.
    Vancouver kept the pressure on from the subsequent corners and Chivas cleared an O’Brien header off the line.
    The home side were now in their stride and Miller fired over moments later as they tried to turn up the pressure.
    Camilo was next tor try his luck, curling a long range shot past the right hand post.
    The shots were all well and good but Chivas were content to let Vancouver shoot from distance as they were posing little threat on goal.
    Vancouver’s front line just weren’t clicking and when Manneh went on a run in the closing minutes of the half he found himself with seven Chivas players back defending to get past and no teammates up in support.
    The half time whistle at least gave Vancouver some time to regroup and work on a new strategy and they upped the tempo right from the restart.
    Manneh went on a run from just inside the Chivas half two minutes in and as he hit the byeline, his cutback was deflected to Miller who mishit his chance in front of goal.
    Chivas weren’t about to lie down and let Vancouver attack and Ousted did well to get down to a deflected Bryan de la Fuente shot in the 49th minute.
    The Caps went right up the park and some nice interplay on the left saw Miller streak clear. As he cut inside Camilo took the ball of his toe and fired a low shot inches past the right hand post.
    Vancouver kept pushing but were struggling to find a way through the Chivas rear guard. When Kennedy handled outside the box but got a free kick given in his favour, it looked like it wasn’t going to be the Whitecaps’ afternoon but they got themselves back into the game in an unlikely fashion in the 64th minute.
    Watson chased down a ball into the corner and forced Kennedy to play a hurried clearance which fell to Gershon Koffie 35 yards out. With the Chivas keeper scrambling to get back, Koffie let fly and was lucky to see Kennedy wrongfooted and fumble the ball into the net.
    The pushing continued from the home side and Camilo showed some nice footwork in the 79th minute before flashing a shot just past the right post.
    Vancouver made a last ditch attempt to get back into the game by pulling O’Brien for Tommy Heinemann. The substitution was always going to leave them short at the back and they were nearly caught out when Tristan Bowen was played in with five minutes remaining but blasted over from the edge of the box.
    It looked like their final chance of the game had come in stoppage time when substitute Erik Hurtado had time and space ten yards out but blasted a bouncing ball wildly over.
    There was still time though and Hurtado made amends when he headed a long ball to the back post across the six yard box and Heinemann buried the ball from four yards out for his first Whitecaps MLS goal.
    A point was earned but the draw could still be a killer for Vancouver and they remain outwith the playoff places. They may have gained a point on those around them but these are the games that have to be won, and won convincingly, if they are to be serious playoff contenders.
    With three tough road games now coming up the Whitecaps’ playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.
    They need to take four points from the games against Dallas and San Jose. Anything less and they may find themselves making early holiday plans for November.
    FINAL SCORE: Vancouver Whitecaps 2 - 2 Chivas USA
    ATT: 18,767
    VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Young-Pyo Lee, Andy O’Brien (Tommy Heinemann 80), Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Matt Watson (Daigo Kobayashi 66), Russell Teibert (Erik Hurtado 55); Kekuta Manneh, Kenny Miller, Camilo Sanvezzo [subs Not Used: Brad Knighton, Carlyle Mitchell, Jun Marques Davidson, Darren Mattocks]
    CHIVAS: Dan Kennedy; Carlos Borja, Bobby Burling, Carlos Bocanegra, Marco Delgado, Carlos Alvarez (Steve Purdy 83), Edgar Mejia, Oswaldo Minda (Josue Soto 88), Bryan de la Fuente, Julio Morales (Tristan Bowen 65), Erick Torres [subs Not Used: Patrick McLain, Gabriel Farfan, Eric Avila, Matthew Fondy]
    <br>
    <b><u>REACTION:</u></b>
    <b>Martin Rennie on coming back from two goals down:</b>
    "At half time, when you're 2-0 down, it's very very difficult in MLS to come back and the fact that we did that tells me a lot about the players and now we've just got to get a couple of things really focussed right in both boxes and that's important."
    <b>Martin Rennie on losing another early goal:</b>
    "Inexplicably we started slowly again. Two weeks in a row after three minutes we're a goal down so that's very very frustrating. What made this one worse is that we then lost another goal."
    <b>Martin Rennie on the season run in:</b>
    "It's just extremely tight. All the teams are so so close and we've got them all to play, so I think that's up to us now. It's in our hands to do well and I believe the second half fight back today will help us do that."
    <b>Kenny Miller on first Chivas goal:</b>
    "Let's be honest, it was a fantastic finish from the guy. But when that ball goes in it must be up in the air for two, three seconds but there's no-one about him to go and challenge for that second ball."
    "It's a horrendous start, but poor defending. It's poor defending when Andy goes up and wins the initial header, someone should be close enough, when that ball's in there for as long as it is, to at least contest the ball when it drops and there wasn't. So in that sense it's disappointing."
    <b>Kenny Miller on three game road trip:</b>
    "Whether we won this game or lost this game, I think we were still going to have to go on the road and get points. I think that was there for all to see. Only time will tell if we can put that kind of run together.
    "We've definitely got the players. We've definitely got the ability to go and do it, but it's not about standing here talking about it, it's about going away to Dallas next week, to San Jose after that and to Montreal after that and actually going out and crossing that white line and performing enough and well enough to go and get the results that we need, because let's be honest we're going to need more than one win. We're going to need a few points to make sure we give ourselves a change going into those last five game."
    <b>Tommy Heinemann on his first Whitecaps goal:</b>
    "It means a lot. I'm excited to net my first one in front of the home fans. Just an incredible atmosphere to play in and I think tonight they deserved more."
    <b>Tommy Heinemann on the season run in:</b>
    "We just have to keep believing. There's an incredible amount of talent on this team and I think if we can continue to believe we can accomplish some things."
    <b>Tommy Heinemann on what he needs to do to get more MLS minutes:</b>
    "I'm just going to continue to do the same things I've been doing. Keep giving 110%, keep putting balls into the back of the net and hopefully continue to help the team in any way I can."
    <b>Tommy Heinemann on three game road trip:</b>
    "We just have to come together and take it one game at a time, one road game at a time. There's a lot of good players in this locker room. We can do it."
    <b>Gershon Koffie on his goal:</b>
    "I hit it because I knew he wasn't in his goal."
    <b>Gershon Koffie on three game road trip coming up:</b>
    "If the team can come here and win, we can do the same on the road. It's about coming together as a team."
    <b>Erik Hurtado on coming back to save a point:</b>
    "The second half we came back and we fought. Not a lot of teams have that in them to come back and get at least a tie out of that, so that just shows the character of this team. We're not going to give up if we go down.
    <b>Erik Hurtado on his missed opportunities:</b>
    "Everyone misses. Just gotta focus on my finishing this week. That's what I've been doing all season, focussing on my finishing."
    <b>Erik Hurtado on three game road trip:</b>
    "We've got to come together as a team and not as individuals....I'm expecting a couple of wins and I know the team are too."
    <b>David Ousted on first Chivas goal:</b>
    "It's a nice move but still, we still can't allow those kind of goals."
    <b>David Ousted on second Chivas goal:</b>
    "We need to get closer. We're letting them cross the ball into a dangerous area and not marking up in there and that cost goals. We need to learn from our mistakes."
    <b>David Ousted on three game road trip:</b>
    "I think we have a tough task and we need to win a few games on the road to get back in to it."
    <p>
    Guest

    Vancouver Whitecaps v Chivas USA Match Preview

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    KEY PLAYERS
    Attacking
    After a promising start to the season Daigo Kobayashi has struggled to find his game in MLS to the point where he is seeing limited minutes despite having a high salary number. The Caps will need to push the ball forward against Chivas if he gets the call to be in the starting eleven to replace the suspended Reo-Coker.
    After going nine starts without a goal Julio Morales scored his first of the season last week against the Red Bulls. The teenager has been on loan from Chivas Guadalajara since the beginning of the season but is starting to show chemistry with Torres up top. Born and raised in California the striker has represented Mexico at the U20 level where he has displayed a scoring touch.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Defence
    After spending the majority of the summer on the injury list Andy O’Brien starts his second consecutive match against the Goats. There was a little rustiness from the defender last week but his ability to organize the backline is valuable for the Caps. While they have trained together O’Brien will need to build communication lines with his keeper in order to keep it tight in the back.
    Having a big hole at the central defender position Carlos Bocanegra joined the team at the beginning of the transfer window and has started in five matches. Bocanegra may be on the downside of his career but he still has the fitness to go with his vast experience to lead the backline for Chivas.
    WHO’S ON FORM
    Many felt the Whitecaps deserved a result against the Galaxy based on their play and one of the best on the pitch was Russell Teibert who earned Man of the Match honours. Still amongst the top five leaders in assists with eight, the Canadian international has continued his strong play. Expect Teibert to play a bigger role in the midfield as he will drop back from time to time in order to make up for the missing Reo-Coker.
    Since trading away Juan Agudelo, Chivas struggled to get any production from the striker position but now Erick Torres is showing a scoring touch since joining MLS. Another summer addition on loan from the parent team in Mexico, the striker has scored four times in his six starts including a brace against the Red Bulls last week. A highly touted prospect with the Mexican side, Torres is a very shifty striker and will look to stretch the backline with his pace.
    PROJECTED LINEUP

    Vancouver Whitecaps (4-3-3) R to L- David Ousted; Lee Young-Pyo, Andy O’Brien, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Daigo Kobayashi, Matt Watson; Russell Teibert, Camilo, Kenny Miller
    Chivas USA (4-4-2) R to L- Dan Kennedy; Carlos Borja, Bobby Burling, Carlos Bocanegra, Marco Delgado; Carlos Alvarez, Oswaldo Minda, Edgar Mejia, Bryan de la Fuente; Julio Morales, Erick Torres
    2013 RECORD
    Vancouver Whitecaps:
    10W-6D-9L-36P
    7th in Western Conference
    Last Match: 1-0 Loss vs Los Angeles Galaxy
    Chivas USA:
    5W-6D-14L-21P
    8th in Western Conference
    Last Match: 3-2 Win vs New York Red Bulls
    OVERVIEW
    After two straight losses to Conference opponents, Vancouver Whitecaps will look to rebound as they take on the last place Chivas USA. The two losses have seen the Caps move from a playoff position to a spot on the outside in the tight West.
    This will be the third and final match between the two clubs as they have split their first two meetings. It was Chivas who won in late March 2-1 while Vancouver got some revenge by beating the Goats 3-1 in June.
    There will be some changes to the lineup but not for the keeper and backline spots. David Ousted will start his fifth straight game. In front of him he will have Andy O’Brien pair up with Johnny Leveron while Jordan Harvey and Y.P. Lee will man the fullback positions.
    With Nigel Reo-Coker suspended for the match look for Daigo Kobayashi to take his spot with Gershon Koffie and Matt Watson returning from the week before. It looks as though Camilo will be fit enough to take his spot in the middle with Russell Teibert and Kenny Miller flanking him on the wings.
    Despite being at the bottom of the Conference table, Chivas have had their moments where they looked dangerous and are coming off a 3-2 upset win over the New York Red Bulls. Since their last trip to Vancouver, they have drawn four teams in playoff contention before finally winning last weekend.
    Something that has been missing for Chivas this season was the play of their forwards and their ability to finish. Against the Red Bulls this was not an issue, with Erick Torres and Julio Morales scoring all three goals and starting to show an ability to link up.
    The loss of Reo-Coker will be huge for the Caps especially with Chivas always looking to control the midfield. The home side will need Koffie to take control early in the match as well as getting anything from Daigo Kobayashi, who has been a disappointment this season.
