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    Guest
    One long-suffering Toronto FC fan has an idea for what the team is playing for in the remainder of the lost 2013 campaign: Being involved in the MLS Goal of the Week on a weekly basis.
    Surely, Dwayne De Rosario's long-range strike for DC United will be in contention for this week's award, so we've got that to work with. Because certainly TFC is no longer contending for the MLS playoffs, nor are they apparently interested in showcasing any of their new acquisitions (Jonas Elmer and Maximiliiano Urruti didn't see the field against DC, while Alvaro Rey came on in the 88th minute).
    So, as has been the case for the majority of Toronto FC's existence, the team is in search of reasons for relevancy aside from the prospect of reaching the MLS playoffs. And has also been the case for the majority of the team's existence, the only realistic appraisal of their standing within the soccer universe is "yep, they exist".
    Yeah, we're into late August and this is TFC. There's nothing surprising to be found here.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    This isn't a red herring. There's no great hidden secret to be found here. Two crappy teams rightfully near the basement of the Eastern Conference played to an entirely pointless draw, and that was that. Perhaps you're alarmed to read this, since mainstream media coverage is contractually obligated to pretend that every game is meaningful, as a way of convincing you that investing in some cable package is worthwhile.
    But really, we all know what this is. Toronto FC is a bad team playing out the string. Lather, rinse, repeat.
    Frankly, the most significant bright spot in this game is the fact that Luis Silva didn't score an injury-time winner for DCU, which would have been totally in line with Toronto's connection to the sporting gods. Instead, we had former TFC heart-throb DeRo cracking the sort of long-range bomb that could make folks think he's still Canada's #1 attacking option, cancelled out by a Bobby Convey strike off a quality cross from Reggie Lambe.
    So, yeah, Toronto FC continues to be a team that exists in Major League Soccer. That's about all you can say at this point. Jeremy Brockie, who's gotten plenty of playing time with the club as of late, is headed back to Wellington Phoenix as his loan deal is over. So this, presumably, means more playing time for Urruti. Or not. Who the hell knows at this point.
    Look, let's cut to the chase. The fact that you're actually reading this sentence means that you're desperately (and tragically) obsessed with TFC. And good on you, I'm in the same boat. But do any of us have any solutions as to how to right the ship? No, we don't. All we can do is watch these games with our fingers crossed.
    And, maybe, hope that we're involved in the MLS Goal of the Week next week. Though it'd be nice to be on the attacking end of that, for once.
    .
    Guest
    <i>[Match report and post game reaction from both locker rooms from Vancouver Whitecaps' 1-0 home loss to Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night]</i>

    <b><u>Report:</u></b>
    With ten games left of the regular season, every point is crucial for Vancouver Whitecaps in their playoff push, and none more so than from their five remaining home games.
    They lost three of those vital points on Saturday evening, going down 1-0 to Los Angeles Galaxy at BC Place.
    There was very little to choose between the teams and although the Caps put in a good shift, it was one which lacked any real potency, and a third minute long range strike from Landon Donovan was all that separated the two sides.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Vancouver made three changes from the team that lost 2-0 in Colorado last week.
    Andy O’Brien finally returned from the hamstring injury he suffered down in Seattle at the start of June and took up his place in the centreback role in place of Carlyle Mitchell, whilst the ineffective Daigo Kobayashi fell back to the bench for the more hard working muscle of Matt Watson.
    Whilst neither of those changes were surprising, Martin Rennie sprang a huge shock up front with Darren Mattocks coming in from the cold to replace the Golden Boot leading Camilo Sanvezzo, who was struggling with a previously unknown groin injury.
    It only took just over two minutes for LA to carve open the new look home side.
    As the ball was played forward to Robbie Keane, Johnny Leveron stuck a foot in to dispossess him but only managed to direct the ball into the path of Landon Donovan. The US international took a couple of touches as he ran on goal, before unleashing an unstoppable 20 yard effort into the top left hand corner.
    The goal stunned the Whitecaps but they quickly settled and nearly grabbed a spectacular equaliser of their own in the 10th minute when Gershon Koffie let fly with a 35 yarder that just whizzed past the right hand post.
    Vancouver were knocking the ball around nicely and getting forward but that final penetrating ball or run was not there yet.
    Leonardo squandered a good chance for LA to double their lead in the 21st minute when a Donovan cross was flicked on to him at the back post but he lazily hit over.
    Keane was the next to try for the Galaxy, lashing a shot narrowly over from the edge of the box four minutes later.
    Neither side really threatened the scoreline for the remainder of the half, with Vancouver’s best chances coming a minute from the break, when Leveron hit a fierce volley past the left hand post, and a minute into stoppage time when Jaime Penedo had to get down low to turn a Nigel Reo-Coker shot around for a corner.
    The Whitecaps had certainly finished the half the stronger, but with very little to choose between the sides apart from the early goal, the home side were going to need to be a second half team once again if they were going to get anything from this one.
    The Caps made one change at the break with Kekuta Manneh coming on for Matt Watson to add some pace to the left side.
    Vancouver had a lucky escape two minutes into this half when David Ousted came out for the ball but lost it in a clash with Omar Gonzalez, only to get a fortunate ricochet back to him.
    The Whitecaps had their best chance yet to draw level eight minutes in. Russell Teibert did well to nick the ball and head into the box. His cut back went by everyone and fell to Kenny Miller 12 yards out but the Scot skied a wild shot over the LA bar.
    Manneh’s introduction was certainly causing Los Angeles problems when they could get the ball to him but overall it was a strangely slow paced game, which was suiting the visitors down to the ground, despite Vancouver’s possession advantage.
    It was the Gambian who came within inches of restoring parity when his dipping long range volley agonisingly crashed off the right hand post, with Penedo beaten. The rebound fell to an unmarked Jordan Harvey, but with the goal gaping the left back took a split second too long to control the ball allowing the Galaxy goalie time to recover and pull off a stunning goalline save to keep his side in the lead.
    Vancouver pushed for the equaliser but couldn’t find a way through and despite Keane missing a great chance to kill things off with the virtual last kick of the game, the defending MLS Cup champions came away with what could be a massive three points as things sort themselves out by season end.
    The defeat could cost Vancouver more than just the three points, as they face the real proposition of finishing the weekend outside of the playoff places with just nine games to go.
    A win next week against struggling Chivas is now a must if they are to stay in touch, with their upcoming three game road trip likely to have a huge say on their postseason status.
    They may have held their own for parts of the game against the Galaxy, but all that matters for the Whitecaps from now till the end of the season are points on the board and there are only 27 left to play for now.
    FINAL SCORE: Vancouver Whitecaps 0 - 1 Los Angeles Galaxy
    ATT: 21,000 (sell out)
    VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Young Pyo-Lee (Carlyle Mitchell 90), Andy O’Brien, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Matt Watson (Kekuta Manneh 46), Nigel Reo-Coker; Russell Teibert, Darren Mattocks (Daigo Kobayashi 73), Kenny Miller [subs Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jun Marques Davidson, Erik Hurtado, Camilo Sanvezzo]
    LOS ANGELES: Jaime Penedo; A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Leonardo, Todd Dunivant; Hector Jimenez (Sean Franklin 68), Marcelo Sarvas, Juninho, Gyasi Zardes; Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane [subs Not Used: Brian Rowe, Pablo Mastroeni, Laurent Courtois, Michael Stephens, Kofi Opare, Jack McBean]
    <p>
    <b><u>Reaction:</u></b>
    <b>Martin Rennie on the loss:</b>
    "It was obviously a bad start. Worst start you could have got with the goal so early. That was disappointing but after that I thought that we played well. We got forward, we created a number of good chances and it was just one of those nights."
    <b>Martin Rennie on the Caps' penalty claims:</b>
    "There were a number of incidents in the box that we felt could of gone our way but didn't."
    <b>Martin Rennie on Camilo not starting:</b>
    "Camilo had a groin strain last game against Colorado and he didn't really train through the week but we thought he'd be ok to play in this game and then yesterday it felt he couldn't play a 90 minutes but could play off the bench. But today if felt that he couldn't even play at all."
    <b>Martin Rennie on half time substitution:</b>
    "Just tactical. I thought Matt was playing fine but we wanted to get Kekuta on. We wanted to get width on both sides and we wanted to attack with that."
    <b>Kenny Miller on the loss:</b>
    "It's a sore one to take. For long spells of the game we felt we were in control. A lot of the game was getting played in their half."
    "We're disappointed and it'll hurt but we've got to just pick ourselves back up."
    <b>Kenny Miller on the Caps' lack of luck:</b>
    "It was one of those nights where the ball just didn't want to go in the goal."
    <b>Andy O'Brien on the game:</b>
    "We deserved more out of the game but that's the way it is. Sometimes a bit of brilliance like that separates winning and losing."
    <b>Andy O'Brien on his first game back:</b>
    "I feel fine. I'm glad it's over to be honest with you. I feel like I've been rent a quote this week. But I'm glad to get it out of the way."
    <b>David Ousted on Jaime Penedo's late save:</b>
    "Incredible. Probably save of the week. That was amazing he got back on that one. A really great save."
    <b>Bruce Arena on LA win:</b>
    "It wasn't pretty but we grinded out a road win"
    <b>Robbie Keane on the importance of the win:</b>
    "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 and playing on turf, it's never easy. To get the three points sets us up nicely."
    <b>Robbie Keane on Landon Donovan's goal:</b>
    "Great goal. It came at a great time. To score in the first few minutes is always good."
    <b>Robbie Keane on the Whitecaps:</b>
    "They're a group that's well organised. They've a good coaching staff there. Every time you play they're well organised and hard to beat."
    <b>Robbie Keane on Jaime Penedo's late save:</b>
    "To get back up that quick and save was unbelievable. That's a world class save. If anyone else did that I think we'd be talking about that for a long time. Thankfully he kept us in the game."
    <b>Jaime Penedo on his game winning save from Jordan Harvey:</b>
    "It was a fast play. The fact that I made the save ended up with us with the three points. It was a fast play and I was able to react."
    <b>Jaime Penedo on the Whitecaps pushing for the equaliser:</b>
    "We were waiting for that because we were the visiting team and we knew the Whitecaps are a strong team. We knew that they were going to come after us and we ended up running the ninety minutes."
    <p>
    Guest
    It's not been the best of seasons so far for Darren Mattocks. Three goals from 651 MLS minutes is a far cry from the target of 20 that he no doubt regrets setting himself at the start of the season.
    Double those stats and he is basically on a par with how he performed last season, and he is already just one shy of his overall shots total from last year in half the minutes played.
    At times he's looked like he couldn't hit a barn door from ten feet, but fear not Caps fans, help may be at hand from the unlikeliest of sources.
    Can comic books help Mattocks out of his sophomore slump?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Now we're not talking about your Marvel or DC Comics comic books here. No, that would be foolish and a bit too obvious. We're talking about your good old fashioned UK style comics.
    For those unfamiliar, UK comics were/are more akin to the funnies sections you find in newspapers than the superhero varieties you find in comic book shops. They're comic anthologies with several one to two page stories featuring regular characters.
    The earliest ones came out in the 19th century before they started to be aimed mainly at children and young at heart adults. They still do a roaring trade on ebay from those wanting to relive their childhood too!
    The most famous comics are the <i>'Beano'</i> and <i>'Dandy'</i>. The <i>'Beano'</i> has just celebrated its 75th birthday, as had the <i>'Dandy'</i> last year before it ceased publication.
    Weekly comics were a staple when I was a lad growing up, and for many decades before that. Their popularity has waned a little bit in the modern age of technology, which is sad.
    Many titles from my childhood have long since gone to the great big recycling factory in the sky. A lot of them whilst I was still a kid buying them, with many others merging.
    From a very early part of their development, football played a big role. As the most popular sport in the country, it had to be captured in the comics. Many of the most enduring and endearing comic book characters came from these football strips, the most famous of which being <i>'Roy of the Rovers'</i>.
    You may not be familiar with Roy Race, but if you've watched the early rounds of the FA Cup at any stage, chances are that you'll have heard the phrase <i>"real Roy of the Rovers stuff"</i> at some point.
    The original comics featured text based stories, before actual drawn comic strip ones started to appear more regularly in the 1950s and by the 1970s that was the norm. The stories weren't just about the action of the pitch, there was always a lot of drama off it too, especially the later ones that covered matchfixing, kidnappings and players being literal mercenaries.
    During the 60s and 70s, and a little lesser so in the 80s, most comics featured at least one football strip. In the 70s, there were even a couple of football only titles - <i>'Scorcher'</i> and <i>'Score n Roar'</i>. These eventually merged and I only caught the tail end of their run as a kid when they merged again with <i>'Tiger'</i>.
    As mentioned above, thanks to the wonders of ebay, I'm rediscovering not only how enjoyable they all are, but actually how good some of the stories were.
    And it got us thinking. Maybe if the Whitecaps and Darren Mattocks could read them too they could get some inspiration to return the Jamaican to his top form.
    Maybe they have and that's why he was out of action these past few weeks. The whole knee injury thing was a smokescreen and they've been working on giving Darren his special powers.
    But if they haven't we thought we'd save them a stack of research time and give them a little helping hand in their playoff push by picking out three comic book heroes that could help....
    <u><b>Billy's Boots:</b></u>

