Maxim Tissot
Tissot made his third and fourth starts for Montreal this week, as the Impact collected four points, kept two clean-sheets, and climbed out of the basement in the East, if only for a few days.
Fielded out of his usual left-back position, up-field on the left-side of Montreal’s midfield attacking trio, Tissot was allowed to make the most of his attacking talents, rampaging up that flank, providing Montreal with some of the dynamism that they have been sorely lacking this season.
On Wednesday in Vancouver, Tissot was all over the pitch, taking set-pieces, and generally forcing the play. He took corner kicks – finding Karl Ouimette for a free header on one occasion; free-kicks – most memorably he got one horribly wrong, it sailed well off target, but his next attempt was nearly forced in at the back-post; and drew one of the best saves of the night from David Ousted when his shot from the top of the box was deflected by Johnny Leveron.
His passing was excellent – slipping in Andres Romero drawing Ousted into a quick sprint out to quell the threat and later picking out Jack McInerney with a long ball, though the forward could not settle it for a shot.
The Gatineau, Quebec-native also mixed it up a little, picking up a yellow card after ten minutes for grabbing a hold of Kekuta Manneh in transition, then nutmegging Carlyle Mitchell in the 82nd, prompting the defender to trip him up and see a yellow of his own.
He nearly won the match for Montreal with a cracking left-footer from a McInerney lay off, but his effort struck the bar and the match ended 0-0.
Tissot was equally impactful on Sunday when Montreal won 3-0 over a struggling Houston side at home, again mixing it up – picking up his second yellow card of the season (and in as many matches) for a late sliding tackle on Giles Barnes, as the Canadian tracked his run to the end-line.
Again he was a handful on the break for the opponent, prompting Will Bruin to pull him down on a strong run up the left, drawing yet another yellow. After putting in a solid two and a half hours of work for his side, he made way for Justin Mapp in the 60th minute.
Kofi Opare
Opare made his fourth start of the season in Los Angeles’ 0-1 win over San Jose on Saturday night in front of some fifty-thousand fans at Stanford Stadium – it was just his fifth appearance of the season, all coming in the last two months.
As the left-sided centre-back, paired with fellow youngster, Tommy Meyer, Opare was tasked with keeping a lid on the tenacious Steven Lenhart, limiting his chances to almost nil.
He got a good block of one attempt in early, and then did enough to prevent Lenhart from getting a free header on a bouncing ball, though he did lose his mark on one occasion late, from a Sam Cronin free-kick that required LA keeper, Jaime Penedo, to tip the header over the bar.
Opare also exhibited his excellent reading of the game, stepping in to cut out a potentially dangerous pass from the tricky Djalo and also blocked an Alan Gordon attempt from distance.
The Niagara Falls, Ontario-product nearly got on the score-sheet himself, with two bites at the cherry after Stefan Ishizaki struck the post – Opare could not corral the first rebound, but directed the second towards goal, only to strike his teammate, Gyasi Zardes, who was in the way.
Opare also played their entire ninety minutes when LA crashed out of the US Open Cup at the hands of the Carolina RailHawks in the Fifth Round,
Get this kid into a Canadian training camp as soon as possible – once he cleans up a few lapses in his game, he will be up there amongst the best in MLS.
Tesho Akindele
Akindele made his sixth-straight start for FC Dallas in their scoreless draw at Columbus on Sunday – it was his seventh start and tenth appearance of the season.
The match was originally scheduled for Saturday, but inclement weather and the severe injury of a fan prompted its postponement.
Akindele took to the field as Dallas’ lone striker, providing a central point off which their midfielders could run – especially Andres Escobar, who was lively. Tesho put in his usual solid shift, pestering the opposition – doing enough to rattle Columbus keeper, Steve Clark, on a long throw, preventing him from cleanly collecting the ball, which bobbled around in the box dangerously.
But he was once again haunted by the need to see three or four chances before finding the back of the net, passing on two glorious looks – the first after Escobar had sauntered through half the Crew defenders before laying off to Akindele, whose right-footer struck the post with the goal gaping, and then on one of his regular near-post moves, getting on the end of a Je-Vaughan Watson cross, only to see the ball hop at the last minute and his effort rise over the bar.