    The Whitecaps will be bolstered by the return of Camilo who missed the game against L.A. due to an injury. His chemistry with Miller and Teibert will be needed if the Caps hope to end their scoreless drought of two games.
    With nine matches still to play it is hard to put a game against Chivas as a must win but the Western Conference is so tight the Caps could see themselves in a playoff spot or in eighth place by the end of the weekend. Two straight losses have seen the Whitecaps drop five places from second in the table to the seventh spot.
    They will need to capture the full thee points especially with their next three games being on the road to Dallas, San Jose and Montreal. After going unbeaten at home for most of the season the Caps have now lost two of their last three matches at B.C. Place both by a score of 1-0. They will need to return to the form that saw them be so dominant on the home turf if they are to end the summer on a high note.
    <p>
    Guest
    As far as nights at the CNE grounds go, it definitely could have been worse for TFC fans.
    Had this been a week ago, a Reds supporter could have sucked back a cronut burger and ended up in the hospital with severe gastrointestinal distress (damned maple bacon jam). As it was, the uneasy feeling in the guts of the TFC faithful on Friday night was caused by a win cruelly ripped away in the final moments by a seemingly unjust decision. Plus, probably, too many Tiny Tom donuts.
    But since we're delving into alternate universes, let's just say, the proprietors of the CNE should be thankful this took place in another lost season for TFC, with the playoffs nary but a distant dream. Had this result come down in a game/season that actually meant something, angered soccer "hooligans" would surely be recklessly taking their rage out on the test-of-strength machine and other innocent carnival diversions.
    As it is, as of this writing, many are likely tucked in their beds with thoughts of a long-weekend Muskoka getaway dancing through their minds, and Steven Caldwell's disallowed goal already drifting away into cognitive irrelevancy.
    Such is TFC's fate at this point in season seven.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Hell, even I'm just churning this out before heading out to the cottage in the morning, on the off chance that someone stumbles upon CSN over the weekend and is also somehow incapable of accessing the six-minute game highlights freely available on Toronto FC's website. If that level of candid indifference isn't to your liking in this match report, please feel free to provide your mailing address in the comments section and I'll gladly send you a full refund of what you paid for it.
    Anyway, anyone writing about games at BMO Field during the CNE is legally obligated to make copious references to the Ex (it's true, I looked it up [citation needed]), so here's the painfully strained way in which I'll do it for this kickaround between Toronto and New England in the year 2013. Ahem...
    Set against the backdrop of the yearly carnival atmosphere of the CNE, the real circus was going on within the confines of BMO Field on Friday night! (hold for uproarious laughter) The Revolution's first goal something something carousel around the TFC defence, while Andrew Wiedeman's response late in the first half something something pinball or tilt-a-whirl or whatever. But the real clownish display was saved for the game's dying minutes something something Steven Caldwell's goal was deemed illegit based on a foul call that would probably make Koman Coulibaly blush. Hey, who's Koman Coulibaly? Where am I? Existential crisis!
    Yeah, anyway, what else. Alvaro Rey looked good coming on as a second-half sub; Maxi Urruti looked like an upright human being coming on as a sub; Jonas Elmer probably exists, though I can't recall any direct evidence of it while watching the telecast. Joe Bendik saved another sure goal, Doneil Henry showed his youth, Wiedeman's not as bad as everyone thinks (a collective opinion based on one stupid comment his former manager made, something over which the player himself has no control) and Justin Braun still can't get a whiff of the pitch despite being the team's third-leading scorer this season (let that one sink in).
    So yeah, we're getting to see the same old guys doing the same old things. At least we're getting a good look at the newcomers; oh wait, we're not. Well, at least we'll get a chance to see what the underplayed youngsters can do; oh wait, we won't. Much like the CNE (cheap plug), we'll be getting much of the same time after time after time, and will continue to scarf it down like an oversized helping of fried mac and cheese because we hate ourselves.
    What's there to play for, then? We know Ryan Nelsen will be back next year. If new boss Tim Leiweke has any concept whatsoever of how cataclysmically damaging another regime change would be to this fragile franchise, he'll keep team president Kevin Payne around for at least another year.
    So in the grand scheme of TFC games that have happened, this one will be remembered as "one that TFC should have won but they didn't because of some crap call at the end that disallowed a goal" -- if it's remembered at all, which it won't be.
    As for the rest of the season, we'll continue to pay attention to it for the same reason we continue to attend the CNE year after year -- mostly based on the desperate, nostalgia-fueled hope that what we're about to see can live up to the probably-apocryphal memories we've formed about it, while simultaneously harbouring the intellectual understanding that there's no possible way it could.
    Happy long weekend, everyone! All For One!
    .
    Guest
    With Toronto FC’s brief (three-game) run of mid-summer improvement in results beginning to disappear in the rear view mirror the attitude in Toronto is once again turning to glum resignation if not outright disappointment. The promise of a team enhanced by summer signings and showing improvement as part of the build-up to 2014 has, to date, not been realized. With Matias Laba possibly out for the remainder of the season, Jeremy Brockie’s loan completed, and most of the club’s new additions failing to see significant minutes for one reason or another there’s even the possibility that TFC is weaker than when the summer transfer window opened.
    As Daniel Squizzato pointed out, being a Toronto sports fan all too often requires finding a reason to stay engaged. The simple joy of watching live local football in a purpose built stadium on a late summer evening will, of course, be the main reason most are attending. The darker, more perverse possibility, however, is that, while still holding out hope of improvement, there will be a desire to see just how low Toronto FC can sink.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    In his famous football book Fever Pitch Nick Hornby wrote about fans of Cambridge United embracing the absurdity of their record winless streak.* Toronto FC supporters who’ve been there from the beginning already know a thing or two about winless streaks (and playoffless streaks and goalless streaks and season initiating losing streaks). Those fans will understand the sentiment.
    While not precisely cheering against your own team, at least when they’re achieving historically poor results they’re doing... something. And something is very often better than the blandness of nothing. No one likes to admit it, but we all slow down to have a look at car crashes.
    Even anger and outrage can be cathartic in comparison to the banality of indifference. A big part of football is about feeling – at its best, the feeling of community and euphoria – but even misery can forge the human connections we seek. More cynically, there’s a fair bit of credibility, the currency of fandom, to be gained from the oft repeated “I was there during the bad times” mantra. What’s often overlooked is that for that to be true your team had to be bad.
    The problem with Toronto FC in 2013 is that they’ve so rarely been awful. They haven’t really gotten better either, which, as alluded to, was supposed to be the plan. The team that could hang around in games, rarely scoring, rarely giving up many, and often drawing or losing by a goal has had a massive amount of in-season turnover yet still hangs around in games, rarely scores, rarely gives up more than two goals (but rarely keeps clean sheets), and often ends up drawing or losing by a goal. The new argument seems to be that at least they’re achieving those same results with a team no longer pressed tightly against (or over) the salary budget.
    So, apparently, they’re losing the right way this time?
    Friday evening’s game against the New England Revolution ends a run of three matches that highlights just how little tangible improvement there has been at TFC. With the loss in Columbus and draw in DC, even a win over New England would see the Reds take significantly less points from those same three middle to lower half Eastern Conference clubs than they did the previous time they faced them.
    Yes, it’s unfair to expect a team who has only won four games all season to repeat their performance against three of the teams they actually managed to beat (and results don’t always reflect performance), but with their schedule about to enter a relatively harder sequence of mostly playoff calibre opponents, it was a good chance to show that those results weren’t flukes. One, two, or four points from nine, against weaker opponents, will have a hard time keeping you relevant over the course of a season.
    The Revolution currently sit in the Eastern Conference’s final playoff position (though Houston have a game in hand and thus better points-per-game). So, beyond the desire to avenge their embarrassing home loss to Toronto earlier in the month, Jay Heaps’ young team will have ample motivation to earn maximum points. In fact, as they are technically the team that the Reds are chasing for that final playoff position a win or draw for New England will see TFC move significantly closer to final, formal mathematical elimination.
    With only nine game remaining in the season, Toronto’s maximum number of points, even if they were to win all those matches, cannot exceed 48. Since New England are currently on 36 points ANY combination of 13 points gained by the Revs or dropped by TFC ends official playoff contention. A draw Friday would cut that number by a quarter to 10 (one point gained by New England and two points dropped by Toronto), while a New England win would see it cut nearly in half to 7.
    Of course Toronto FC will not be making the playoffs and this exercise is essentially academic. At this point, however, an end to any pretence of relevance might actually make watching the remainder of the season more bearable.
    *Update: Thanks to Ian Clarke of rednationonline.ca I've realized that I was conflating Hornby's two recounts of Cambridge United's miserable season. While he does mention the story in Fever Pitch the fuller version is in his contribution to the When Saturday Comes anthology he edited titled My Favourite Year. Here's the most relevant passage for TFC fans:
    Guest
    Whitecaps Residency defender Sam Adekugbe turned a lot of heads with his performance for the Canadian U18 side at the recent COTIF U20 tournament in Spain.
    This came as no surprise for anyone that’s watched him play for the Whitecaps U18s and reserves the past two seasons.
    The question has always been when, not if, the 18 year old would be offered a MLS contract from the Caps. The answer came today, with the Whitecaps adding the 18 year old homegrown to their MLS roster.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The move delighted Adekugbe and supporters alike.
    <i>"This is truly a dream come true for me. I couldn’t be happier to sign my first MLS contract in Vancouver. Spending the last few years with the Residency program has been great for my development, and I look forward to taking the next steps in my career with Whitecaps FC."</i>
    Born in London, England, and growing up in Manchester, a 9 year old Adekugbe moved to Canada with his family in 2004, settling in Alberta. His dad was over on a work permit and Sam has only recently applied for his Canadian permanent residency, which was secured on August 23rd.
    Whether the Caps were waiting for this to come through or whether his eye catching performances in Spain forced their hand into getting him signed up on a professional contract, we can only speculate.
    Sam played his youth football for Calgary Foothills SC before making the move to Vancouver and joining the Residency program in 2011.
    He split his time in the 2011-12 USSDA season between the Caps U16 and U18s sides, making 25 appearances and scoring one goal. He went to Playoffs Week with the U16s, heartbreakingly losing out on advancing on goal difference, and a few weeks later he was in Finals Week with the U18s, suffering more heartbreak in losing the Championship game.
    Such things are the making of a player at an early age and will set him up well for a pro career, as will all the travel undertaken with the young Caps.
    Adekugbe moved up to the U18s on a full time basis this past season, making 32 appearances, scoring two goals and once again playing in Finals Week.
    It’s been his performances for the Reserves though that have really caught people’s eye since he may his debut for the team in March last year. With eight appearances this season, he has not looked out of place against older, bigger and more experienced MLS players, with a standout performance coming against Seattle where he added a goal and assist.
    Despite playing against players sometimes nearly twice his age, Adekugbe has never let it overawe him, adjusting his game accordingly, as he told AFTN a few weeks ago.
    <i>"I think it comes down to adjusting to the speed of the game. As you play older players the technical ability of the older players is a lot better and the speed is faster, so I think if you're confident in your ability and you're confident and able to adjust to the physicality and the speed of the game, it's not a matter of being nervous, it's understanding that you're a good player and you're here for a reason."</i>
    It’s that maturity, attitude and performance that have caught Martin Rennie’s eye, who said today of Adekugbe’s addition:
    <i>"Sam is a fantastic young talent and someone we’re all very excited to bring into the first team. We’ve watched him closely over the past few years as he developed with our Residency program and we’re very confident that he has a bright future ahead."</i>
    He becomes the seventh homegrown player to make the move up to the MLS squad and the first defender.