    If you were to ask people to name a football comic strip character that wasn't Roy Race, Billy Dane would be right up there near the top. <i>'Billy's Boots'</i> was an iconic strip about a kid who was useless at football until he found an old pair of football boots that old-time goalscoring legend "Dead Shot" Keen used to play in. Proper old, ankle high, hard leather ones.
    The boots gave him magical footballing powers and made him play in "Dead Shot's" style of play, banging the goals in all over. The boots seemed to have a mind of their own and put him in the right place at the right time. Without those special boots he was nothing and there was usually some drama surrounding the boots going missing or being damaged.
    The Whitecaps need Darren to get some magic boots.
    Chances are Darren is unlikely to manage to find a pair of Dead Shot's boots in his grandfather's attic or in an east London antique market stall before the season is out. So could the answer be closer to home and a bit more unique to the area?
    Not sure he's going to find them in Soccer Xpress either, so I foresee a magical journey to the island for young Darren, to one of the reservations, where he will meet the great granddaughter of an Indian chief who lit up the island leagues at the turn of the century with his footballing talents.

    She will present to him a special pair of shoes that the chief played in, whilst scoring some great goals. Ridiculed at the time for his unusual footwear, he gave up the game but all his goalscoring talent has been magically channelled into them and Darren will reap the benefit by wearing them in MLS action.
    With the striker revitalised, the Whitecaps will win the MLS Cup and everyone will be talking about <i>'Mattocks' Moccasins'</i>.
    Let's just hope the keep the roof closed at BC Place in the rain.
    <u><b>Cannonball Craig:</b></u>

    From <i>'Score n Roar'</i>, and not be confused with Cannonball from the X-Men, <i>'Cannonball Craig'</i> was the story of Craig Cartwright, a frail and skinny footballing flop who was dropped from his school team because he couldn't score or play to the acceptable level.
    But help was at hand. Craig developed a cannonball shot after eating bubble and squeak made from enormous vegetables grown in his granddad's garden. There were some ups and down along the way, but Craig's net busting shots saw him rise to the top of his game, sending his teams to victory and leaving many bulging nets in his wake.

    The Whitecaps need to get trawling the Caribbean cafes and restaurants of the lower mainland to find the one that sells some magical Jamaican patties, packed with home produced giant vegetables grown with special power inducing fertiliser.
    Feed as many of those patties with the magical ingredients that they can to Mattocks and turn him into 'Demolition Darren' - the Whitecaps wonderkid with the shot that will make defences crumble and goalkeepers week at the knees.
    Craig couldn't control his new shooting power at first and his shots were very wayward, so maybe Darren has already been eating some this season!
    <u><b>The Lost 47 Minutes:</b></u>

    An obscure one to end with from the pages of <i>'Wizard'. 'The Lost 47 Minutes'</i> told the tale of Fourth Division footballer Len Bowman.
    With Bandfield United in a slump, the club chairman needed to turn the team's fortunes around. Up stepped the mysterious Doctor Breck who told him he could transform one of his more mediocre performing players into a star asset in only one week.
    He did, through electro-hypnosis, and goes about building a composite player from hypnotising other players team and taking their best individual skills. The whole transfer process taking just 47 minutes and no-one remembers what happens.
    Breck took ownership of the club and kept adding more and more skills to Bowman, turning him into the best player in the world.
    I'd settle for turning Darren into the best player in MLS, but I think that these hypnotising skills may just be beyond the current skillset of the Caps medical team. So let the hunt begin.
    Imagine it, transferring the best skills from the rest of the Caps and turning Mattocks into Super Striker. He already has the pace and jumping prowess, now we could add Kenny Miller's experience for decision making, YP Lee's composure, Camilo's free kick abilities, Jay DeMerit's accurate headers, Nigel Reo-Coker's bulldozing qualities, Russell Teibert's pinpoint crosses and Daigo Kobayashi's.....well, he could maybe get him to wear better headbands.
    But let's not weaken our entire Whitecaps team. We should be looking at stealing these properties from elsewhere in the League. Fly all over, hit the players over the head, lock them in a room and hey presto, powers taken and opposition weakened.
    Maybe get Roy Keane or Chris Wondolowski's clinical finishing, Mike Magee's tenacity and Aurelien Collin's toughness.
    In the original story, Len discovers the secret behind his new soccer skills and is tormented by spirits from the other players. Let's just keep this one between ourselves and not let Darren in on it then. No-one wants to have a ghostly visit from Wondo's orange face in the middle of the night.
    <center>******</center>
    It could be that the Whitecaps are ahead of the game and have already checked out these ideas to help reignite Darren. Was that why he was out of action these past few weeks? The whole knee injury thing was a smokescreen and they've been working on giving Darren his special powers.
    Maybe they found a magical headband that makes him play like a world beater. I mean, why else choose to wear that horrible thin pink one? Or was it the actual operation itself and he's had alien technology implanted into his knee, turning him into a modern day equivalent of Six Million Dollar Man Steve Austin?
    Let's watch him closely over the next few games for clues. And if he scores tomorrow against the Galaxy, watch that headband glow.
    <p>
    Guest
    Every year I ask. One year I might get a response.
    It may not seem like it, but we are less than two weeks away from the start of another university soccer season. In the past, CSN has provided basic coverage of the college game -- rankings, end of season reviews, etc. Resources are thin and there simply isn't enough time in the day for those of us covering the three big pro teams to also cover the collegiate action.
    Which is why each year I put an open call out to aspiring writers to write a weekly column on the CIS and NCAA season.
    Once again, I am making that call.
    What I want:
    1) - a weekly wrap-up of CIS action and Canadians in the NCAA.
    2) - a preview of the upcoming week in CIS play and NCAA games involving Canadians
    3) - Clean copy and consistent delivery
    You would submit to me for editing and posting.
    If you are interested' please e-mail me at duanegrollins@gmail.com. If you have clips include them. If you don't, please write me two paragraphs detailing why you want to write about university sport.
    Guest

    Here's your chance to ask us anything!

