Will Johnson
Johnson started a sixteenth-straight match for Portland in their come-from-behind 2-2 draw at home to FC Dallas on Wednesday night – he has started every Portland match this season, subbing off only once, for a minute.
Paired with Diego Chara at the base of the Timbers midfield, Johnson was again heavily involved in the action, wasting no time with incidents in each box within the first ten minutes. First, he slipped as he retreated to block an Adam Moffat shot after Donovan Ricketts pushed away Fabian Castillo’s shot – Moffat would hit the post, then his close-range header from a Diego Valeri cross was denied by Raul Fernandez - Rauwshan McKenzie would put in the rebound, but Johnson was flagged for offside.
Seeing as the Timbers were at home, Johnson was allowed a more attacking bent, regularly popping up in the opponent’s box. He had one shot blocked on the line by Moises Hernandez and sent another wastefully whistling over the bar when the Dallas keeper went walkabouts and spilled.
His passing was crisp, sending Steve Zakuani down the left, leading to a Fanendo Adi shot that dragged wide of the far-post and was unselfish in front of goal, opting to set up teammate Gaston Fernandez rather than take a chance himself, but again the Dallas keeper denied the look.
And it was his pass down the left-side of the area that led to Adi winning a penalty kick as Je-Vaughan Watson upended the big forward:
After a lengthy argument over who would take the penalty with Fernandez, Johnson coolly slotted home his fifth goal of the season in the 79th minute – it was his second-straight match with a goal from the penalty spot:
He has now scored in Portland’s last three matches and has four in their last six.
The goal breathed life into the Timbers’ hopes for revival, providing the encouragement needed to find a late equalizer – though the two Dallas red cards helped.
The Toronto-born midfielder had four shots on the night – a clear indication of his willingness to get forward and registered eight incomplete passes – a sign of him trying to force the attack on occasion, playing a low-percentage/high-reward balls. He also made eight recoveries, won three tackles, and a clearance.
Post-match Johnson remarked on the result, “At this point in the season, where we’re at, we have to win these home games. We’re disappointed in the mistakes we made in the first half and how we came out. Our energy wasn’t right and we made mistakes that showed that. We came out in the second half and it was much better. But it’s still bittersweet. We obviously had a lot of chances out there, good chances, too. On one hand it’s difficult to come back from two goals and get a draw, but at the same time it’s tough because there were some really good chances out there that we missed.”
And played down the debate with Fernandez over who would take the penalty, "It's two passionate guys going for the ball, wanting to do the right thing for the team. I don't know exactly what was said. You lose track of things in the heat of the moment. Once we got back in here I gave him a big hug. I respect him as a teammate. I think he's a great addition to this club. I can't speak highly enough about him and when he came on, he brought a big spark.”
Tesho Akindele
Akindele started his fifth-consecutive match for Dallas in Portland – it was his sixth start and ninth appearance of the season; eight of which have come in the last six weeks.
In tandem with Blas Perez atop the formation, Akindele was again the roaming counterpoint to Perez’ central role, popping up all over the pitch – have a look at his passing matrix to see just how much grass he covered.
He nearly scored within minutes of kickoff, latching onto the rebound from Adam Moffat shot off the post, only for Jorge Villafana to recover with a sliding block – it was his only shot of the match.
As usual, his boundless energy and positive play caused problems for the Timbers, forcing a turnover out of Rauwshan McKenzie in the corner, leading to a Perez blast into the outside netting.
It was in that spirit that the Calgary, Alberta-native helped craft Dallas’ second goal of the match, collecting a pass deep in his own half, turning up field with a lung-busting run down the right, and skipping over a desperate tackle from Diego Chara before pulling back a pass to the high near-post.
Fabian Castillo dummied the delivery which fell to Perez, who right-footed past a helpless Donovan Ricketts:
His first professional assist doubled Dallas’ advantage – Akindele now has a goal and an assist on the season, both coming in their last five matches.
With a solid 0-2 lead, Dallas opted to sit back, inviting Portland to attack and absorbing pressure – a tact that proved fatal, with the aid of a penalty kick and two red cards. In that mindset, Akindele dropped off the front-line to clog up passing lanes and contribute defensively down the left.
He was replaced by Nick Walker in the 87th minute, mere seconds later the result unraveled – coincidence?
Patrice Bernier
Bernier returned to the Montreal starting lineup after being rested for the Voyageurs Cup to make his seventh start of the season in their 2-4 loss to DC. With twelve league appearances, he has featured in all bar one of the Impact’s matches this season, as well as their cup matches.