    For now, Sam will remain playing with the U18s, with the new USSDA season set to get underway on September 12th.
    This means more development under head coach Gordon Forrest, who Sam describes as <i>"one of those coaches where it comes down to the little pieces to make your game better."</i>
    With all the different games at different levels for the Whitecaps these past two years, what does Adekugbe feel has developed most in his game of late?
    <i>"My technical ability, my physicality, playing numerous amounts of games between the Residency, the PDL, and the Reserves, it all differs in the speed of play, how strong the players are, so being able to play in all these different kind of games it helps me grow as a player.
    "Not knowing what to expect in a game actually makes you a better player because you're forced to face a challenge and once you overcome that challenge then you're making yourself better."</i>
    You never want to put too much pressure on a young player starting off in the pro ranks, but Adekugbe has already shown he has the makings of what it takes to make it in the game.
    His next few years of development are key but Sam knows that he is responsible for a lot of that development and self belief himself.
    <i>"The only thing that can stop you from not performing to your ability is how nervous you are as a player and that's something that I've been able to control with Dr Cox and the psychologists that we work with in the Residency and the first team.
    "By being able to control my nerves and jumping into the reserves or the first team I'm able to handle it well so I have a good game."</i>
    To cap off a good day for Adekugbe, he was announced a part of new Canadian head coach Benito Floro's 33 man squad for the training camp and matches against Mauritania in Spain next month.
    It's all just the start of great things to come and we wish him nothing but the best on his journey.
    The new questions are who will be next and when? It's likely to be Kianz Froese and Marco Bustos, with possibly one of them soon. All good for the players and the Whitecaps. They just need to make sure they get the development they need.
    <p>
    <i>[some of the quotes in this article come from an interview we did with Sam for the podcast on July 15th. You can listen to the whole interview <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?4787-The-AFTN-Podcast-Episode-15" target="_blank">HERE</a>]</i>
    <p>
    Guest
    Our annual survey of NCAA D1 rosters for 2013 indicates a stable number of Canadians (+0.8%) since last year, with the net number moving from 126 to 127 players since 2012. The major trend is the growing amount of foreign-born players on these squads.
    Canadians are second to English-born players (193), ahead of Germany (98), Brazil (44) and Jamaica (42), but the England delegation is up 20.6% compared to last year and the Germans are 50.8% more numerous. Of the 995 foreign-born players on these rosters, Canucks represent 12.8% of the group, compared the 19.4% for the English group and 9.8% for the Germans.
    Among the Canadian group, Ontario (80.6%) holds the biggest part of the pie, up from 78% in 2012. Other represented provinces of origin include BC (11), Quebec (4), Alberta (3), Manitoba (3) as well as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with one player each.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The top five cities of origin are also from Ontario: Toronto (15), Mississauga (10), Ajax (7), Brampton (7) and Ottawa (7).
    This year’s group includes 15 goalkeepers, 29 defenders, 55 midfielders and 28 strikers.
    The teams with the most Canadians on squad are once again the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (9), followed by the Buffalo Bulls, the Bryant Bulldogs (6) and the Robert Morris Colonials (5).
    Guest
    New men's national team head coach is overturning as many stones as possible in trying to find the players that will lead his squad forward.
    To that end, he's called 33 players into a 10-day training camp in Valencia, Spain that begins this Sunday and culminates with a pair of friendlies against global juggernaut Mauritania. Of course, the camp -- the team's first under long-awaited hire Floro -- was always going to be about giving the new gaffer an in-person opportunity to evaluate what talent he has at his disposal.
    Even so, the roster will be sure to raise from eyebrows (and rolled eyes) among the Canadian faithful:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    GK- Milan Borjan | TUR / Sivasspor
    GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
    GK- Kenny Stamatopoulos | SWE / AIK Fotbol
    D- Doneil Henry | CAN / Toronto FC
    D- Dejan Jaković | USA / D.C. United
    D- Adam Straith | GER / Wehen Wiesbaden
    D- Marcel de Jong | GER / FC Augsburg
    D- Samuel Adekugbe | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    D- David Edgar | ENG / Burnley FC
    D- Jackson Farmer | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    D- Andrés Fresenga | URU / Racing Club de Montevideo
    D- André Hainault | GER / VfR Aalen
    D- Ashtone Morgan | CAN / Toronto FC
    D/M- Nik Ledgerwood | SWE / Hammarby Fotboll
    M- Keven Aleman | ESP / Real Valladolid
    M- Kyle Bekker | CAN / Toronto FC
    M - Julian de Guzman | GRE / Skoda Xanthi
    M - Terry Dunfield | Unattached / sans club
    M- Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé | CAN / Académie Impact Montréal
    M- Atiba Hutchinson | TUR / Besiktas
    M- Issey Nakajima-Farran | CYP / AEK Larnaca FC
    M- Jonathan Osorio | CAN / Toronto FC
    M- Pedro Pacheco | POR / C.D. Santa Clara
    M- Samuel Piette | GER / Fortuna Düsseldorf
    M/F- Dwayne De Rosario | USA / D.C. United
    M/F- Stefan Cebara | Unattached / sans club
    M/F- Daniel Haber | CYP / Apollon Limassol
    M/F - Russell Teibert | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    F- Marcus Haber | ENG / Stevenage FC
    F- Iain Hume | ENG / Preston North End
    F- Simeon Jackson | GER / Eintracht Braunschweig
    F- Kyle Porter | USA / D.C. United
    F- Tosaint Ricketts | NOR / Sandnes Ulf
    The old guard: Given the desire among some fans to see the previous generation put out to pasture, there'll no doubt be surprise about the inclusion of De Rosario (35), de Guzman (32) and Dunfield (31, and unattached). But it's worth noting that other veterans such as Olivier Occean and Mike Klukowski didn't make the cut. Whether this was a purposeful decision by Floro or simply a matter of timing/logistics, the reality is that any squad of this size is going to include a number of old faces (for stability, if nothing else) -- and that Canada's depth pool is such that guys like DeRo, JDG and Dunfield still may be playing significant roles in the next World Cup qualifying cycle.
    The fresh faces: Three newcomers in this camp, including a pair of Whitecaps prospects (18-year-old fullback Adekugbe -- who just today signed with the senior team -- and 18-year-old centreback Farmer) and a member of the Impact Academy (Gagnon-Lapare, an 18-year-old midfielder). All have featured for Canadian youth teams at various levels but have yet to crack the first team on the club side. So to say the jury is out on these kids right now is a supreme understatement.
    The relatively fresh faces: Fresenga makes his return to the national team setup, though fellow Canadian-playing-in-Uruguay Lucas Cavallini won't be joining him, much to the consternation of some supporters. He'll be focusing on his club situation at present, no doubt. As for Cebara, the 22-year-old will be looking to put himself in the shop window while also hopefully impressing Floro and his staff.
    TFC quartet back at it: Given the hullabaloo generated when the CanMNT called four TFC players into their Gold Cup squad (and refused to let two of them -- presumably Osorio and Henry -- stick around with the club for an "extra day"), it's somewhat surprising to see the quartet recalled for national-team duty. Given that TFC is essentially eliminated from playoff contention, perhaps the team wasn't as worried about depleting their ranks this time around. Still, the fact that a player like Bekker, who can rarely ever even get on the 18-man matchday roster of a bad MLS team, is still on the radar of our senior national team is, suffice to say, troubling.
    And all the rest: A mixed bag, as you'd expect. But all along, this was Floro's chance to begin seeing who's in this national-team setup. Most of the players in this camp won't play a meaningful role for the national team going forward. Some players absent from this camp will be invited to future camps and will play a meaningful role in the future. It's all a process.
    This team is, as usual, a work in progress. But this roster will in no way resemble the roster pulled together in a few years' time when Canada gears up to re-enter World Cup qualifying. So everyone relax, chill out and let Floro get down to work.
    .
    Guest
    Saturday’s defeat against LA was disappointing on many levels.
    Never mind, the worst team in the West come a calling on Sunday to help them get back on the saddle. Three easy points against the poor, out of form Goats then.
    Sorry, they did what now at the weekend? Oh. I see.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Sure the Whitecaps held their own for long spells against the defending MLS champs, didn’t get a lot of calls go their way and were deprived of at least a point by a world class save.
    The flip side of that, or the glass half empty side if you will, is that the Whitecaps were caught defending sloppily early, had to readjust their gameplan with the wrong personnel on the park/in their squad and in no way pressed home any sort of dominant home advantage, creating little in the process.
    Either viewpoint, the scary stat line reads: LA - one shot on target, one goal, three points.
    The other disturbing reading is the Western Conference standings. On a weekend where they could have moved back up to second in the West, pushing hard for that top spot, the Whitecaps ended it out of the playoff spots in 7th place, one point out of the postseason and nine off the top spot.
    Vancouver still control their own destiny at the moment, with 27 points left to play for and 18 of those against teams now above them in the ever tightening playoff race.
    The pressure is undoubtedly on, and this season run in will be the judgement of this squad and, for many, their futures in Vancouver. Can they rise to the occasion and play their best when they need to and get wins in big games?
    Of those big games so far, they did against LA in May and Seattle in July. They didn’t in the Voyageurs Cup against Montreal and in all the other Cascadia derbies.
    All nine remaining games are now big games and Sunday’s visit of Chivas could unexpectedly prove to be a season defining moment.
    You can be sure that no-one within the Whitecaps will be taking those three points for granted, but they still need to get the job done.

    Chivas have been playing some nice football of late and in Erick Torres, they may have picked up ones of the best loan signings of the season in MLS. The guy oozes quality. Four goals and an assist in his six games so far and not even one red card!
    The Goats’ season is long over and they have nothing to play for but pride and contracts for the next campaign. Two of the most energizing motivators you can get.
    Make no mistake. This is a must win game. We'll drop points in other games for the remainder of the season. Some of them may come at home. Nothing but three points is helpful or acceptable in this one. The Whitecaps cannot let Chivas be the ones to make them look like goats.
    For that win to happen, it isn’t about luck, or getting calls going your way, the Caps will have to earn it and play a damn site better than they have done in the last two games.
    We won’t bore you again by going on about the lack of squad depth. We’ve made our views on that very well known since April! Nothing has changed. We still don’t have the midfielder we've needed all season.
    I’m still holding out for that trade we need before the roster freeze, more in hope than expectation.
    Salary cap issues are obviously a concern but tradable assets for a midfielder and allocation money include Darren Mattocks, Jordan Harvey and our 2014 SuperDraft pick from Toronto, which currently sits as number two.
    Frankly, a promising youngster next season and/or one for the future is nowhere near as much use as a quality midfielder and a left back we can have complete faith in right now.
    Mattocks had a stinker against LA. His excusers can put it down to rustiness all they want, but he simply cannot read the game, what is needed of him and where he needs to be on the pitch. All that play the ball through for me to run on to shtick is clearly not what was on Kenny Miller’s mind on Saturday.
    Miller obviously has the experience and game sense that Mattocks may develop as he gets older. Camilo has three years on him and Teibert is younger, but they both seem to be able to cope just fine. Yes, familiarity of the system and playing together helps, but surely that’s what training is for and he’s seen enough games from the bench and stands to know how the Caps play.