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Barack Obama. Bill Gates. Molly Ringwald. And now, into the pantheon of great all-time AMA subjects, you can add Ben, Duane and Squizz from Canadian Soccer News.
    That's overdoing it a bit (just a bit), but the three of us did hold a Reddit Ask Me Anything session earlier today.
    For anyone interested, the archived AMA is here.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK].
    Guest
    With centrebacks Andy O'Brien and Jay DeMerit getting ever close to coming back into the fold from injury, it may not leave a lot of minutes in the starting eleven or even a spot in the gameday 18 for Carlyle Mitchell.
    At the beginning of the season the Vancouver Whitecaps' management had a plan. It was a simple plan. Play DeMerit and O'Brien in the centreback roles, give Johnny Leveron and Brad Rusin the substitute and occasional rest cover minutes and loan Mitchell to FC Edmonton to gain important competitive minutes and work on his game.
    That plan lasted eight minutes into the first game of the season when DeMerit went down with his Achilles injury, forcing Rusin into immediate first team action. Despite leaving the Caps one man down in the position, other cover was still available and Mitchell's loan deal went through on March 11th.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    A few weeks later in Edmonton the Caps centreback injury curse struck again and Mitchell injured his ankle in the May 26th game against Fort Lauderdale Strikers, quickly followed by Rusin and O'Brien going down to injuries with the MLS team.
    Despite his own injury, the Whitecaps where so devastated at the position that they recalled Mitchell back from loan, and threw him into first team action as soon as he was ready to go against New England on June 15th.
    Mitchell has been a great fill in at the centre of the backline this season, clocking up 548 minutes in seven appearance and contributing an assist against the Revolution in his first match back.
    He has had a bad game here and there but playing with a United Nations of defenders (YP Lee, Jordan Harvey and Johnny Leveron) this was expected. Lack of a common language and experience of playing together has made it tough on all of the Whitecaps defenders from time to time.
    In July he got called up to play for Trinidad and Tobago to play in the Gold Cup. Before the call up he was at 11 caps for his national team. These call ups are great for his game and all experience at any pro or country level will help him develop his game to a more well rounded level.
    The past few weeks he has stepped up and developed a great bond with fellow centreback Leveron. His communication has improved greatly and he has become a beast on headers clearing the zone from many opposition aerial attacks.
    This is all great moving forward but when O'Brien gets back it is likely to mean the end of MLS minutes for Mitchell. The same can't be said for DeMerit when he comes back. The steady performances of Leveron will make it hard to give DeMerit an immediate start without some possible positional role changes and the Caps captain will more than likely be a first defender sub off the bench initially as Vancouver try to gently ease him into getting match fit.
    With the upcoming retirement of YP Lee and the age of O'Brien and DeMerit, the future is bright for Mitchell. If he can continue to develop his game over the next 12 to 18 months he may become a game to game staple for the Whitecaps in MLS games moving forward.
    The big question now is whether he should head back to Edmonton to finish off the season on loan once all the other centrebacks are healthy.
    There is no doubt that getting actual game minutes will help keep him sharper and develop his game way more than just training sessions with the first team. That said, there is also a lot to say about keeping him in the MLS environment so that if any of the injuries reoccur in the most crucial part of the season he is familiar with what has been worked on in training.
    Mitchell just turned 26 on August 8th and the experience he can get in the next 18 months could make or break his career playing professional soccer. For that reason alone, he needs to go and play regularly somewhere.
    After all, he'll just be a phone call and a short flight away. As good as his cover has been, hopefully it will be a phone call that doesn't need to be made, although with the Caps centreback curse this year, he might want to keep his phone on him at all times.
    <p>
    Guest

    London Calling?

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Over the course of the last 36-hours, fans of the Canadian women's team have been put through the ringer.
    They woke up yesterday with the news that Hope Powell had been fired by England. Now, normally the business of the English women's team is no more than a passing curiosity, but this time it was different. See, it appears that the man most of England (at least based on media reports) wants to replace her is Canada's own John Herdman.
    Not to worry, the thinking went yesterday morning, he's under contract here and besides, he's happy in his job.
    Then Herdman responded. His response wasn't as definitive as a Canadian fan might have liked. Namely, he didn't say no.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    "If they call, I'll listen" was the response. He went on to talk about all the reasons he was excited about the opportunity in Canada, but most Canadian fans tuned out.
    It was like a bad date that started with: "listen, it's not you it's me." Anything said after had no chance of being heard.
    However, CSN has now been told by a CSA source that Herdman has spoken privately to both CSA members and to players on the Canadian team since the England rumours.
    His message?
    He has told them that he has no plans to leave before the World Cup.
    So, fans can maybe relax a bit.
    Of course, plans can change once there is a formal offer from another country on the table. And, he said similar things just before leaving New Zealand.
    Fans aren't going to relax until Herdman outright says he won't be taking any other job until his contract is up. The CSA would be wise to arrange such a thing. They need to force him to decide.
    Because if he is going to make the jump (and the CSA does not want to hold him hostage to his contract if he really doesn't want to be here), the CSA needs it to happen sooner rather than later.
    Guest