Reunited with Hernan Bernardello at the base of the midfield, in the double-Bern system, Bernier has an unlucky night on the whole, as Montreal struggled to recover from their cup-winning celebrations – it was another off-night amongst many this season for the Impact.
While he covered a lot of ground and got forward well, making twelve recoveries and three interceptions, Bernier was victimized on DC’s second goal of the match when Luis Silva picked his pocket to a ball in the midfield. Silva played up to Espindola, who hit a low cross for Nick DeLeon:
The Brossard, Quebec-native was equally snake-bit on the other side of the ball, stroking a sweet free-kick from inside the arc off the crossbar in the 37th minute:
And then saw his 75th minute penalty kick - after former Impact teammate, Davy Arnaud, handled in the box – strike the base of the left-post, smashing his previously-perfect record of ten from ten at the spot in MLS:
Had Bernier somehow managed to hit the right-post, he would have completed a woodwork hat-trick of misfortune.
Post-match he commented, “We come back in the game and take the lead, but we fall mentally. We give up four goals in a half and give away this game when we should be playing like our lives depended on it.”
Continuing, “It’s unacceptable, because we're given thrashings, so to speak, at home. On the road is one thing, but at home, where we have to show some heart and will, it’s unacceptable.”
Wandrille Lefevre
Lefevre made his fifth-straight start for Montreal in their loss to DC United – all 450 minutes he has played in the league this season have come in the last five games.
As the left-sided centre-back, alongside Heath Pearce, Lefevre, as with the rest of his teammates, had a tough night on Wednesday.
He was partially at fault on DC’s opener, falling to track the diagonal run of Luis Silva – video below – and was then barged out of position on their third by Fabian Espindola, opening a clear path to goal that allowed Silva his free run and finish:
The French-born defender was heavily involved in the Montreal passing build-ups, though his cross-field accuracy was a little off on the night; he did rack up an impressive eleven recoveries, four interceptions, three clearances, and a tackle.
He picked up a yellow card in the 81st minute for clattering into Conor Doyle from behind – it was his second booking of the season.
Post-match he admitted, “We didn’t come out like the last three games we played. Looking at us defensively, we made mistakes, concentration mistakes, especially after the goals.”
Karl Ouimette
Ouimette started a second-straight match at left-back for the Impact in their loss to DC – it was his sixth start and seventh appearance of the season.
While he was very lively and involved in moving the ball forward up the left, once playing a good pass for Felipe that led to a cutback for Hernan Bernardello’s long-range whistler, defensively he looked, on occasion, like a defender playing out of position.
He was caught slow to note the space vacated by Heath Pearce jumping forward, opening a channel for Luis Silva’s run and Fabian Espindola’s pass that led to the opening goal after just six minutes:
He was then beat by Nick DeLeon to Espindola’s cross for DC second in the 23rd minute – video above.
It was a tough night for the Impact defenders all around.
The Terrebonne, Quebec-native did make six tackles, five recoveries, four clearances, and an interception, but still, it was a night to forget.
Issey Nakajima-Farran
Nakajima-Farran started a second-consecutive league match for Montreal in their loss to DC on Wednesday night – it was his third appearance since joining the club from Toronto.
More often than not on the left-side of the midfield – though he occasionally swapped flanks with Andres Romero – Issey had several good runs into the box, taking on the DC defenders, but failed to find much purchase. His best cross was easily cut out by the head of Bobby Boswell.
The Calgary, Alberta-native contributed four recoveries and a pair of clearances before making way for Marco Di Vaio in the 53rd minute as Frank Klopas sought to change the formation with the Impact trailing by two goals.
Maxim Tissot
Tissot made his fifth appearance of the season for Montreal against DC, subbing in for Hernan Bernardello in the 69th minute – it was his third appearance from the bench.
Taking up the left-sided midfielders’ role, the Gatineau, Quebec-native looked to provide a bit of verve as the Impact sought a means back into the match, making several strong runs up that side to little avail.
He made one particularly dangerous run and found Jack McInerney with a cutback, but the striker’s shot whistled wide of the post. It was from the ensuing corner kick that Davy Arnaud was called for a handball.
The Rest
Kyle Porter was on the bench for DC United for a second-straight match – will he see some action in their US Open Cup match on Tuesday night against Rochester?
All video and quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
Each week James takes a look at the contributions of Canadians in the league and the league as a whole.
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