    But Saturday's loss wasn't just about one player who played and one player who didn't (side note, and I know I've made this point on twitter and in the 'Caps Countdown' comments but it's worth repeating, but why was Camilo on the bench if he couldn't play? Why not have Heinemann there or if there was injury doubts about him, bring Hertzog back from Edmonton?).
    Saturday played out as a game for the taking, but as a team, the Whitecaps could not get the necessary attack going to actually take it and a lot of that fell down in the middle and on the left side of the pitch.
    Koffie is looking better and better each game in that DM role, but having him there leaves a bigger gap in the middle than already existed. Combine that with the weak play up the left and it's costing the Caps dearly.
    Some of the build up play on the right wing against LA was fantastic to watch. I don't know how much of it came across on the TV but Teibert and Reo-Coker were constantly pointing to the other for where they wanted the ball played or where they were going to play it. The work between the pair of them could be our best hope in this final stretch (when both available) for getting the creativity and successful final ball in that we need, but it's dangerous to rely on that one option and the opposition already know that's where we're stronger.
    As a result, they close down a lot more on the right and attack a lot more on the left.
    I go back and forth on Harvey. I like him in there as a back up or occasional guy, not as a regular starter. He looks dangerous in both boxes.
    A lot is being expected of him on that wing though because no-one in the middle is taking it on in a successful manner and that's been costing him and the Caps defensively.
    So if a new player is not coming in, what is the answer?
    Look around the squad and there isn't anything jumping out at you. Hurtado has potential on the left if he can stop the giveaways. His control has looked better in recent reserve outings and I like how hard he is to knock off the ball.
    Throwing a bit of an out of the box one at you, which would need to see an amazing turnaround in Rennie's thinking, would be a switch to a 3-5-2 formation. The midfield is weak, so stack it and try and get them more into games. I know that this three at the back system didn't work out so good for Chivas under Chelis, but you have to believe we have more quality and understanding back there to pull it off.
    O'Brien, DeMerit and Leveron as your back three could be interesting if the right wing backs were in there. Would Harvey flourish better as a left midfielder with just the occasional left back coverage required? The last two season I always preferred him as a midfielder to a defender. Generally, would want a new face in there.
    You could keep Lee in a similar role on the right. Save his tried legs a little. Play Teibert just inside him, Reo-Coker in a free role in the middle and Koffie to his left.
    Camilo and Miller up front, pace off the bench and the ability to drop back to a normal back four by taking off a CB if things need adjusting that way.
    Never going to happen but the rigidity of the current formation is killing the Caps as they don't have the quality players to keep playing it and certainly not the quality back ups to come in when people are injured or having an off period. Plus they have become to easy to read.
    Something has to change and they're running out of games to refind their June magic (note, not Jun's magic).
    Chivas will know all this and sense the chance to play spoilers. This is a far different Chivas side that we saw demolished at BC Place back in June.
    Both Erick Torres and Julio Morales are players who can give our sometimes flat footed backline a lot of problems and the fans nightmares. The Caps defence will need to be on guard from the kick off for their touches and turns, quick footwork and shooting.
    They are a team that moves the ball quickly on the ground, so we need players in there capable of stopping that but also capable of getting right back at them the same way.
    One of the main areas in which New York fell down against Chivas was that their midfield were shut out of the game. They just couldn't get anything going. And they're decent. Sound worryingly familiar?
    There are two big chinks in the Chivas armour.
    They are dreadful at defending set pieces and high crosses. Unfortunately for Vancouver, we are equally as dreadful at delivering and making the most of them.
    They also seem to struggle to defend diagonal balls in the box and this could really be the way through for the Caps.
    We just have to hope that Dan Kennedy doesn't produce another outstanding goalkeeper feat.
    Any dropped points to Chivas wouldn't signal the end of the Caps' playoff hopes but it would be a serious death blow.
    It could be the wrong team up next at the wrong time, but with a very difficult three game road trip coming up next, the Whitecaps can't let that happen.
    'Mon the Caps.
    <p>
    Guest
    Go young!
    That's the call of most TFC supporters as we enter the final stretch of year seven. The year is lost. We might as well see what we have.
    It's a logical desire. No one is going to be too upset if Kyle Bekker gives the ball away or Emory Welshman misses a sitter down the stretch. Pride is all that is at stake.
    Still, the call to go younger does give one pause. Just how young are we talking? Isn't TFC already the youngest team in the league?
    Although we've heard that claim before, we decided to check to see just how young TFC is right now. Talking a snapshot of the year (last week's starting line-up) we charted every team in MLS to determine whether the younger-than-most claim by TFC is fact or fiction.
    We only looked at position players as keepers are typically older and are a different animal anyway.
    The results are below the jump.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    (Ranked youngest to oldest)
    1- New England (23.4 years)
    2- Chivas (24.3)
    3- Toronto FC (24.4)
    4- Vancouver (24.7)
    5- Colorado (24.9)
    6- Portland (25.7)
    7- DC United (25.8)
    8- Salt Lake (26.2)
    9- Columbus (26.4)
    10- Galaxy (26.8)
    11- Chicago (27.0)
    12- Philly (27.1)
    13- Kansas City (27.3)
    14- Dallas (27.4)
    15- San Jose (28.0)
    16- New York (28.7)
    17- Houston (28.8)
    18- Seattle (28.9)
    19- Montreal (29.2)
    So, Toronto isn't technically the youngest team, but that's really splitting hairs. They are babies.
    So, that's something. TFC is exceptionally young and that youth is a big reason that they struggle.
    Three of the four youngest teams are outside of a playoff spot right now. Of course the youngest - New England - just clawed their way into a spot this week, so young = bad isn't necessarily a hard and fast rule (that said it would surprise no one if the Revs ended up making it four of the top four out if the playoffs).
    The question then is: is going young a prerequisite for getting good?
    That's hard to say. What does seem to jump out is that MLS is a league that seems to favour experience. The five oldest teams are either in the Supporters' Shield race right now (New York, Montreal and, with the new editions, Seattle) or are coming off strong seasons (San Jose won the Supporters' Shield last year and Houston is back-to-back Eastern Conference champions).
    There are exceptions, of course (Salt Lake is doing impressive things while also going young, LA has supplemented it's veteran core with impressive kids and Portland has quickly turned things around without sacrificing the future), but by and large the best teams in MLS seem to be the oldest.
    What you don't want -- and what TFC has seemed to avoid -- is to be bad and old. That's especially the case when you haven't won anything with the old core. Houston may have finally hit a wall, but at least they got a couple trips to the MLS Cup final. Philly and Chicago, on the other hand, just seem to be middling along.
    In Toronto we know all too well that rebuilding plans don't always go to plan, but, in fairness to the current management, they do seem to be staying true to their commitment to build a young core this year.
    Hopefully we can discover some more young faces down the stretch so that 2013 doesn't feel like another lost season for the Reds.
    And then leave that core alone so it can grow old together...
    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 this week go to Dwayne De Rosario, Russell Teibert, and Patrice Bernier.
    Find out what they did to deserve recognition and who else earned their keep this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Dwayne De Rosario
    De Rosario made a second-consecutive start – his thirteenth start and eighteenth appearance of the season – for DC United in their 1-1 home draw against Toronto FC.
    Once more atop the formation as the lone forward, with Luis Silva playing slightly behind, De Rosario was impressive, looking more and more like his old self, finally fit and flowing with his rebuilt side.
    To call DC striker-less, would be a stretch, but with Dwayne free to roam – drifting wide or dropping deep as he sees fit – Silva pushing forward and the likes of Conor Doyle and Nick DeLeon (or Kyle Porter, when he starts) cutting in from wide positions, they pose an entirely more troublesome outfit than their record indicates.
    The Scarborough, Ontario-native completed an impressive 28 of 34 passes, took four shots – three on and one blocked, scoring once – and won a pair of fouls, conceding one. He did lose possession sixteen times, but over a ninety minute stretch, that isn’t bad – for him – also making two interceptions and a recovery, even winning a tackle.
    His goal was vintage De Ro, collecting a Perry Kitchen ball on the left, cutting around the half-hearted challenge of Reggie Lambe, semi-circling around a hobbled Jonathan Osorio into the middle to set up and unleash a curling right-footed shot to the top right corner past Joe Bendik.
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    It was his third of the season in MLS play.
    He was a handful all night, regularly dragging Steven Caldwell and Doneil Henry into uncomfortable positions, making threatening runs, shooting from all over the place – as in this fierce drive after stepping around Caldwell with ease – and forcing a good save out of Bendik on this dipping free-kick.
    Once it even took an intervention by the referee to block off one of his runs – he was all over the place.
    Post-match, DC manager, Ben Olsen, had this to say on his resurgence, “I think the last two months, he’s been hungry. He’s played with a different look in his eye. He’s also getting healthy again, he’s getting stronger. He’s had two groin injuries, one early in the season, and he hasn’t had a good stretch when he’s fully fit and healthy.”
    Dwayne’s performance was the subject of a DC United.com Spotlight:
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    500 kids will attend DC matches this season, thanks to De Rosario’s charitable contributions – top man.
    Russell Teibert
    Teibert made his sixth-straight start for Vancouver in their 0-1 loss to Los Angeles – it was his sixteenth start and seventeenth appearance of the season.
    On the right-side of the Whitecaps attacking trident, he was incredibly lively, looking more like the player that headed off to the Gold Cup in sensational form than he has in recent weeks.
    Facing LA left-back, Todd Dunivant again – recall Dunivant called him ‘Tiffert’ prior to the first meeting – Teibert took him to task, punishing him for that honest mistake.
    Dunivant’s troubles began early, when Teibert tried to split inside and the intervention of another Galaxy player was required to cut out the move.
    LA would regularly try and double-team the Canadian, but to little avail – when they cut out the high ball, he simply laid a low ball around the outside for Darren Mattocks, but his cross-shot was too hard for Kenny Miller to control at the back-post – play was whistled for a hand-ball.
    Teibert was regularly on free-kick duty and taking corners – one half-cleared effort led to a Johnny Leveron shot from distance – while another led to one of many hand-ball shouts from Vancouver, and one final effort result in Kekuta Manneh long-range shot off the post and Jaime Penedo’s Superman save on Jordan Harvey follow-up.
    LA’s left-sided midfielder, Gyasi Zardes, was regularly asked to track back and assist Dunivant in keeping Teibert wrapped up, but still Teibert would find a way, and he should have had an assist after skipping past the diving challenge of Dunivant and squaring a ball through the high slot that Mattocks whiffed on and Miller left-footed off target.
    Late in the match, Teibert took matters into his own hands, twice cutting in from the right for a shot – once troubling the keeper with a dipping effort, before hitting a hopeful attempt well off-target.
    The Niagara Falls, Ontario-native completed 38 of 57 passes, but only six of sixteen crosses and took two shots – one on, one off – while losing possession nineteen times.
    Patrice Bernier
    Bernier started his seventh-straight match for Montreal in their 5-0 destruction of Houston on Saturday – it was 21st start and 24th appearance in MLS of the season.
    Paired at the base of the midfield with Hernan Bernardello, Montreal looked more like the team that surged to the top of the table in the early season than the one that has struggled of late. The pairing gives Montreal two midfield string-pulling generals and has without doubt contributed to their turnaround in the last two games.
    Bernardello’s dirtier – in the nicest sense – style allows the more cerebral Bernier the freedom to roam about, popping up wherever necessary, searching out the ball, and getting far more advanced than he usually does.
    The Brossard, Quebec-native completed 58 of 65 passes, picked up an assist, made nine recoveries, three interceptions, one clearance and won two of three tackles, conceding a single foul – just his 41st of the season.