    Laba out

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Toronto FC's having a rough year.
    And, it just got worse.
    One of their lone bright spots this season - a player who they've heralded as the future of the franchise - Matias Laba announced on Twitter today that he had broken his toe and would be out for a month.
    Toronto FC has confirmed the news and added he will be out four to six weeks.
    In a season that has long been lost, it shouldn't really matter, but you can't help but feel like the soccer gods are piling on at this point.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    The Montreal Impact's run in the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League has technically already begun. But in a way, it begins in earnest tonight.
    Their group-stage play began two weeks ago, with a 1-0 home victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. And really, their journey began on April 24, when they began play in the Voyageurs Cup against Toronto FC. But when they take the field at the Estadio Cementos Progreso in Guatemala City, in the heart of Central America, with a hostile crowd and a television feed that appears to be beaming at us from 1981, that is when we'll really know we're in CONCACAF.
    On a day like today, it's tough for Canadian soccer fans not to flash back to the Impact's previous foray into the CCL, their unexpected and magical run in the 2008-09 tournament, and reflect on just how much has changed since then.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The most obvious difference, of course, is that while the Impact were a plucky, second-division underdog in 2008 when they ventured down to Mexico, Honduras and Trinidad & Tobago, they're now an entrenched first-division team sporting such well-heeled talent as Alessandro Nesta and Marco Di Vaio.
    Now, Nesta and Di Vaio didn't actually make the trip down to Guatemala for tonight's showdown; while the cynic would dismiss this as a sign that the club doesn't value CCL play, the reality is that imposing the rigours of midweek travel to Central America on a pair of 37-year-olds isn't especially conducive to the team's short- or medium-term goals (i.e. winning).
    Plus (while attempting to avoid the sort of dangerous condescension that North American fans are too often guilty of when it comes to Central American and Caribbean teams in this competition)... it's CD Heredia. So, yeah. Alessandro, Marco, enjoy the time off.
    Then again, that sort of dismissiveness is probably the attitude that Atlante, Olimpia and yes, even Joe Public had when drawn into a group with Montreal in 2008. And it's surely the same sort of attitude that Santos Laguna had when they saw the quarterfinals draw -- though that bubble was burst when Montreal emerged with a solid 2-0 victory in front of 55,000+ fans at Olympic Stadium in the first leg, a defining moment in the franchise's evolution.
    Of course, we all know what happened next.
    I can't imagine what that felt like for hardcore Impact fans. Even as a Toronto FC supporter (with all of the crushing disappointment that that's entailed over the years), the Impact's collapse in Torreon legitimately still stands out as one of the most soul-sapping games I've ever witnessed.
    Because yes, as much as I'd desperately love for it to be TFC competing tonight (as consolation for another lost MLS campaign), the winner of the Voyageurs Cup is Canada's team in the CCL. And yes, it hurts (oh, does it ever) that Montreal obliterated TFC in this year's Cup (dampening, if not outright eliminating, the lingering psychic effects of the 2009 Miracle in Montreal).
    But I'm personally willing to swallow what little pride I may still possess, and admit that any success a Canadian team has in the Champions League has benefits, albeit likely minor ones, for Canadian soccer as a whole.
    So while I don't expect everyone to hold similar views, the truth is that my unapologetic support in this tournament falls behind Montreal, same as it would be for whichever team won the V-Cup (with a significantly enhanced level of emotional investment if it were the Reds, of course).
    And tonight will be fun. Seeing a team you're familiar with competing in the sometimes bizarre, other-worldly confines of a stadium outside Canada or the USA is always a treat: The crowd, the conditions, the refereeing and the opposition always provide the sorts of surprises and twists that make the CCL what it is.
    That being said, it won't be the same thrill ride that the scrappy, counter-attacking Impact of 2008-09 treated us to. No doubt Marco Schallibaum's team has shown they can play the game beautifully; but we've become accustomed enough to the team's flair to know that rope-a-dope tactics won't exactly be in the cards for this year's iteration of the team.
    In fact, it'd be safe to call Montreal the favourite in a three-team group that, as mentioned, includes Guatemala's CD Heredia and the 'Quakes, who sit five points back of the Impact in the overall MLS standings.
    So, a repeat of 2008-09, this ain't. The faces have changed, their role has changed -- heck, even the format of the tournament itself has changed.
    But at the heart of things, they're still a squad in blue and black, playing out of Stade Saputo and looking for as much respect as they are able to earn. And in this tournament, under these conditions, they're doing so not just for themselves, for their own club or their own supporters but -- whether they intend to or not -- for all of us who want to see the game of soccer advance in this country.
    Just like old times.
    .
    Guest
    In October, I will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the 24th Minute. It's been a strange journey full of ups (Being the first to report that Vancouver and Portland had won expansion spots is likely my personal high point) and lows (I was burned by sources on CONCACAF getting an extra World Cup slot and by circumstance in the Nesta to TFC saga).
    Over the five years I've always tried to balance serious reporting with point-of-view blogging. I've never hidden my bias (I want the home team to win), nor been shy about stating an opinion (We should fire Mo again right now just to be sure).
    I'm proud to have been a consistent voice on TFC and Canada and, since this isn't a retirement article, I aim to be here writing about both when our loyalties are finally rewarded.
    But it's been really hard this year. After five years of writing about losing it wears you down. You start to wallow in the misery. The trolls start to get to you - so much so that legitimate criticism is hard to take. There are only so many personal attacks any person can ignore without it getting to them on some level, after all.
    So I took a break last week. I pretty much just checked out. I did so because I didn't like how negative I was becoming and I recognized that I needed some time away to recharge.
    Today, as I tune back in, I wanted to start by laying out where I am with Canada and TFC right now. Hopefully by acknowledging my biases (and we all have them) this community can get back to having more positive, productive interactions. At it's best, that's what the 24th Minute has done well -- created dialogue.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    So, where am I with Canada?
    Discouraged about the immediate future and cautiously optimistic about the long-term prospects.
    Some will label me naive for having hope, but I've always believed that the raw materials are here to get this country to a World Cup. We only need a couple players to emerge from the development pathways to catch up to the countries in CONCACAF we need to pass to get back. Finally I see a hint of the possibility that we might be willing to make the changes needed to make that happen.
    It's cliche, but it's also true that the next Messi could be watching Bubble Guppies in his suburban Toronto home right now. We just don't know how good today's 5-year-olds will be in 15 years. It's safe to say that some will be good enough to be pro players because we've produced pro players by accident in the past.
    Imagine how many more (and how better the ones we produced would have been) if we knew what we were doing!
    In the meantime, I have the kids to keep me sane. I don't hold out much hope for Russia, but the 2016 Olympics seem possible to me. Certainly I would hope that the current u17s will be part of a 2015 return to the FIFA u20s.
    ,
    The women, of course, are a different thing altogether. Getting to cover a World Cup on Canada in two years is incredibly motivating to me on a personal level. I'm equally excited about coveting next summer's u20s.
    Hopefully we use 2014/15 as a springboard to bigger and better things with both genders. I will do all that I can to make sure that happens.
    So, that's Canada. What about TFC?
    Oh, boy. Where to begin?
    TFC makes me angry right now. Really, really angry. Somehow they've taken this beautiful, unique and pure thing and turned it to shit. For all of MLSE's mistakes over the years there is not a single thing they have f'ed up more than TFC.
    Seriously, try and run a team worse. It's fully, completely absurd how bad TFC is.
    That said, it's not the losing that makes me angry. Losing is part of sport. What makes me angry is that they NEVER change. TFC management makes the same mistakes over and over and over again.
    Which brings me to Kevin Payne. There are people that believe that I have an agenda against Payne. Often those people suggest that it's because of a relationship I had with Paul Mariner that I'm "out to get Payne."
    It's absurd. I spoke to Mariner a total of two times in my life, both when I wrote for MLSsoccer.com. He was hardly my source and I really have no personal attachment towards him. If you want to believe otherwise then there is literally nothing I can say to you to convince you otherwise.
    Lots of people still think Elvis is alive, after all.
    For those less inclined to seeing grassy knolls everywhere: my opinion on Payne was established independently of Mariner and is framed by my mistrust in the judgement of MLSE.
    I won't belabour it here, but I see Payne making the same types of decisions that past TFC managers, especially Mo Johnston, made.
    And I want to shake him. Also shakeable are those that want to absolve him from all forms of criticism. If I'm too quick to be critical (and that's likely, seeing that I suffer from MLSE induced PTSD after five years of this), then the other half of the debate is far too quick to blame others for TFC's current struggles.
    Regardless, this is where I'm coming from. I acknowledge that I need to step back on the criticism of Payne (sometimes a point can be made too much), but I also need to evaluate performance as I see it. It's a tricky balance, but, with my recharged battery I will endeavour to push forward in search of the elusive middle ground.
    Maybe those who comment on articles can try and join me on this journey?
    All for One...
    Guest
    The Whitecaps' loss in Colorado on Saturday night was disappointing in many aspects, but the most crucial one was the fact that the defeat saw them drop from 2nd to 5th in the ever tightening Western Conference playoff picture.
    The table makes for scary reading, with eight points separating the top eight teams in the West. In the East, that gap is ten points. You can easily count 15 teams in the playoffs mix. MLS want parity and they're getting it in abundance this season.
    With ten games left, Vancouver's playoff fate is still in their own hands. Win and they're in.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The remaining games are evenly split between five home and five away, with all but one being against Western Conference rivals. With two matches against Colorado rounding off the regular season, the Caps will play games against all eight teams in the West, including five against teams currently ahead of them in the table.
    The Caps are currently sitting in the fifth and final playoff place, just two points ahead of Seattle, who have two games in hand on their Cascadian rivals. San Jose and Dallas both sit a further point back.
    Realistically, I don't expect to see the playoffs not featuring RSL, LA and Seattle, so that leaves five teams fighting for two spots. I would also be amazed if Portland don't take one of those two places up for grabs. Dallas are showing a few signs of life but I think they've blown it big time with their horrible slump. They haven't won since May 25th. That's 11 games, but they have recorded six draws in that spell so are at least picking a few points up here and there. It's unlikely to be enough.
    For me, that leaves Vancouver fighting for that final playoff spot with the surprise package of Colorado and the recently resurgent San Jose, who have at least both played more games than the Whitecaps right now. There's still nine points up for grabs up against these teams and if the Caps can grab most or all of them then that could be the thing that pushes them over the finish line.
    Vancouver are currently on 36 points. Last season, 43 was enough to get them into the playoffs. No way is that going to be the case this year, with most teams improved.
    Looking at both Conferences over the last two years, Vancouver's total from last year aside, you were needing between 46 and 53 points to finish in 5th place, which would see them make the post season this year.
    The Caps need to come up with a rapid response to the defeat to the Rapids. When the reigning MLS Cup winning Los Angeles Galaxy side are the next visitors to BC Place, it doesn't get too much harder in this League.
    The Galaxy put in an explosive second half performance to hit four goals in a home dismantling of a Supporters' Shield leading Real Salt Lake side on Saturday after going a goal down.
    They had the RSL defence all at sea at times and could have easily had a couple more. They did also show some defensive frailties themselves that Vancouver will hope to exploit.
    And the Caps have nothing to fear. They've already comprehensively beaten the Galaxy this season.
    What this LA game will show us is just how far forward or back this Caps side has come in the past three months.
    With Vancouver's playoff hopes already faltering, their 3-1 home victory over LA on May 11th was a season changer. It kickstarted the team and awoke an attacking threat that many of us had hoped existed but had never seen any proof. It was like the Loch Ness Monster of Major League Soccer.
    Going in to that game the Caps were winless in seven and there were some serious questions being raised about Martin Rennie's future. That win started the Caps on a streak of just one defeat in the next ten games.
    Now we're back at a crunch time. The Caps have just one win and three defeats in their last five games. They now need another big season defining moment on Saturday. Can they rise to the occasion again?
    The May game breathed life into Russell Teibert, as he reintroduced himself to the MLS big time with his first two senior goals. Even Darren Mattocks managed to grab one at the end.
    What Vancouver need now is for this LA game to breathe some life into a couple of their current struggling players or to be the platform for some of the fringe guys to step up and out of the shadows.
    We've been highly critical of the depth of this squad all season long. There simply isn't enough quality to step up when needed in many areas of the pitch and there was no strengthening or addition to any of the outfield positions in the recent transfer window.
    This season run-in will be very testing for this squad as it stands. There is no doubt that the Caps full strength starting eleven can compete and beat anyone in MLS and play some lovely football in the process. Scratch just a little bit below that surface, especially in the midfield, and you have some worrying cracks appearing.
    It was an unchanged starting line up in Colorado but a very different performance from the week before. The Caps have still to get a win on the road against Western Conference opposition this season and they just have four attempts left to get one.
    Going to play in heat and altitude is always going to be tricky, but the Caps have shown that they can win there before. This time, too many of them looked gassed.
    Starting Kenny Miller after his week of racking up the air miles was a surprise, and a mistake. He still looked better than Camilo out there mind you.
    After both of their efforts and goalscoring exploits this season we can allow them the odd bad game here and there. Just a pity it was in one that could have important playoff implications down the road.
    Russell Teibert hasn't looked the same player since coming back from the Gold Cup, but a lot of that may be down to other teams watching game tape and working him out. He's still dangerous in bursts and looked to be coming back to some of his best against San Jose, but the wonderful interplay between the front three isn't back to what we saw to devastating effect in June.
    A change may be needed to freshen things up and that change could be forced if Teibert is called up to the Canadian national team camp at the start of September. It's then up to someone to step up and try and make that place in the starting line up their own.
    At the back both full back positions are a worry. Lee is looking his age and a shadow of the player we all raved about last season. Harvey is patchy and the weak link to attack on the backline. But what do you do?
    The main cover for both positions is Greg Klazura. That hasn't worked out too well so far. Do you move Leveron over to the left when all the centrebacks are healthy, now that Koffie is looking good in the DM role? On the other side, Reo-Coker can obviously slide in for the odd game but then you leave a bigger hole in the midfield than already exists.
    We still dearly want to see a midfielder come in before the roster freeze, although not Terry Dunfield who is currently training with the Caps to get back to match fitness!
    Matt Watson is a good cover guy but not what we need as a starter and we've made our feelings known on Daigo Kobayashi many times this season. Our midfield strength just feels like we're missing a man in there most games and that could ultimately cost us big time in the run in.
    The trouble is you look around to see who can fill that void and there's no-one.
    Looking at the remaining fixtures, I can see us taking 11 or 12 points from them, which probably won't be enough. That doesn't include us taking anything on Saturday against LA.
    Martin Rennie talked a lot last season about phases. With ten games left, the final phase of the 2013 regular season starts on Saturday, the result of which could well prove to be the season defining moment.
    Let's see just what this team is made of.
    'Mon the Caps.
    <p>
    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.
    Patrice Bernier, Russell Teibert, and Dwayne De Rosario take the top three spots this week, with special mention to one absent from the action, Will Johnson.
    Find out what they did to deserve recognition and who else earned their keep this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Patrice Bernier
    Bernier made his sixth-straight start for Montreal in their 2-1 win over DC United on Saturday – it was his twentieth start and 23rd appearance of the season.
    Paired with recently-signed designated player, Hernan Bernardello, at the base of the midfield, Bernier was primarily on the right through the first half, before swapping towards the left in the second.
    With another body alongside him, Bernier was free to move forward with regularity, often popping up near the top of the opposition box and spraying passes with abandon: laying down either side of the box, once for Hassoun Camara and later for Andres Romero – Camara would hit a goalmouth cross just in front of Marco Di Vaio, while Romero’s attempt would sail off target.
    Foreshadowing future events, he played an early ball down the middle for Di Vaio, but the Italian had, shockingly, drifted offside.
    Though not visible in the clip, it was his ball that began the counterattack that led to Di Vaio’s first goal, after Justin Mapp’s right-sided ball was dummied by Felipe to the Italian. (Link to clip to follow, under Dejan Jakovic’s heading)
    The Brossard, Quebec-native would pick up an assist later in the match, on Di Vaio’s game-winner in the 83rd minute; collecting in the centre-circle and floating a lovely ball towards the right - Di Vaio would cross up Jakovic and finish into the top corner.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3FvQTri0hG4?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Completing an impressive 46 of 53 passes, Bernier made ten recoveries, one clearance, and one interception, losing possession eight times and committing three fouls, earning a yellow card after blocking off Daniel Woolard – it was his fourth booking of the season.
    Bernier was partially at fault for DC’s goal, misreading a bouncing ball and getting out-positioned in the midfield by Perry Kitchen.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1DLHlbGtVjE?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    And his back-pass led to a chance for Dwayne De Rosario, after Camara absentmindedly let Kyle Porter slip in front of him (Link to follow, under De Rosario’s heading).
    Diplomatic as ever, he could be seen trying to pull back Montreal Coach, Marco Schallibaum from the fracas that saw the Swiss manager, and DC’s Ben Olsen, sent off.
    Russell Teibert
    Teibert made a fifth-straight start for Vancouver in their 2-0 loss at Colorado – it was his fifteenth start of the season and sixteenth appearance.
    Once more on the right-side of midfield, he looked very lively early, striking a crack from outside the box that was deflected, looping high before landing on top of the net.
    He played a raking ball up to Camilo, who flicked it on to Kenny Miller, but Miller’s cross into the middle sailed in the thin air. Popping up on the left, Teibert was regularly involved in the buildup, crafting an excellent chance for himself after a one-two with Camilo put him in alone on Clint Irwin, but the Colorado keeper rushed out to block.
    Teibert would thread a through-ball for Miller, but placed it too close to the keeper, and then laid the Scotsman down the left, but Irwin was again on hand to deny – this time with a trailing leg.
    The Niagara Falls, Ontario-native completed 37 of 49 passes and took two shots – both of which were blocked, while making seven recoveries. He did lose possession fourteen times, though usually through trying to push the match forward.
    Like the rest of the Whitecaps, who struggled with the altitude and heat later in the match, he did fade, looking a little ragged towards the end of the match, but still managed to put in a good defensive shift, tracking back to assist YP Lee in handling Deshorn Brown, who proved a force, faster and stronger than either Teibert or Lee.