Akindele was the hero in Dallas’ 2-3 win in Houston in the US Open Cup, capitalizing on a Warren Creavalle turnover in the 98th minute. Post-match he commented, “They left the pass short, I stole it and turned the guy, had some space so just put a shot on target and it went in. Overtime, everybody is tired, so it was really a big deal for all of us.”
He continued, “We’re super excited. It’s always good to beat Houston, in-state rivals, and go another round in the Open Cup.”
Jonathan Osorio
Osorio made his fourth-straight start for Toronto FC in their 2-2 draw in New York – it was his eighth start of the season.
Paired in the middle of the pitch with Collen Warner, Osorio looked a little out of sorts for the first half hour, slipping on one occasion to allow a turnover and twice not making the effort to commit to potentially fruitful runs forward.
But the Toronto, Ontario-native picked up his game in the second half with a moment of class,
As the match wore on, his partnership with Warner grew, the two forging an understanding of where and when to find each other. Osorio then lifted a hopeful ball over the New York back-line for Defoe, but the striker could not bring it down before nearly getting on the end of a TFC corner kick.
He did hesitate on one occasion, forcing Defoe into an offside position by delaying when his teammate wanted an early ball.
Osorio was shuttled out to the left when Bradley Orr replaced Luke Moore in the 81st minute, but neither could prevent Red Bull from getting their equalizer.
Patrice Bernier
Bernier made his eighth and ninth starts for Montreal this round.
Paired in both matches with recent-acquisition, Gorka Larrea, Bernier was commanding in the middle of the pitch, and playing alongside the savvy Spanish veteran, he was allowed more freedom to roam forward, getting involved in the build-up.
In Vancouver on Wednesday he nearly helped the Impact break the deadlock late on when his sharp, quick free-kick laid a ball down the side of the box for Jack McInerney, resulting in the Maxim Tissot shot that struck the woodwork.
The Brossard, Quebec-native made way for Santiago Gonzalez in the 88th minute as the match wore towards a score-less draw.
Come Sunday, Bernier again was instrumental in the middle of the pitch – his burgeoning partnership with Larrea allowed Montreal to move the ball much better than they have for most of the season.
He made a strong run up the middle before threading in Eric Miller down the left, but the rookie scuffed a wasteful shot. His vision was rewarded in the 79th minute when he played Andres Romero in for a shot down the left.
Will Johnson
Johnson made his seventeenth consecutive start for Portland in their 0-1 loss to Kansas City on Friday night, continuing his ironman run for the side.
From the base of the midfield, alongside Diego Chara, Johnson nearly put his side in the lead after just eight minutes when his low shot from the top of the box after a Diego Valeri corner kick deflected off Seth Sinovic, but Eric Kronberg was able to react and save.
The Toronto-born midfielder had another crack from the upper reaches of the area in first half stoppage-time, but it was blocked.
Come the second half, he showed some good moves, cutting around a KC defender after picking up a Rodney Wallace back-heel, but forced himself a little too wide to cause any trouble. Johnson then flung a corner kick into the box in the 70th minute and a good follow-up cross for Fanendo Adi, but Kronberg was able to get out and punch.
With Portland trailing, Johnson pushed forward as the match wore on, particularly looking to sneak in at the back-post to little avail.
As the clock wound down he would pick up a yellow card, his third of the season, in the 95th minute for a biting challenge on Jacob Peterson that sent his opponent sprawling.
The two sides had met just four days earlier in the US Open Cup with Portland winning 1-3 in Kansas City. Johnson scored Portland’s second of the game in the 58th minute, converting from the penalty spot after Aurelien Collin had felled Steve Zakuani in the area – the goal extended his scoring streak to four game (all competitions).
Post-cup match, he noted, “We came in here with a game plan, we played well. It was a tough opponent. I think it says a lot about their depth, they’re missing a lot of guys and they put out a good team and a good fight. I thought it was a great match, really. I think it says a lot about two of the better teams in MLS.”
Russell Teibert
Teibert began his week on the bench for Vancouver against Montreal, entering the fray in the 75th minute for Darren Mattocks, closing out the match with energy, but minimal impact.
Come Saturday he returned to the starting eleven, alongside Matias Laba at the base of the Vancouver midfield, in a losing effort, 2-0 in Colorado.