    He sprayed several penetrative passes, including one that nearly played Justin Mapp on goal, only for Corey Ashe to recover and cut it out, and his assist came in the 70th minute on Montreal’s fourth goal of the match.
    Felipe lifted a ball over the Houston back-line, springing both Bernier and Marco Di Vaio in alone on goal. Bernier, moving down the right, unselfishly squared to Di Vaio for a simple tapping, earning a hug for his helper – it was his seventh assist of the season and second in as many matches.
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    Bernier showed his peace-making abilities once more, separating Adam Moffat and Bernardello after a coming together, a week after pulling the volcanic Marco Schallibaum away from a fracas with Ben Olsen.
    Post-match he quipped, in response to the backlash against a lacklustre midweek display in the Champions League, “Maybe we should get criticized more often – last time around, we won 6-0, so it seems to be a good method.” - referring to their destruction of Toronto FC in the second leg of the Voyageurs Cup.
    Doneil Henry
    Henry made his sixth-straight start for Toronto in their draw at DC – it was his twelfth start and thirteenth appearance of the season.
    As the left-sided centre-back, paired once more with Caldwell, Henry was immense, despite being given a difficult time by the movements of De Rosario and Silva, getting dragged all over by the former and, once, side-stepped by the latter.
    He was called for a foul after a big tackle on De Rosario that led to the attacker’s dipping free-kick – it was a good tackle - and later stripped his former teammate on the touch-line with a timely intervention.
    His tussles with Perry Kitchen in either box were entertaining and physical meetings.
    The Brampton, Ontario-native completed twelve of twenty passes, had one attempt at goal – a header that was off the mark - won four of five tackles and six defensive headers, adding eight clearances, six interceptions, three recoveries, and making two blocks, while winning and committing a foul each way. He lost possession a mere nine times.

    Ashtone Morgan
    Morgan made his seventh-straight start for TFC in DC – his twelfth start and fourteenth appearance of the season.
    Many would have predicted that the acquisition of Jonas Elmer and Morgan’s rumoured inclusion in a potential trade with Philadelphia meant that his time in the first team would be limited. But the transfer of Darren O’Dea provided a chance and he has grabbed it with both hands, bar an awful match in Columbus the week early – by the whole team, not just Morgan.
    From the start, Morgan was making strong runs up-field, forcing a turnover and cutting a ball through the goalmouth, but no one was on hand to touch in, and later passing over to Robert Earnshaw at the top of the box, rather than take the shot from a tight angle on himself.
    He completed just nineteen of 33 passes, but won six of seven tackles and three headers, made two each of clearances and recoveries, as well as an interception, while winning two fouls and completing two successful dribbles.
    The Toronto, Ontario-native made several important interventions, breaking up a move by De Rosario and DeLeon and later made a big recovering tackle on Silva.
    Post-match both Morgan and Henry earned praise from Ryan Nelsen.
    Dejan Jakovic
    Jakovic made his second-straight start for DC United – it was his fourteenth start and fifteenth appearance of the season.
    As the right-sided centre-back, Jakovic had a strong match, but made one crucial error, a weak and high-risk clearance attempt after cutting out a Reggie Lambe ball that conceded possession back to the attacker, who set up Bobby Convey’s equalizer.
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    The Croatian-born defender was excellent on the ball – except that one bit of loose play – completing 51 of 62 passes, making nine recoveries, eight clearances, three interceptions, and one block, while winning two headers and one foul, conceding another.
    Defensively he was strong, timing an excellent tackle on Andrew Wiedeman perfectly and exhibiting some pace when chasing down a long ball intended for Earnshaw. He was regularly seen on the ball rather high up the pitch, often as far as the centre-circle, galloping up field in possession with an eye to pushing his side forward.
    A careless moment ruining an otherwise solid outing; in a column at The Washington Post, Jakovic was quoted as saying, “We keep making the same mistakes. It’s been very frustrating.”

    Jonathan Osorio
    Osorio made his seventh-straight start for TFC – it was his twelfth start and 22nd appearance of the season.
    Paired in the centre of the pitch with Jeremy Hall, who replaced the injured Matias Laba, Osorio did not look his usual lively self and was forced off after 34 minutes, suffering a recurrence of an ankle knock, that was aggravated in training.
    The Toronto, Ontario-native completed nine of eleven passes, won a foul, made one recovery, and lost possession five times in his brief outing.
    He looked slower than usual – was rounded by De Rosario on his goal far too easily – and sloppy on the ball – hence the loss of possession figures – including one turnover to Jared Jeffrey that Nick DeLeon failed to keep on target.
    He was replaced by Darel Russell.
    After the match, Coach Nelsen explained, “Jonathan had a sore ankle that he tweaked yesterday and then he aggravated it early in the game. He never looked over at the bench and he wanted to work through it, which is youthful enthusiasm. However, when Dwayne got that ball, he channeled into where Jonathan should take over the defensive pressure and he just couldn’t get there with his ankle."
    No word on whether he will miss Friday’s match against New England.
    Kyle Porter
    Porter was on the bench for the first time in five matches, entering the fray in the 73rd minute for Conor Doyle.
    The Toronto, Ontario-native completed six of nine passes and made one recovery, losing possession three times.
    The Rest
    Will Johnson missed a second and third-consecutive matches for Portland, including the big match in Seattle, still troubled by a shoulder injury – or, scapular contusion – that has him listed as ‘questionable’ on the injury report.
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    Still no updates on Nana Attakora’s health, he continues to deal with post-concussion symptoms that have kept him out since the end of June.
    Terry Dunfield returned to Vancouver and is training with the Whitecaps – though unlikely to sign, just getting fit as he looks to take the next step in his soccer career.
    Twenty-year old Canadian, Brett Levis, joined Vancouver as well – he is on trial.
    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
    To the mathematical sticklers out there, a disclaimer: Yes, it is still technically within the realm of possibility that Toronto FC will qualify for the 2013 Major League Soccer playoffs. They sit 15 points adrift of the final spot in the East which, as of the latest numbers, gives them approximately a 0.001% chance of pulling it off.
    But for those of us living in reality, this is another lost campaign for TFC. No playoffs, no silverware and, seemingly, not much reason to care about the two months left in the seas-- oh my God two more months of this are you serious how is that even.... ahem.
    Of course, Toronto sports fans are very well accustomed to their teams "playing out the string" of meaningless late-season games*, given that TFC, the Raptors and the Blue Jays treat us to it on a pretty much yearly basis (the Leafs, on the other hand, have their own special brand of maddening mediocrity, one that is well beyond the scope of this article). So, we've also gotten used to developing coping mechanisms** to convince ourselves that our ongoing emotional investment isn't completely worthless.
    In that spirit, let's take a look at some of the reasons for Toronto FC fans to pick their chins up, shake the dirt off their shoulders and fully indulge in all that the remainder of the Reds' 2013 season has to offer:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Playing spoiler. This is the reason most cited by the sports media and team executives as to why fans should continue to care, once their team has already been eliminated from playoff contention. Of course, it's an entirely nonsensical and self-serving argument, designed to convince us to continue watching highlights shows, buying newspapers and shelling out for tickets.
    But looking at it rationally, why the hell would a fan of a bad team possibly care whether or not their squad is able to "spoil" the prospects of whichever other random teams they happened to have been assigned to play late in their season? If it's a big rival, OK, sure. Beyond that, though, you'd have to be a pretty angry, bitter and nihilistic person to wish ill on others just for the sake of it.
    Thankfully, supporting TFC for any extended period of time will generally drive a person towards anger, bitterness and nihilism, so the idea of hoping for the team to play spoiler in 2013 makes perfect sense.
    "Earning" a high draft pick. Ah yes, the North American "draft" model, where fans openly root against their own team for extended periods (in some cases, for entire seasons) in the hopes that they'll get a shot at the following year's most promising youngster. Toronto FC's abysmal 2012 campaign "earned" them this right in 2013, whereupon they flipped the top pick for Kyle Bekker (who never plays) and a bunch of allocation money (much of which was probably spent on Maxi Urruti, who never plays).***
    Just think of what non-active asset the team could acquire in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, based on the high first-round pick they'll get as a result of their crummy results in the 2013 campaign! They could... wait, I'm sorry, what? Oh yeah, forgot about that. Ahem, OK then, what I really meant was...
    Screw over the Whitecaps! Yes, since Toronto FC's finish this season will determine where Vancouver drafts in the first round in 2014 (TFC having traded its 2014 first-round pick to the 'Caps in the Eric Hassli deal), it's in Toronto's best interests to finish as high as possible, to minimize the impact of what, in retrospect, was an absolutely wretched trade on TFC's part. If you're unsure of why screwing over the Whitecaps would be of concern to TFC fans, please re-read the above section about anger, bitterness and nihilism.
    Watch the young Canadians on display. This is the first item in this list that won't be entirely sardonic. I mean, come on, 2013 has given us the unexpected breakthrough of Jonathan Osorio (who, of course, may be out injured) as well as Doneil Henry's evolution into a regular MLS starter. Ashtone Morgan is experiencing a bit of a resurgence after a rough start to the campaign and hey, with nothing on the line, maybe the team will finally be convinced to give first-round draft picks Bekker and Emery Welshman a go! (Anything's possible).
    I'd say that TFC Academy graduate Manny Aparicio may also get a run-out, but TFC doesn't have any more friendlies against disinterested European super-clubs this year, so maybe that's asking too much.
    Watch the young newcomers on display. Young Designated Player Matias Laba has been a solid addition to Toronto FC's core -- so, of course, he'll spend most of the remainder of the season out with a foot injury. But Urruti, 22, and Alvaro Rey, 24, will surely be given their minutes eventually -- and one way or another, it'll be interesting to see what these two attack-minded players can do (as a harbinger of what they may be able to do in years to come, of course).
    Or they'll just ride the bench in favour of Justin Braun and Reggie Lambe. Who knows.
    Watch Payne and Nelsen sing for their supper. Let's make one thing absolutely clear: Regardless of your thoughts on Kevin Payne and Ryan Nelsen either personally or professionally, anyone with a vested interest in seeing Toronto FC succeed should be able to agree that firing either or both of them anytime soon would be catastrophically stupid. Of course, the fact that we're even contemplating the possibility of another wholesale changing of the guard at this point shows how accustomed we've become to the idea of TFC as being pathetically dysfunctional.
    Whatever faults Payne and Nelsen may have, and whatever missteps they've made so far, the reality is that above all, this club needs some semblance of stability. Payne and Nelsen need to have the chance to see their plan out -- which will take (at the absolute minimum) two full seasons to fully ascertain. Most fans realize this, of course, but concern comes from whether those at the top (newcomer Tim Leiweke and the relatively new head honchos at MLSE) understand this reality in the context of TFC's situation and history -- or whether their itchy trigger fingers and desire to "do something" (or be seen as doing something) will result in an idiotic, short-sighted, reactionary move.
    So anyway, even if the rest of the games mean nothing this year, those of us hoping for some eventual success for the team probably oughta hope for some victories down the stretch, if for no other reason than to keep the corporate reactionaries at bay.
    Putting in the work now to savour the eventual rewards. Without delving into the insipid and counter-productive ideas about how some TFC fans are different than other TFC fans, let's all agree on one thing: Those who pour the most time and energy into a cause (whether it's cheering for a sports team, supporting a political movement, building a barn or whatever) are the ones who will feel the greatest sense of gratification if and when the mission is accomplished.