    Dwayne De Rosario
    De Rosario returned to the DC starting lineup in their loss to Montreal – it was his twelfth start and seventeenth appearance this season.
    Atop the formation as a lone forward, De Rosario was very active, ranging all over the pitch – drifting wide or dropping deep to link up with Luis Silva playing slightly behind.
    Fit and feeling good, the Scarborough, Ontario-native exhibited some of the finer aspects of his game, bringing down a John Thorrington ball with a deafening touch and attempting an overhead kick, though Camara was quick to interject and breakup that flow.
    He completed a rather tidy 31 of 37 passes and took five shots on goal – three off target, one blocked, and one off – while making two recoveries. De Rosario won and conceded two fouls – picking up a yellow card for blocking off Bernardello (his second booking of the season) – and lost possession nine times.
    His first attempt was a weak shot from distance that he failed to really get a hold of – it dragged harmlessly wide; then he was played down the left-side of the box, but could not keep his attempt on target.
    A free-kick was closed down by the charger, before he touched over a bouncing ball from the aforementioned miss-played Bernier back-pass that allowed Kyle Porter to intercept, and finally De Rosario slipped as he took a final free-kick attempt – the shot was still on target, but Troy Perkins held it tight.
    Ashtone Morgan
    Morgan made his sixth-straight start for Toronto FC in their 2-0 loss in Columbus on Saturday – it was his eleventh start and thirteenth appearance of the season.
    From his usual left-back position, Morgan, like the rest of Toronto had a tough night at the office.
    Stranded on an island, facing down speedster Dominic Oduro, more-often-than-not single-handedly, Morgan did well to contain the threat, though treading a fine line throughout.
    Several times, in plays very similar to the one that led to Oduro’s goal when last they met, the Ghanaian managed to isolate the young Canadian, once skinning him to the outside, though later Morgan did just enough to put off the attacker after Oduro had gotten goal-side.
    The Toronto, Ontario-native completed 38 of 52 passes, winning two of three tackles (and interestingly, four headers), while making eight recoveries, four clearances, a block and an interception; winning two fouls and conceding one. He even had two successful dribbles, but turned over the ball some sixteen times.
    Morgan was hauled down by Wil Trapp, leading to a booking for the Crew midfielder.
    His post-match interview is available here.