He started out well, getting in a crack from distance after eight minutes that dragged wide of the left-post, but
Undaunted, the Niagara Falls, Ontario-native continued to work hard, once holding off Marlon Hairston allowing David Ousted to clear – the keeper cleared the ball into Teibert, who was not pleased with the turn of events.
Teibert, as always, was full of running, bursting forward down the right to float a ball for Jordan Harvey at the back-post, but the defender could not make the connection. Then in the 84th he found Carlyle Mitchell with a cross to the right-post, but it was too close to goal and the defender could not get an angle on the shot.
Doneil Henry
Henry made his third-straight start for Toronto FC in their 2-2 draw at New York – it was his seventh start and eighth appearance of the season.
Alongside Steven Caldwell in the centre of the defense, Henry was lucky to escape a booking early when he hacked down Lloyd Sam after being force to defend out wide near the left-touchline – centre-backs hate being force out so far.
He made amends sharply with a lovely tackle to deny Bradley Wright-Phillips when Thierry Henry tried to slide him down the attacking right – Wright-Phillips repaid the favour with a late challenge minutes later, that kept Henry down injured for a moment, though he got up and walked it off after some treatment.
Whether that was a factor in his slow reaction to the Chris Duvall cross that picked out
Henry was again a force in the opponent’s area on free-kicks, nearly getting on the end of a lofted TFC free-kick before half-time, but Luis Robles, the New York keeper, just managed to hold the ball.
The two sides of his game were once more on displace - he did very well to get enough of a dangerous Wright-Phillips shot to take the sting off, making Joe Bendik’s save easier, but shortly thereafter played a poor ball straight to the other Henry, of the Thierry variety, who set up a troublesome chance that Wright-Phillips put wide.
And like his centre-back partner Caldwell, Henry could be found complicit on New York’s stoppage-time equalizer,
Karl Ouimette
Ouimette made a third-straight start for Montreal in Vancouver – it was his seventh of the season.
Reprising his role at left-back, Ouimette was solid, though he did concede a foul on Kekuta Manneh that led to a dangerous Vancouver free-kick.
The Terrebonne, Quebec-native got on the end of a Maxim Tissot corner kick in the 52nd minute, but could not turn his header on target.
Ouimette was an unused substitute on the bench for Sunday’s win over Houston.
Issey Nakajima-Farran
Nakajima-Farran made his third-straight start for Montreal on Wednesday night – it was his fourth appearance for his new club and ninth in MLS.
Starting on the right-side of midfield, Issey was lively, but failed to really make an impact on the match.
The Calgary, Alberta-native did manage a shot from a corner kick, though it was blocked, and nearly found Jack McInerney with a lifted ball in, but David Ousted read it well and was out quick to deny.
One turnover led to a dangerous Kekuta Manneh free-kick, before making way for Eric Miller in the 67th minute.
He was not in the game-day eighteen come Sunday.
Wandrille Lefevre
Lefevre made his sixth appearance of the season for Montreal on Wednesday in Vancouver, replacing Gorka Larrea in the 76th minute – it was his first from the bench.
The French-born defender was caught in the face by an errant elbow from Gershon Koffie, drawing a yellow card.
He too was not included in the matchday squad for Sunday against Houston.
Rob Friend
Friend made a second-straight substitute’s appearance for LA against San Jose – it was his ninth appearance of the season, the fifth from the bench.
Replacing Gyasi Zardes in the 81st minute, Friend threw himself around, earning and conceding a foul, and making a 93rd minute headed clearance deep in his own box.
The Rosetown, Saskatchewan-native played 69 minutes in LA’s Fourth Round US Open Cup victory away to Arizona United a few weeks ago.
Dwayne De Rosario
De Rosario made his eighth appearance of the season, entering Toronto’s match in New York in the 90th minute to replace the injured Gilberto.
The Scarborough, Ontario-native made a valiant effort to block Matt Miazga’s long ball, launching himself into the air to little avail, but the service instead found the head of Cahill, leading to the equalizer.
The Rest
Ashtone Morgan, Kyle Bekker, and Nana Attakora were on the bench for their respective sides.
Kyle Porter and Nana Attakora got run outs in DC United’s US Open Cup match at the Rochester Rhinos; they lost 1-0 as the defending champions were bounced from the competition.
Some of the
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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