    And if you're reading this article as a TFC fan, it's safe to assume you're invested in this team. You've paid your dues, time after time. Despite having done nothing wrong, you've toughed out fandom that at times surely felt like a prison sentence. Yes, it's been no bed of roses, and no pleasure cruise. But on that day, that fateful, probably-imaginary day when Freddy Mercury's triumphant chorus blares loudly (and unironically) from the sound system at BMO Field, you will know that you were there when everything was crap, but you stuck it out -- and the victory will feel that much sweeter as a result.
    So, yes, a reason to continue watching TFC is essentially masochistic self-punishment that's being weighted against an emotional reward that is in no way guaranteed of ever happening. Hooray for sports!
    Having a team is better than not having a team. It probably doesn't feel like this very often in Toronto any more as it relates to MLS, given TFC's fortunes. And I'm not part of the "old school" crowd that would assemble at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke and dream of the day Hogtown would have a pro team to call its own. But still, looking at the excitement and optimism being generated in cities on both sides of the border about the prospect of having their own MLS team is a nice little reminder that however bad things may be now, we're here -- and we have a chance to make it better.
    That's not to say that we should be complacent, and accept perennial mediocrity as the trade-off for being blessed enough to have a team at all. But every season and every game needs to be taken within the proper context.
    To sit back and be content just watching and being entertained by a game late in TFC's 2013 season, without feeling the need to be sullen or rebellious or pissed off, isn't a blanket acceptance of missing the playoffs again. It's an understanding that in what was always going to be a "rebuilding" year, there's still some pleasure to be gained from watching Toronto represented in the top-flight domestic league -- even if the playoffs are no longer attainable.
    That's not good enough for some people. And that's fine. I've never wanted (or attempted) to lecture anyone on how to support a team that they like. But to the question posed in the headline of this article, as it relates to the remainder of Toronto's league campaign -- "why bother?" -- the best possible answer to that question is another question:
    Why not?
    You may have a perfectly valid answer. Or several. We all know TFC has provided plenty of them over the years. But if you can't drum up a sufficiently compelling response, then hey, what the hell, let's see this thing out and maybe we'll even get a little (very little) bit of sports-related pleasure along the way.
    Besides -- as Toronto sports fans are also very accustomed to saying -- there's always next year.
    * Yes yes, the Argos, I know.
    ** For the purpose of this article, "alcohol" is not considered a coping mechanism.
    *** OK, the pick-flipping also played a role in the trade that brought Joe Bendik to Toronto, and he's been the most active guy on the field throughout the season. Facts needn't get in the way of a tongue-in-cheek piss-taking, though. Wow, that was a gross sentence.
    Guest
    "Caps Countdown" is our Vancouver Whitecaps player rankings with a twist. The starting eleven is ranked from eleven to one, from worst to first. Who was the 'man of the match' and who, if anyone, had a game to forget in the 1-0 loss to Los Angeles Galaxy? Aaron Campbell makes his selections. Do you agree?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    Three changes to the starting line up from the loss in Colorado, but that didn't stop back to back defeats.
    11 - Nigel Reo-Coker
    Stupid yellow in the 90th minute has him suspended for Chivas game. He should of played smarter knowing that. Kobayashi should start over JMD next game.
    10 - YP Lee
    Showing his age this season. His cross volley move has been ineffective this season.
    9 - Matt Watson
    Deserved the start but wasn't pushing forward enough. You can't sit back playing the Galaxy.
    8 - Andy O'Brien
    Good first game back. Was a little sluggish in the last third of the game. To be expected after all the time off.
    7 - Gershon Koffie
    Has had an up and down season and it continued this game. Have to realize he is only 22 years old and is not even close to his potential.
    6 - Jordan Harvey
    Was so close to getting the Whitecaps a draw. Was a little better defensively then the past few games.
    5 - David Ousted
    Needs to get Whitecaps positive results. Sure he had no chance to stop the goals that he's let in, but the team needs wins. With him in goal we have got 4 out of 13 possible points. That is not good enough but also not his complete fault.
    4 - Kenny Miller
    Played a good game all round. Had chances and needs to start putting them away consistently.
    3 - Darren Mattocks
    Was all over the pitch. With Camilo out, the front three didn't lose any speed attacking forward. Showing a little rust from his time off.
    2 - Johnny Leveron
    Has moved into second overall in total minutes played for Caps defenders. Caps didn't expect that from him at the beginning of the season. Game in and game out he plays almost a flawless game.
    1 - Russell Teibert
    He had his chances all over the pitch. Showed great touch on his attacking passes. Deserved the official 'man of the match' for sure.
    The Changing of the Guard Countdown
    3 - Carlyle Mitchell
    Should of played more. I believe O'Brien was played too much. Would of loved to see Mitchell in the 75th minute.
    2 - Daigo Kobayashi
    A step in the right direction to get out of the dog house. JMD's midfield minutes are his for the taking moving forward.
    1 - Kekuta Manneh
    He deserves a start next game with the hustle he showed in this game. All his close scoring chances hopefully will pay off shortly.
    <p>
    Guest

    MLS Week in Review – Round 26

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Round 26 of MLS play began on Wednesday night and eleven matches later, concluded on Sunday.
    With the season winding down and teams jockeying for playoff positions, it is beginning to get tense. Players are tired after a long season, emotions are ruffled, and, in some cases, the airing of grievances is necessary.
    One would assume that desperation would entail tight games, while that is usually true, several matches broke out of the strict form and turned chaotic.
    The eleven games resulted in three draws and just one away win – LA over Vancouver.
    A whopping 39 goals were scored – including a perfect four for four from the penalty spot and a single own-goal, leading to lop-sided scores, including two franchise-worst defeats – for Houston and Philadelphia.
    There were braces aplenty with four players scoring twice: Marco Di Vaio, Kyle Beckerman, Erick Torres, and Kelyn Rowe.
    28 yellow cards were flashed and a staggering seven red cards – four straight and three accumulative – were deem necessary by the referees.
    As always, before the results, the goals of the round:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    A trio of wonder goals to consider – in fact, there could have been many more – Landon Donovan’s early blast in Vancouver and Di Vaio’s first against Houston earn honourable mentions
    In chronological order, up first is Dwayne De Rosario’s thunderous hit from distance against his former club, Toronto FC.
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    Classic De Rosario; the next contender was courtesy of Montreal’s Felipe, who was immense this weekend.
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    Patient and clinical; and finally, the third nominee goes to New England’s Kelyn Rowe and his swerving long-range bomb against Philadelphia.
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    What a hit. Which do you prefer? Or does another strike the fancy?
    Midweek Results in a Sentence

    Chivas would take the lead moments before half-time, through debutant Bryan de la Fuente, but three Dallas goals in the final twenty minutes – Blas Perez, David Ferreira, and Ramon Nunez - would earn the visiting side the win, snapping their eleven-match winless streak and extend the woes of Los Ameri-Goats – now winless in four.

    An entertaining six-goal thriller saw Portland take the lead through Rodney Wallace before goals from Nat Borchers and Javier Morales – from the spot – put Salt Lake ahead entering the half; Diego Valeri converted a spot-kick of his own and Kalif Alhassan looked to have the winner for the home-side, but Cole Grossman found a 93rd minute equalizer to level a match that neither deserved to lose.
    Results in Brief
    Chicago 1 – Kansas City 0
    Friday night’s appetizer pitted two Eastern Conference clubs, each in need of three points. Hosts Chicago sit on the outside looking in, while Kansas City’s tenuous grasp on the conference lead has been weakened by three losses in their last four outings.
    One goal was all that would decide the outcome and it came early. A 13th minute Jalil Anibaba right-sided throw-in was half-cleared to Alex, who played it back out to the Chicago defender. Anibaba hit a driven cross to the back-post, where Mike Magee stretched to keep it in and touch the ball back into the middle. Hunter Jumper, in for the suspended Bakary Soumare, reacted quickest, dropping low for a foot-height diving header before Aurelien Collin could clear – it was his first career goal.
    Frank Klopas’ Fire, overcoming the midweek viral rage, would see out the result, keeping their first clean-sheet in fifteen matches, to pull themselves within two points of the fifth and final spot in the East. Peter Vermes and Kansas City face a tough double-game week – including a long trip to Honduran-side, CD Olimpia in the Champions League – having lost four of their last five, without a goal through two matches, and falling off the pole position to third in the East.
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    DC 1 – Toronto 1
    The Battle of the Eastern basement kicked off the Saturday evening action at venerable RFK Stadium in DC – a fitting site for such a dire and pointless match. With neither side at risk of a post-season venture, pride, more than points, were on the line, with the added bonus of familiar faces lined up on opposite sides of the pitch.
    Dwayne De Rosario has a way of biting the hand that fed him and it took just ten minutes for the Canadian to chalk one up against his former employers. Perry Kitchen lofted a ball from the centre-circle up to De Rosario on the left; he cut around the half-hearted challenge of Reggie Lambe, took advantage of a labouring Jonathan Osorio – who would leave the match with an ankle knock shortly thereafter – shaking and baking into the centre of the pitch. From some thirty yards, De Rosario unleashed a fierce right-footer; the shot bent around the outstretched arms of Joe Bendik and nestled into the right-side of goal.
    Luis Silva looked to add another against the club he recently departed, but was denied a spectacular aerial kick by a fine save from Bendik.
    Lambe would not rest as the sacrifice; praying on a loose clearance from Dejan Jakovic, after his initial through-ball for Robert Earnshaw had been cut out by the defender, he moved down the left-side of the box, hit a low cross to the penalty spot, where Bobby Convey connected well with his left-foot, targeting his effort to the low near corner to level the match in the 60th minute.
    Ben Olsen, DC manager – whose suspension following his dismissal in Montreal was lifted, will have enjoyed the verve with which his side took the game to TFC, but will be disappointed at not adding a second and conceding such an unexpected equalizer. Ryan Nelsen – and Kevin Payne, both DC alumni – will have enjoyed stoking the memories, but would rather have taken all three points.
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    Montreal 5 – Houston 0
    A match between Eastern powerhouses, both off midweek Champions League excursions to the far-flung reaches of the region, should have been close, but Montreal had other ideas.
    The first half hour passed without major incident, but then Montreal’s attacking trio of Marco Di Vaio, Justin Mapp, and most importantly, Felipe, sprung to life.
    Di Vaio grabbed the first in the 35th minute, collecting a ball from Mapp on the right-side of the box, moving inside past the stagnant Corey Ashe and lashing a left-footed laser to the top left corner of the goal.
    Two minutes later Felipe outdid him, after a well-constructed play saw midfield maestro – now they have two – Hernan Bernardello spray a ball out to Di Vaio on the right to move towards goal. Ashe would interrupt his flow, but Mapp was on hand to pick up the loose ball and cross to Felipe on the left. Without moving an inch, the Brazilian positioned Kofi Sarkodie as the perfect screen, before bending a right-footer low into the far-side netting, leaving Tally Hall motionless and perturbed.
    Jeb Brovsky would add a third in the 58th minute, after Adam Moffat inadvertently flicked a left-sided, in-swinging Bernardello corner kick on to the far-post, where the left-back got in front of his marker, Will Bruin, to tap in with his right-boot.
    Di Vaio nabbed his second in the 70th, again Felipe provided the inspiration, hitting a Alessandro Nesta pass first time, over the stationary Houston back-line springing both Di Vaio and Patrice Bernier in alone on goal. Bernier, down the right, unselfishly squared to Di Vaio for a simple right-footer into the empty net – a vigourous hug was just reward for the Canadian.