    Jonathan Osorio
    Osorio too made his sixth-straight start for TFC – it was his eleventh start and 21st appearance of the season.
    Paired with Matias Laba in the centre of the park, Osorio had a rather quiet match, though still completed 33 of 38 passes, had one shot – blocked, won two of three tackles, and a pair each of clearances and recoveries. He won a pair of fouls, while conceding one, and lost possession eleven times.
    TFC were far too sluggish and stretched to accomplish much against an energized Columbus outfit; the Toronto, Ontario-native did float a left-sided free-kick to the back-post, but Matt Lampson collected it easily enough.
    Osorio made one big tackle, on the corner of the TFC box, and was later flattened by Danny O’Rourke, who saw yellow for the challenge.

    Kyle Porter
    Porter made his fourth-straight start for DC in their loss at Montreal – it was his sixteenth start and 21st appearance of the season.
    Once more on the left-side of the midfield, Porter was active, but slightly more reserved than usual, perhaps starting to feel the effects of a long, hard season.
    He was bright early on, roaming across the pitch to seek out play, and had a good run forward ended by a deft Alessandro Nesta poke. He was alert to get inside Camara to touch a Bernier back-pass to De Rosario for a chance, but his most dangerous attempt came when Kitchen played a long ball down the right, which Porter raced onto, splitting the two Montreal centre-backs to collect before hitting a low shot across the keeper – Perkins did well to touch it wide.
    Completing a sharp 23 of 28 passes, Porter had two shots – both on goal – adding four recoveries and winning a pair of fouls, while losing possession seven times.
    The Toronto, Ontario-native was replaced by Conor Doyle in the 72nd minute.
    Doneil Henry
    Henry made his fifth-straight start for Toronto in their loss – it was his eleventh start and twelfth appearance of the season.
    As the left-sided centre-back, paired with Steven Caldwell, he had one major mistake, failing to clear a Chad Barson cross from the left that eventually led to Federico Higuain’s first goal.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xusNheyGQ08?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    It was not entirely Henry’s fault; the two centre-backs had crossed over – don’t cross the streams - and each expected the other to deal with it; ideally Henry would take no chances and just attack the ball, regardless of any doubt.
    That miscommunication aside, he was sturdy at the back, regularly quelling the threat of Jairo Arrieta – once shepherding the ball out for a goal-kick and bodying the Costa Rican to the ground with ease, then showing a burst of pace to recover and trouble the attacker on a quick break.
    The Brampton, Ontario-native displayed a touch of flair – followed by some brute force – when he tiptoed around a fallen corner kick in the Columbus box, before following through on his shot and catching Justin Meram square in the chest with a thunderous boot – for which he was lucky to escape without a booking.
    Henry completed 34 of 44 passes, won five headers and two tackles, making fourteen recoveries, eight clearances, three interceptions, and two blocks; conceding the ball eleven times and taking one shot – it was blocked.
    Dejan Jakovic
    Jakovic returned to the DC lineup – after being rested following the US Open Cup last week – to make his thirteenth start and fourteenth appearance of the season.
    As the right-sided centre-back, paired with Daniel Woolard, Jakovic struggled with the dynamic movements of Di Vaio and Felipe, who pulled him all over the place as he attempted to anchor down a struggling back-line.
    The troubles began early; he was dragged out to the left to cover for Woolard by the run of Felipe, opening up space for Andres Romero’s chance in the middle, and then hit a poor ball straight to Bernardello that led to a Felipe chance – it needed to be cleared off the line by Woolard.
    He then made the mistake of allowing Di Vaio a fraction too much space, leading to the Italian’s first goal.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-lr4K15o7KY?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Before the match would end, he was cut around far too easily by the striker, who scored his second – the game-winner - after that lovely pass from Bernier described earlier; Chris Korb was very slow to track back and provide cover for Jakovic, but one would hope the Canadian would be more aware of what Di Vaio would want to do – cut in and shoot - and simply contain and shuttle him out wide.
    Costly mistakes aside, the Croatian-born defender completed a solid 40 of 49 passes, won five headers and two tackles, adding nine recoveries, six clearances, two interceptions, and a block, without committing a single foul – he won two, but lost possession nine times.
    After a long time spent on the sidelines, the prospect of handling both Di Vaio and Felipe was always likely to be troublesome.
    The Rest
    Maxim Tissot was on the bench for Montreal, while it was announced last week that Stefan Cebara joined DC United for a trial – they truly are the most Canadian of American MLS clubs, sorry San Jose.
    Will Johnson missed just his third Portland match of the season - and the first for which he was technically available, the other two falling while he was away on International duty with Canada.
    He suffered a shoulder injury in the US Open Cup last Wednesday and did not return to training this week. Portland won - 2-1 over Dallas - without their captain; they had lost the previous two he missed: against Columbus and Los Angeles.
    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
    Home friendlies for our national teams are like the rarest of precious metals: We're always on the hunt, and those sporadic finds are nothing short of glorious.
    The latest dig takes us to the 15th paragraph of a story by The Equalizer's Caitlin Murray (hat tip to Emily Dulhanty for her archaeological prowess), in which Mexican women's national team head coach Leonardo Cuellar says that his squad will be traveling to Canada for a pair of friendlies in October and November.
    The Canadian Soccer Association declined to address these rumoured friendlies officially (a CSA rep told me that "we are still working on adding more friendlies for the canWNT in the coming months but cannot confirm these specific/referenced ones"), though Murray took to Twitter to reiterate that Cuellar had explicitly and unequivocally told her the games would be happening.
    Generally speaking in cases like this, where there's smoke, there's fire. So let's wildly speculate about when and where these matches might take place!
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    What we do know is Canada has a friendly against South Korea on Wednesday, Oct. 30. So it would stand to reason that another home friendly in October would be a) close to Oct. 30 and close to Edmonton.
    There's the chance the October game would also be in Edmonton, but the CSA brass have spoken on numerous occasions about their desire to see Canada play at least once in all six of the 2015 Women's World Cup host cities between now and the tournament itself. With Edmonton covered, that leaves Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton.
    To minimize travel, presumably that other October game would be in Vancouver or Winnipeg. And to boost ticket sales, presumably it would be on a Saturday -- so, let's say Oct. 26. The CFL's Lions play at BC Place the night before, while the Blue Bombers are out of town. With that in mind -- and given that an outdoor soccer friendly in Winnipeg in November may not be the best idea -- my complete shot-in-the-dark guess would be that the first friendly against Mexico will be in Winnipeg on Saturday, Oct. 26.
    As for the second one... the CSA indicated that "some form of residency camp has always been in Coach Herdman's plans for the later months in the year." Given recent history -- and the realities of the climate in different parts of this country -- you'd have to imagine a late-year residency camp would be in Vancouver. So let's go out on a limb and guess that the November friendly would coincidence with a residency camp and be played out of BC Place.
    If this all comes to fruition, don't be surprised if the team clumps together its rare, precious 2014 home friendlies in a similar way, getting games in Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton under their belt in one fell swoop (the possible hang-up here being the timeline for stadium construction in Ottawa, which could push that friendly back to early 2015).
    Of course, all of this is speculation for now. We can assume that it's pretty much a done deal, but we never know what sorts of logistical or other issues could scuttle these plans. So no one should be booking their flights or making their set-in-stone plans just yet.
    But, y'know, if you're a fan that's able to get out to Vancouver, Edmonton and/or Winnipeg this autumn, it might be a good idea to stay flexible for the next little while.
    .
    Guest

    MLS Week in Review – Round 25

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Round 25 of MLS has come and gone; with the post-season and Supporter’s Shield races heating up, it was a tight affair.
    Points are at a premium, and teams, desperate to make up ground or hold off opponents, fought valiantly.
    There was some significant movement on the tables, wins inching sides up – no team by more than one position - and losses sending them tumbling – Vancouver fell three spots.
    Nine matches were played (eight on Saturday and a sole Sunday night fixture), resulting in just a single draw (New York and Philadelphia were scoreless), while there was not an away victory to be had.
    A mere 23 goals were scored without a single penalty or own-goal in sight.
    And, it seems the officials have gotten the memo; 22 yellows cards were show – less than two and a half per match – and just two red cards (both for a bizarre post-match scuffle). Clearly the referees would prefer to let the teams decide the action on the pitch.
    Before digging into the results; the goals of the round.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    A triumvirate of selections to be considered, in truth there could be more – what the weekend lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality.
    In Chronological order, first up is Gonzalo (an honest mistake) Federico Higuain’s sumptuous chip – no, this is not a recording.
    As he did last week, the Argentine maestro made the opposition – this time, Toronto – look foolish, collecting the ball from Jairo Arrieta atop the arc and with time and space to size up the situation, right-footing this beauty over a helpless Joe Bendik in the TFC goal.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Aib06DjSB2U?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    When Higuain is feeling it – and closer to the goal – there is nobody better in MLS.
    The next selection involves the fit again, Juan Agudelo.
    His future may lie elsewhere – having signed a pre-contract agreement to join Stoke City in January – but the Colombian-American refuses to see out his time idly.
    It has been a difficult season for Agudelo, showing some class with Chivas before joining New England – fitness has dogged him throughout, but in his first match in over two months, he provided a glimpse of why he is so highly-considered.
    Chris Tierney, the New England left-back, hit an impossibly long ball from deep in their own half, leading Agudelo behind the Chicago back-line.
    Racing onto the ball, with pressure from both sides – the keeper in front and defenders closing from behind – for some magical and inexplicable reason (he himself labeled it, “South American swag”), he opts for the most ludicrous of inventions.
    Sidling alongside the bouncing ball, he flicks his right-foot behind him – the most graceful of hacky-sack moves – contacting the ball with the outside of his boot, sending it rainbowing over both himself and the keeper. Bakary Soumare did his best to keep it out, but to little avail – or so sayeth the assistant referee.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jhUJHKix070?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    An absurd reverse sombrero of a goal.
    And finally, something a little more orthodox to round out the trio – Houston’s Giles Barnes with what can only be termed as a rocket.
    Adam Moffat forces a turnover in midfield, poking the ball to Brad Davis; Barnes drops off the Seattle backline to collect from Davis, he then turns his attentions towards goal.
    Michael Gspurning, though sensing a problem – he was beat by a Barnes blast mere minutes (four) earlier – could hardly see it coming; if he did, he could offer little resistance.
    Barnes lashes a right-footer from some thirty yards into the top left corner of the goal.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tEaWmJI9xQ4?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    An absolute rocket for the Houston Dynamo.
    Results in Brief
    Montreal 2 – DC 1
    Montreal, in desperate need of turning around their slumping form, picked up their second win in nine matches, over cellar-dwellers, DC United.
    Marco Di Vaio scored, his first goal since the start of July, moments before half-time, curling a right-sided Justin Mapp ball into the top right corner of the goal after a brilliant dummy from Felipe at the near-post.
    Conor Doyle would draw DC level in the 83rd minute with a left-footed curler to the right-side of goal after Luis Silva – back from concussion – played a neat through-ball out to him on the left. But two minutes later, Di Vaio struck again, cutting back onto his right foot around Dejan Jakovic after collecting a lovely Patrice Bernier leading ball from the centre-circle and lashing a shot to the top right corner of goal.
    Both Marco Schallibaum and Ben Olsen were forced to watch the final minutes from the stands, having been ejected for a fracas after a heavy collision between James Riley and Mapp sent the impact midfielder tumbling into the camera bay.
    Schallibaum, the aptly named Swiss Volcano, would be the happier of the two, as his side arrested their slide and put themselves back within a point of the top of the East. Olsen, will be disappointed with conceding the winner so soon after equalizing, but will like the spirit his down-trodden side has shown these recent weeks.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3ITxGHa0_3A?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Columbus 2 – Toronto 0
    The Trillium Cup decider turned into a one-sided affair with Columbus’ Federico Higuain stealing the show via a second-consecutive two-goal performance.
    His first was a touch fortunate, with the TFC centre-backs hesitating to attack a right-sided Chad Barson cross that fell for Bernardo Anor. Joe Bendik would make the initial save, but the rebound fell kindly to Higuain above the left-post for a simple right-footed side-finish into the open net.
    His second, however, was pure class; a delicious chip, perhaps more spectacular than the one a week earlier.
    Robert Warzycha’s Columbus, who still lag behind the final playoff spot, win a second-straight game and continue their dominance over TFC, lifting a fifth Cup in six series. Ryan Nelsen was finally forced into questioning his side’s hunger, though also blaming a lack of experience and taking it as a lesson.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bOfTLZtV9yM?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    New England 2 – Chicago 0
    New England, another side on the outside looking in, made up some valuable ground, leapfrogging their guests, though still a victory away from the fifth and final postseason position in the East.
    Juan Agudelo’s wonder-flick opened the scoring nine minutes into the second half and Kelyn Rowe added some stoppage-time insurance, stroking the rebound from a Saer Sene shot into the open net, to make amends for a woeful miss just moments earlier.
    Jay Heaps will have liked how his Revolution responded to two-straight soul-sapping losses with a strong performance, but knows there is still work to be done. Frank Klopas, who was sent from his technical area after hustling through the boards to complain about time-wasting – a incident that sparked two post-match red cards, to Soumare and Sene – will be disappointed at seeing their two-game winning – and four-unbeaten – streak ended meekly.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r6b31tXUyDw?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    New York 0 – Philadelphia 0
    East Coast rivals battling to ascend to the top of the Conference could not find a breakthrough, the match ending scoreless, though not without chances.
    Even with Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill back in the lineup, New York struggled to breakdown the defensive shape of the Union, who opted to sit back, absorb and look to play on the counter.
    Sebastien Le Toux would hit the bar and Antoine Hoppenot fluffed a couple of chances, while Fabian Espindola’s blast was tipped over by Zac MacMath and Brandon Barklage’s last-minute headed was straight at the keeper.
    Mike Petke would once more be left lamenting the lack of imagination in the final third – his New York side were shutout for the fifth time in their last nine games. Philly’s John Hackworth would herald his side’s defensive solidity, collecting a fourth clean-sheet in their last five matches to pick up their first point at Red Bull Arena in six visits.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cgZvU2n8xSY?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Houston 3 – Seattle 1
    It was a match framed as Clint Dempsey’s return to his native state, but the Dynamo had other ideas, thoroughly outplaying the visiting Sounders.
    Giles Barnes scored the first of his brace in the 17th minute, thundering a crisp shot to the top right-corner of the goal after a strong run down the left-side of the box from Will Bruin drew out the keeper before teeing up his strike partner.
    Barnes would add a second, even more stunning, strike four minutes later, earning goal of the round plaudits with a rocket from thirty paces.
    Shalrie Joseph would draw one back for Seattle in the 65th, out-positioning Bobby Boswell at the back-post for a right-sided Marc Burch free-kick, nodding it down and back towards the near-side. But Bruin capped the night – and the win – nine minutes later, after a Warren Creavalle header off the bar was scrambled to him in the box, to turn and fire.
    Dominic Kinnear was quietly beaming after the match; a savvy veteran of this league, he knows well his team is primed for a surge, but will be wary of saying such in public. Sigi Schmid shrugged away the defeat, road matches are difficult in MLS – especially in the heat and humidity of Houston – and he knows Seattle will make their hay with wins at home, where they have seven of their remaining twelve matches.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UO4L3650Oxo?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Colorado 2 – Vancouver 0
    The two sides entered the match tied for second-place in the West knowing that win would draw them closer to leaders, Salt Lake, and a loss could send them plummeting in a tightly-packed conference.
    Rookie forward Deshorn Brown would break the deadlock nine minutes before the half-time whistle, beating YP Lee to a right-sided Vicente Sanchez cross to the back-post, leaping to get his head on the end for his seventh of the season.
    The Whitecaps had their chances, despite a sluggish output in the thinned air of the Rocky Mountains, but the continued heroics of Clint Irwin and Edson Buddle’s 79th minute strike – deflected off Johnny Leveron to handcuff David Ousted – would seal the Rapids victory.
    Oscar Pareja, who has quietly built - and drafted - a monster of a club, has ridden a nine-match unbeaten run to within two points of the Supporter’s Shield. Martin Rennie, who’s side falls to a third loss in their last five matches, will not have enjoyed the disjointed display, but knows they are still primed for a second-straight postseason berth.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6iNSUltLLWQ?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Los Angeles 4 – Salt Lake 2
    The most high-profile meeting of the round looked destined to be a tight affair, with the first half ended scoreless. But six goals in the second 45 resulted in a thunderous conclusion.
    Salt Lake’s Joao Plata opened the scoring in the 56th minute, slicing through the middle of the LA defense thanks to a wonderful Ned Grabavoy touch and slotting his finish under Jaime Penedo, making his first start for the Galaxy.
    Robbie Keane, not to be outdone by Landon Donovan’s hat-trick last weekend, scored the first of LA’s four unanswered goals three minutes later, bumping then cutting around Carlos Salcedo to finish with a right-footer low to the bottom right-corner.
    He nabbed his second eleven minutes on, applying a leaping touch at the near-post to a right-sided Sean Franklin cross before Omar Gonzalez, minted midweek as a designated player, beat Nat Borchers to a left-sided Donovan corner kick – and then trash-talked his fellow centre-back afterwards.
    Keane rounded out his trick in the 86th, racing onto a Franklin long ball down the middle and looping over Nick Rimando in goal. Robbie Findley found some consolation for Salt Lake deep in stoppage-time, bundling in at the right-post after a Javier Morales free-kick was knocked down by Borchers.
    Bruce Arena will have enjoyed the offensive output his team has mustered their past two matches – scoring seven goals – but will be concerned by their lack of defensive acumen, conceding yet another late goal, again from a set-piece. Jason Kreis will not be panicking, with his rebuilding side still atop the table, but one win in five, will be of some concern.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zAL6sU5Flas?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Portland 2 – Dallas 1
    LA and Salt Lake left their scoring late, but Portland and Dallas got theirs out of the way early; all three goals coming in the first half of play – within a seven minute span, no less.
    Ryan Johnson got the first in the 26th minute, out-leaping George John to a right-sided Diego Valeri corner kick. Mauro Diaz, Dallas’ young Argentine playmaker, making his first start in MLS got his first goal just two minutes later, arriving late into the box to latch onto a Fabian Castillo pass and finish a tidy right-footer past Donovan Ricketts in goal.
    Darlington Nagbe would find the eventual-winner in the 33rd minute. Diego Chara won a bouncing ball in the centre-circle to Valeri, who ran at goal through the middle before dishing out to Nagbe on the right; his right-footed blast beat Raul Fernandez high to the left-side.
    Caleb Porter was jubilant to see Portland’s three-match winless skid ended and sang the praises of the Valeri, a loan signing recently made permanent – Valeri has assisted on the Timbers last six goals. Schellas Hyndman’s Dallas continue their slide down the table; once leaders, they have dropped down to eighth – thanks largely to an eleven-match winless run.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FGhY4-AvHVo?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    San Jose 1 – Kansas City 0
    The lone Sunday fixture pitted San Jose and Kansas City, and only one goal would be required to decide the outcome.
    Chris Wondolowski – on the night of his bobble-head figure - was the man of the moment, getting in front of Chance Myers at the penalty spot to nod (had to be) a Steven Beitashour cross from the right into the bottom right-corner of the goal.
    It was Wondolowski’s eighth of the season – and his third in as many games, as the Earthquakes gave veteran keeper, Jon Busch, his 100th career MLS win on his 37th birthday.
    Mark Watson knows that home matches – San Jose have won their last five at Buck Shaw – will play a vital role in their playoff push, though they are still three points adrift of the final spot. KC’s Peter Vermes was livid post-match with the loss, blaming the outcome on poor officiating that changed the course of the match.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bXj2IV7kh2I?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    CanCon
    As usual the extended look at the Canadian contributions will be up midday tomorrow (Tuesday), featuring a lovely ball from Patrice Bernier, a lively display from Dwayne De Rosario, defensive struggles from Doneil Henry and Dejan Jakovic, and a distinct absence of Will Johnson.
    See It Live
    LA’s gloriously hideous, retro-themed third kits made their league debut, while Matt Reis made his first start since March, after a difficult season off-field that saw his father-in-law caught up in the Boston Marathon Bombings – Reis was excellent, making a pair of fine reflex saves on the ever-dangerous Mike Magee.
    A series of sideline tantrums marked the weekend, ratcheting up the intensity – or a product of it.
    Both Montreal’s Marco Schallibaum and DC’s Ben Olsen were dismissed for their confrontation after James Riley bodied Justin Mapp into a pitch-side camera. None of the players seemed overly aggrieved, but the managers definitely took offense – Olsen’s salute to the opposition fans as he made his way off the pitch was entertaining – oh, to be a fly on the wall of that tunnel.
    Chicago’s Frank Klopas too was jettisoned, after he bustled between some advertising boards to protest the official’s decision to arrest the match when Kelyn Rowe took a hand to the face from Daniel Paladini, halting a Chicago counter.
    The accusation of time-wasting, carried on through the final throes of the match, before ending with a pair of red cards to Chicago’s Bakary Soumare and New England’s Saer Sene after Soumare confronted the Revolution trainer once the final whistle had blown.
    Overheard
    The Soumare-Sene incident was very bizarre, post-match the Chicago defender explained it thusly in a phone conversation with MLSsoccer.com, “I basically said to the trainer, 'Come on, there's only five minutes left, can you get him off the field?”. “He asked me to shut the [expletive] up, basically … [After the game] I said, 'That's not right, you can't run on the field and waste time and tell me to shut the [expletive] up. That's wrong.'”
    Sene, who ran over to intercept the argument, grabbing Soumare and ushering him away was also shown red, Soumare would add, “I have no idea why he was red-carded; He's a really good friend of mine and he came by me just to start a conversation.” Clearly, he did not see Sene’s interaction with Fire Assistant Coach. Leo Percovich (formerly of Toronto – his full name is Galileo Galilei Percovich Lopes, who knew).
    Even more Trash-talking was in effect, with Omar Gonzalez going out of his way to jaw at Nat Borchers after beating his fellow centre-back to a Landon Donovan corner, and Juan Agudelo reveled post-match that his wonderful goal held a special significance, “I know Sean [Johnson, Chicago keeper] from the national team. He's my good friend. We were bantering a little bit before the game. I think I got the last laugh.”
    A little bit of late-season frenzied emotion and banter; love it.
    Table Watch
    In the East, Kansas City held onto top spot, despite the loss, by dint of New York and Philadelphia drawing, while both Montreal and Houston made up ground on the leaders. The top four are separated by a mere point – KC and New York on 39 having played 25 matches; Montreal and Philadelphia on 38, but with the Impact holding two-games in hand over the rest.
    In the West, Salt Lake too maintained their ascendency, despite dropping the match – on 41 points after 25 matches, but Colorado draw within two points (having played a game more), Portland to within three (with two games in hand on the leaders), and LA to within four (with a game to spare on Salt Lake) – four points separate the top four clubs. Vancouver dropped three places with their loss, but currently hold a two point lead over chasing Seattle – who have two games in hand over their Canadian rivals.
    With anywhere from twelve (Seattle) to eight (Colorado) matches remaining, there will be plenty of jostling in the coming weeks.
    Controversy
    Chicago’s Bakary Soumare, who hustled back to clear Agudelo’s wonder goal, believes he prevented it from crossing the line. Did he? (See video above)
    Peter Vermes was adamant that San Jose’s game-winner was offside; you be the judge?
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>That's a really, really close call on the Wondo goal. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SJvSKC&src=hash">#SJvSKC</a> <a href="http://t.co/RYp8SSPJJV">pic.twitter.com/RYp8SSPJJV</a></p>— Nicholas Rosano (@nicholasrosano) <a href="
    ">August 19, 2013</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    Opinion Poll
    Looking at the New England-Chicago sending offs, should staff – trainers or coaches – ever interact with the opposition players? Is a suspension coming the way of the Revolution Trainer and Chicago Assistant Coach?
    Upcoming Fixtures
    The CONCACAF Champions League resumes on Tuesday and Wednesday with Houston bound for Trinidad to face W Connection, LA hosting Costa Rica’s Cartagines, and Montreal off to Guatemala to face Heredia.
    Wednesday: Chivas-Dallas; Portland-Salt Lake. Friday: Chicago-Kansas City. Saturday: DC-Toronto; Montreal-Houston; Vancouver-Los Angeles; Dallas-San Jose; Salt Lake-Columbus. Sunday: Chivas-New York; New England-Philadelphia; Seattle-Portland.
    Plenty of interesting matches to look forward to:
    A couple of basement battles with Chivas hosting Dallas and DC, Toronto, should be of some interest, as teams out of the running will be looking to find some solace in a strong finish.
    Montreal and Houston do not like each other, and are both in need of points. Vancouver and LA always put on a show when they play; then of course there is the Cascadia Cup meeting between Seattle and Portland – Clint Dempsey’s home debut in front of an even-more-massive-than-usual crowd in Seattle with the entire (or most of it, at least) stadium open for the match.
    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
    "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 2-0 loss to Colorado Rapids?