    Andrea Pisanu would round out the scoring with a fifth goal in the 91st minute, played in down the left by a sumptuous Felipe through-ball and finishing calmly under the on-rushing Hall to score his first in the league.
    Mauro Biello, in for the suspended – again – Marco Schallibaum, noted post-match that perhaps Montreal, who took some criticism for falling midweek in Guatemala - was well-suited to a gentle scolding, recalling that the last time their fans gave them grief, they dismantled TFC in the second leg of the Voyageur’s Cup. Dominic Kinnear was terse in his reply to what the club will look to change for their next match, “The result. To play better.”
    (Edit: The quote attributed to Biello above was actually Patrice Bernier, got the source mixed up - Biello was happy to win)
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    Vancouver 0 – Los Angeles 1
    Another match that should have been so much more saw Vancouver and Los Angeles meet at BC Place, separated by a mere point, holding down the final two spots in the West.
    And again it was an early goal - the third of the weekend – that would prove decisive, as Landon Donovan’s third-minute screamer would stand up to the remaining 87 minutes of play.
    AJ De La Garza intercepted a loose pass from Matt Watson and stole down the right, rolling up to Robbie Keane, the Irishman attracted both Whitecaps centre-backs, before laying off to Donovan moving into a gap down the middle. Donovan struck the ball early and sweetly, sending a rising shot bound for the top left-corner of the goal, David Ousted, who was caught off-balance, could offer little by way of resistance.
    Vancouver, who had their chances, though mostly from distance, nearly stole an equalizer in the dying seconds. Kekuta Manneh hit a fierce drive from way out, only to see his effort rebound off the right post, Jordan Harvey raced onto the rebound, but his finish into the empty net was cruelly avert by a miraculous diving hand from recently-acquired Panamanian keeper, Jaime Penedo.
    Martin Rennie’s Vancouver, who have only won one of their last six matches, were shutout once more – the third time in their last five – and plummeted down the table before landing in seventh spot, though only a point outside the final playoff berth. Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles appears to have finally found a keeper who will win games rather than lose them; the rest of the league shudders at the horrifying thought.
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    Dallas 2 – San Jose 2
    At the same time, two Western stragglers met in Texas, each looking to surge back into the reckoning after turning around tough times. Dallas, who ended their long winless streak at eleven matches with a midweek victory over Chivas, entered tied with Vancouver for that final spot, while San Jose, who have thus far failed to live up to their Supporter’s Shield winner’s form of last season, pieced together five-straight home wins, to position themselves within three points of their hosts.
    An Alan Gordon goal after eight minutes continued the early-goal theme of the round. Cordell Cato pressured rookie right-back Kelyn Acosta into a turnover, raced down the left towards the end-line and cut a pass back to the top of the box, where Gordon strolled onto it and shaped a right-footer to the bottom right corner of the goal.
    San Jose looked primed to snap a four-game road losing skid when Steven Beitashour doubled their lead in the 16th, after initiating the move with a ball up to Gordon. The big striker laid off to Rafael Baca, who chipped a delicious ball through the Dallas back-line for Beitashour, who had wisely continued his run, to direct on to the left-side of goal with a cushioned right-footed touch.
    But that only served to rouse Dallas out of their funk, three minutes later Blas Perez clawed one back, after a left-sided Jair Benitez throw-in to Michel allowed the pinpoint Brazilian to cross to the edge of the box, where Je-Vaughan Watson won the header goal-ward and the pointy Panamanian beat Jon Busch to the loose ball with an outstretched right-foot.
    Perez, a controversial character at times, would craft the second as well, dropping like a sack of potatoes after Victor Bernardez cut across him in the box, as he chested down a Watson chip at the back-post. The referee pointed to the spot and Michel coolly beat Busch with a left-footer to the keeper’s right in the 72nd minute, having sent the veteran guessing the other direction.
    A tenacious match that saw some 32 fouls called descended into near-chaos. Justin Morrow was sent off in the 81st minute for a desperate and dangerous lunge on Ramon Nunez, snapping a counterattack and thankfully, not bones, before Bernardez and Kenny Cooper renewed acquaintances, each seeing red in the 86th.
    Schellas Hyndman’s Dallas, toothless for the better part of three months, came from behind in a second-straight match, forcing themselves back into post-season consideration, tied for the final Western Conference spot. Mark Watson, interim San Jose coach, will be dismayed at how his side frittered away a two-goal lead on the road, but of course, it is that most dangerous of leads.
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    Salt Lake 4 – Columbus 0
    The fifth and final match of the evening – one of only two cross-conference fixtures this weekend – saw a struggling Salt Lake – winless in four - welcome an in-form Columbus – riding consecutive wins - to the Rio Tinto.
    Columbus had won the last three meetings between the clubs, but, buoyed by a strong draw in Portland on Wednesday, Salt Lake were the better of the two, though it took a hint of fortune in first half stoppage-time to break the deadlock.
    A foul was awarded after a Chad Marshall hand-ball and Javier Morales stepped up to the right-sided free-kick from 25 yards. His right-footed attempt first clipped off the inside of the fracturing wall, then off the leg of Kyle Beckerman, to sneak into the bottom right-corner of the goal.
    Salt Lake would double their advantage five minutes into the second half, when Beckerman and Morales combined once more, the former playing in-field to the latter, who then threaded a ball inside the Crew left-back for Olmes Garcia, surging down the right. Garcia lifted his head and squared to the middle for the unmarked Devon Sandoval to left-foot into the open goal.
    Luis Gil would add a third in the final ten minutes, finishing off some astonishing ball movement involving Sebastian Velasquez and Ned Grabavoy, with a calm step around Josh Williams and a slotted finish. Beckerman would pile on one more in the final minute of regulation, after Morales laid Velasquez down the left and his cross was only partially cut out by Williams, who touched the ball perfectly for Beckerman to finish low to the bottom left-corner of the goal with a measured right-footed shot.
    With the three points, Jason Kreis’ Lakers would solidify their grasp on both first place in the West and the Supporter’s Shield – five points ahead of LA and four in front of Montreal, respectively (though LA has two games in hand and Montreal, three). Robert Warzycha’s night-to-forget will have dire consequences for Columbus, as Federico Higuain’s two yellow cards will see him miss the next two matches – one for the red and one for caution accumulation – at a desperate part of the season.
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    Chivas 3 – New York 2
    The Sunday fixtures began with an afternoon clash in Los Angeles, with lowly Chivas hosting the high-profile Red Bulls. Los Ameri-Goats, winless in four, losers of five of their last seven, and fresh off a dispiriting midweek defeat after taking the lead against Dallas – many would have considered New York the favourites. But, Red Bull are Janus-faced warriors, fearsome at home – usually – yet loathsome on the road, and so they would prove once more.
    Julio Morales opened the scoring for the hosts in the 30th minute with his first professional goal. Edgar Mejia collected a weak Marcus Holgersson clearing header on the left, played in-field to Carlos Alvarez, who found Morales to the right of the arc. The nineteen-year old collected with his right-foot, teeing up his left for a low strike that snuck inside the right-post, past Luis Robles in goal.
    Tim Cahill would negate that advantage a minute later from a right-sided Thierry Henry corner kick, rising highest at the back-post and heading off the inside of the post – it would sneak over the line before Marky Delgado could clear.
    But Chivas had had a taste and New York was eager to assist. Ibrahim Sekagya barged over the much smaller Cubo Torres in the closing seconds of first half stoppage-time and the referee pointed to the spot – Torres would convert the chance himself with a right-footer low to the left-side of the goal.
    And Torres would provide a measure of insurance in the 81st, notching his second of the match after a quick break down the left from another youngster, Bryan de la Fuente. The speedy wide attacker lifted his head, spotted Carlos Alvarez unmarked at the far-side and made the pass. Alvarez’ attempt was blocked by Kosuke Kimura, but the rebound fell to Torres, who spun and hit a right-footer low to the right-side of the goal to put Chivas solidly in front.
    Five minutes later New York made a match of the closing minutes; Dax McCarty won a left-sided Henry free-kick at the back-post, nodding his header down and against the grain, bouncing it past Dan Kennedy in goal. Red Bull nearly found an equalizer – after Kennedy spilled – but Bobby Burling’s goal-line clearance on Cahill spared any undue blushes. Besides, Kennedy’s two miraculous saves on Fabian Espindola in the first half – not to mention the rest of the season – have him firmly in the green on the teammate-bacon-saving ledger.
    Post-match Chivas boss, Jose Luis Real, praised his side’s hard work, hailing it as their best performance to date under his guidance. New York’s Mike Petke, however, was left to apologize for another woeful road performance from his charges, who passed up the chance to take over top spot in the East.
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    New England 5 – Philadelphia 1
    The next match provided an even greater shock, if not in result, then definitely in the volume with which it was achieved. New England entered five points behind Philadelphia, who were pressing for the upper reaches of the Eastern Conference, having shored up their leaky defense by keeping four clean-sheets in their last five matches.
    The first half played out in the normal fashion, Kelyn Rowe took advantage of a pocket of space in front of the Union back-four in the 26th minute, hitting a low, right-footer from some distance into the bottom left-corner of the goal, tracing it beyond the reach of Zac MacMath in goal.
    Danny Cruz would level in the 50th, racing onto a Conor Casey through-ball down the left, rounding Matt Reis, who foolhardily rushed off his line, and curling a left-footer into the far side-netting.
    Then the madness began.
    Over the next eight minutes, one Philadelphia goal – from Sebastien Le Toux – was properly ruled offside, before a touch of controversy turned the tides for good: Reis failed to collect a loose ball, which lay tantalizingly in his feet for Casey to stab home. The referee called back play for a foul on the keeper, though there was none whatsoever.
    In the 58th minute, Amobi Okugo turned a Juan Agudelo shot into his own-goal, after Diego Fagundez had charged down the middle and dished out to his fellow attacker on the right.
    Seven minutes later, Rowe netted his second long-range bomb of the night, this one even more impressive than the first.
    Dimitry Imbongo corralled a Reis goal-kick, held off the attentions of Okugo, then played in to Rowe striding down the middle. His right-footed blast from more than thirty yards out, swerved into the top right-corner of the goal. Simply sensational.
    Dejected Philly would allow a fourth in the 71st – Fagundez getting in on the act after a leading pass from Scott Caldwell played him in down the left to tuck a right-footer past MacMath at the short-side – and a fifth in the 73rd – Agudelo splicing through the back-line onto a Fagundez ball down the left-side of the box, poking his finish high over the sliding keeper at the near-post.
    Jay Heaps, no doubt elated by the offensive output, was beaming at the potential of his side – they laid five on Los Angeles back in June – but knows the path to the playoffs is built on consistency, not outbursts. John Hackworth, smarting from a twist of fate that brought on the franchise’s worst-ever defeat will be looking to put this result behind him with the post-season still very much an attainable goal.
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    Seattle 1 – Portland 0
    After such a dramatic and action-packed weekend, what better way to close out the round than with a scintillating Pacific Northwest, Cascadia Cup, Clint-Dempsey-fueled derby in Seattle, however, the fates had a different plan and the fixture list ended as it started, with a tight match, decided by a single goal.
    Seattle, unbeaten in nine at home, playing in front of an astonishing 67 000-plus fans – the second-largest stand-alone crowd in MLS history (or so they say), nearly fell behind, saved from that ignominy by DeAndre Yedlin on the back-post, clearing a goal-bound Jack Jewsbury header off the line.
    Portland, shorn of their two central midfield generals - Will Johnson, still troubled by a shoulder injury suffered in the Open Cup in Salt Lake and Diego Chara, suspended due to yellow card accumulation for a piddling first half stoppage-time foul midweek against Salt Lake (rest assured, Caleb Porter would be cursing Kreis’ side for their role in both hamstringings) – put up a brave fight under the glare of the so many disparaging eyes.
    Another rash foul would prove their undoing; Pa Modou Kah hacked down Eddie Johnson moments before the hour mark and Mauro Rosales stepped up to the dead-ball.
    Rosales, who has recently re-found his form after a trying season, had chipped in with either a goal or an assist in Seattle previous four matches. He would make it five with an inviting free-kick from the left, which curved gracefully towards the back-post, needing only the faintest of touches to tickle the twine.
    Johnson would provide that goodnight kiss, escaping the mark of youngster Alvas Powell – why was such a newbie marking Eddie, anyways – on the hour mark, guiding his header down to the bottom right-corner of the Portland goal.
    The Timbers would press, calling Seattle keeper, Michael Gspurning, into action at the death, forcing a fingertip save on a Darlington Nagbe strike, which was lifted over the bar.
    Post-match Seattle coach Sigi Schmid was suitably pleased with the outcome – the three points put Seattle into that final playoff spot and will raise the spirits for the remaining eleven matches, though there lies another meeting with Portland in October. Caleb Porter, will rue their misfortune, but take pride in how well his under-strength side responded to the situation.
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    CanCon
    As usual, the extended look at the Canadian contributions will be up midday tomorrow (Tuesday).
    Plenty to go over including Dwayne De Rosario’s resurgent form, Patrice Bernier’s continued excellence, injury to Jonathan Osorio, impressive displays from Doneil Henry and Ashtone Morgan, as well as, Will Johnsons extended absence.
    Overheard
    Perhaps the most fractious moment of the weekend was the double red card incident that saw Dallas’ Kenny Cooper and San Jose’s Victor Bernardez dismissed.
    Bernardez knocks down Cooper from behind, only for the striker to respond by throwing the big Honduran to the ground. Of course, the Earthquakes announcers were perplexed. But close inspection shows that Bernardez needlessly stepped on Cooper, as he lay on the ground.
    Post-match, Dallas coach, Schellas Hyndman reminded us of their previous run in back in May: “That was Bernardez that threw him into the stands. I still at times think there’s an effect from that. It takes a long time to [get over]." Cooper would miss several matches with a concussion and Bernardez was handed a two-game suspension by the Disciplinary Committee.
    Hyndman continued, "We have Ugo Ihemelu who is sitting out the year from his concussion, so he’s a constant reminder to our players that this could happen to them.”
    See It Live
    Chivas’ impressive loanee, Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres had a pretty terrible whiff on a back-pass from the kickoff on Wednesday - it was humourous. Keep your eye on the ball.
    Federico Higuain’s costly tantrum was worth a watch - it will be interesting to see if the league is lenient with the superstar, while Jaime Penedo’s game-saving, Superman stop was spectacular.
    Controversy
    Was this a red card? Salt Lake’s Yordany Alvarez, fresh off a red card suspension is shown another for this lunge on Diego Chara.
    Penalty or dive? Super Raton strikes again, winning his side and game-tying penalty kick.
    Goal or no goal? (of course, they hold back the video – watch for Simon Borg’s Instant Replay to cover the incident) Conor Casey’s disallowed goal turned the tide in New England.
    Table Watch
    In the East, Montreal leaps over both Kansas City and New York into top spot, while New England muscle into the fifth and final spot. Seven points separate seventh from first.
    In the West, Salt Lake extend their lead to five points, with LA hopping over Colorado and Portland, who were stationary on the weekend. Vancouver were the biggest losers on the weekend, dropping two places to seventh, though a mere six points separates eighth from second.
    Opinion Poll
    An editorial from the Chicago Fire’s Director of Communications spread through the MLS world like wild-fire last week.
    Is it right for the club to address their fans in this manner? Or was it thin-skinned and pathetic?
    Upcoming Fixtures
    More MLS participation in the Champions League coming up midweek with Houston hosting Panamanians Arabe Unido on Tuesday and San Jose bound for Costa Rica to face Heredia on Wednesday.
    Friday: Toronto-New England; Salt Lake-Portland. Saturday: Columbus-Seattle; Philadelphia-Montreal; New York-DC; Kansas City-Colorado; Los Angeles-San Jose. Sunday: Chicago-Houston; Vancouver-Chivas.
    A quick turnaround to another Salt Lake-Portland match up on Friday – the first meeting, in the US Open Cup, was slow, last Wednesday match was a cracker, this one should only be better with Kyle Beckerman and Will Johnson likely to take part.
    The Sigi Schmid derby – between Columbus and Seattle, Red Bull hosting United in the Atlantic Cup, and of course, the California Clasico between LA and San Jose, these ones always entertain.
    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
    If Canada hopes to achieve its goal of a first-ever win at the U17 World Cup, it will have to be at the expense of either Austria, Argentina or Iran.
    The draw for the 2013 edition of the tournament was held on Monday in Abu Dhabi (with the usual FIFA pomp and circumstance), and the Canadian squad was handed its schedule: Austria on Oct. 19, Iran on Oct. 22 and Argentina on Oct. 25. All of Canada's group-stage games will be played in Dubai, while the team needs to finish first or second in the group (or be one of the top four third-place finishers in the six-group tournament) to book a spot in the knockout round.
    Canada's breakthrough at the tournament came in the previous edition two years ago, in which a late and (obviously) unexpected
    earned them a 2-2 draw with England -- and their first-ever point at the tournament.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Beyond Roberts, other notable names from that 2011 squad include Keven Aleman, Samuel Piette, Luca Gasparotto, Maxime Crepeau and Bryce Alderson.
    None of them will be around this time (such is the nature of a youth tournament, of course), but several of those likely to feature for Canada at UAE 2013 have already made themselves known to fans in this country, including Whitecaps Residency youngsters Marco Carducci and Marco Bustos, FC Edmonton's Hanson Boakai and TFC Academy striker Jordan Hamilton.
    Predicting the results at events such as these is always difficult, given the constant roster turnover and the fact that teenagers are rarely easy-to-predict creatures. But given Canada's promising results in the qualifying tournament (earning a third-place finish after a victory on penalty kicks over Honduras) and the lingering legacy of that unexpected draw against England two years ago, the young Canadian squad definitely can't be written off.
    Guest
    Ever since Vancouver was announced as the venue for the final of the 2015 Women's World Cup, there have been a number of players, media analysts and fans up in arms about the decision to play the tournament, and especially the final, on artificial pitches.
    The BC Place pitch will be under scrutiny in the build up to the Finals and during the tournament itself, but those dissenters were given some more fuel to their fire when LA Galaxy striker Robbie Keane took a huge swipe at the state of the BC Place pitch following his side's 1-0 victory over Vancouver on Saturday night.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Despite what some of the Whitecaps' top brass want you to believe, the pitch at BC Place is certainly not one of the best or most popular in Major League Soccer and it has garnered a bit of a bad reputation in its two short years.
    A number of players have made the odd comment here and there about the surface, but none have been so vociferous or prolonged in attack as Keane, who went on a rant lasting over a minute about the state of the pitch.
    Only four of the League's 19 teams still play on an artificial surface. Three of them are surprisingly in the footballing hotbed of Cascadia, whilst the other is New England. The Revolution, Sounders and Timbers all play on field turf, whilst Vancouver have a polytan surface, which is meant to be state of the art but has drawn much criticism from players, pundits and punters alike.
    Last year, the pitch was voted <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20130227/mls-preview-player-survey/" target="_blank">second worst in MLS</a> in a player survey for Sports Illustrated. It was an albeit small sample size of just 18 players, but the Caps drew over a fifth of the vote behind New England.
    Now you can argue that the pitch gives the Caps somewhat of an advantage if other teams aren't happy, familiar or comfortable playing on it, but no matter what they may say publically, a number of Caps players aren't too enamoured by the BC Place turf either.
    They rarely train on it any more, choosing the grass field at UBC instead.
    Players coming in from overseas like Kenny Miller, Nigel Reo-Coker and Barry Robson have struggled to get used to the weird bounces and the adjustment needed to play on the turf. Even in last night's game Miller saw a long ball just skip away from him when he was clearly expecting the ball to take a different bounce.
    From a Whitecaps point of view, why would you change something that is annoying opposition players? On the flip side of that, if the pitch garners a bad reputation amongst players, how many are going to choose to sign and come and play on it and call Vancouver home?
    Whilst we are not likely to see any changes to the pitch any time soon, if more players continue to speak out against it, then MLS may be forced to act, especially when the dissent is coming from some of their marquee players like Keane.
    It was clearly a subject very much on the mind of the Irishman after the match.
    Catching up with Keane post game, we kicked off the media scrum by asking him how big he felt the win was for LA, which prompted his first comment of the evening about the turf.
    <i>"It was very big I think. Any game away from home to get the three points is always big, especially coming to a place like this, playing on turf, it's never easy. To get the three points sets us up nicely."</i>
    Happy with the win, Keane went on to talk about some other aspects of the match, but his mind was clearly still on the turf and he returned to the subject when discussing the quick turnaround and physical toll between the Galaxy's midweek Champions League game and the trip to Vancouver.
    <i>"It's obviously tough to play three games in a week but it's not even that, if you didn't play for, fuck, seven weeks and played on this stupid field it would still be the same anyway because of this. It's not accepted.
    "In this day and age you shouldn't be playing on fields like this. It's not good for players. Especially for people to watch on TV when you're playing."</i>
    Now in full flow, Keane let rip and questioned the decision making of the bosses at the Whitecaps and MLS in allowing matches to be played on such a bad surface.
    <i>"The field is not even wet, you know. It's dry and it's like playing on concrete. It's not surely what people want to see. Everybody who looks in to this, whoever is the boss of this, surely they want people to watch the games and have interest in MLS.
    "Surely they'd want the field to be watered because it makes the game go a lot quicker in the passing, but when you're playing on dry, the ball comes in to you and it's bouncing 27 times before it gets to you.
    "Surely that can't be good for TV? So whoever's in charge of that seriously needs to have a look at that. There has to be a ruling in the League where all the fields have to be watered before the game. In Europe, and everywhere else, the fields are always watered, so it doesn't make sense.
    "It actually annoys me."</i>
    He was certainly annoyed. And he has some valid points, although the Caps do water the pitch at half time.
    It's a dreadful surface though. You just have to walk on it to see how hard it is and all the use from Lions, and more so the trade shows, are starting to take their toll and make it more compacted.
    There are already some horrendous brown marks all over it where it's worn from the overlay put on for the shows.
    It's not ideal but we will likely see the pitch switched out in time for the Women's World Cup. In the meantime it's both a help and a hindrance for the Whitecaps.
    Now that Keane has publically spoken out, it will be interesting to see if others follow suit and try and put some pressure on MLS to act, especially as we are now getting down to the business end of the season.
    In an ideal world, the League would stipulate that all MLS stadia have to have grass pitches, and put a timescale for the four outcasts to make that switch. Unlikely to happen and would just be a logistical nightmare at BC Place.
    With Lenarduzzi being blunt about those still wanting a Waterfront Stadium at the recent post-game season ticket holder Q&A, this isn't a situation that's going to go away any time soon.
    Whatever you may think of Keane, we applaud him for speaking out.
    <p>
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