    It was an unchanged starting eleven in Colorado from the home win over San Jose last week, but it was a much different team performance on the road.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    11 - Camilo Sanvezzo
    Is looking like all these minutes is finally slowing him down. Hopefully he can get his attack back for a big game vs LA.
    10 - Johnny Leveron
    On the second goal he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like Camilo has been playing at such a high level a game like this will happen from time to time.
    9 - Daigo Kobayashi
    He hasn't become the offensive set up man that the coaching staff was expecting when they signed him to the $225,000 contract. Needs to push the ball more with better accuracy.
    8 - Young-Pyo Lee
    This game he was showing his age for sure. It seems like lately when playing on the road he is two or three steps behind what he shows at home.
    7 - Kenny Miller
    I believe he should not have started this game. Way too much travel this week. Kekuta Manneh should have started and if the game was close bring Kenny off the bench.
    6 - Jordan Harvey
    Has been better lately but you are always worried he will make a mistake. With no upgrade coming in we will have to live and die on the pitch with Harvey.
    5 - Russell Teibert
    Wasn't the best game for the young CSJ. Hopefully he can find his magic like the last time he played LA at home.
    4 - David Ousted
    You can't blame him on the two goals but saving at least one of them is something a world class keeper would do. I don't see him being pulled next game.
    3 - Nigel Reo-Coker
    You can tell the high altitude had an affect on him for most of the game. He gave 100% and needs to start filling the net.
    2 - Carlyle Mitchell
    Is playing really strong in the defensive box. Isn't afraid to get dirty when trying to clear the ball.
    1 - Gershon Koffie
    Really the only player that deserved man of the match. Played with poise and is bringing his game to the next level.
    The Changing of the Guard Countdown
    3 - Tommy Heinemann
    Player of all trades. Rennie had really no choice but to sub him in for YP Lee. Has been consistent this season where ever he plays.
    2 - Matt Watson
    Has been playing really well and that continued this game. Going forward I would give him the start ahead of Daigo next game.
    1 - Darren Mattocks
    Stepped on to the pitch and started attacking immediately. With him healthy and Manneh also on the bench, they have speed for days.
    <p>
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