Tesho Akindele
Akindele started his twelfth-straight match for FC Dallas as they romped to a 0-5 victory at San Jose on Saturday night – it was his thirteenth start and sixteenth appearance of the season.
The rookie striker has become a fixture atop Oscar Pareja’s formation for the past four months, solidifying his position over seasoned pros like Blas Perez and higher profile acquisitions, David Texeira and Andres Escobar, and for good reason. His ability to stretch the defenses with his tireless running, roaming out wide opens up gaps for either Perez or Fabian Castillo and once Mauro Diaz gets fully fit, Dallas, who are already a force, will be one of the top sides in the league.
Having converted his spot kick in Dallas’ shootout loss midweek against Philadelphia in the US Open Cup, Akindele entered Saturday’s match with four league goals on the season, three of which had come in the last five games – a tally he nearly doubled by the end of the night.
But first came a signal of intent, racing up the right to outpace Jason Hernandez to a long ball from Je-Vaughan Watson, before sending a cross-shot through the goalmouth. Unfortunately, nobody had made the run to join him in the attack. The effort was recorded as a shot, though it looked more like a cross.
Twenty minutes later, he would get on the score-sheet with Dallas’ second goal of the night. Receiving a ball to his feet from Castillo, Akindele held up play, turning away from Victor Bernardez towards the outside to
He would add his second, Dallas’ third, of the night in the 58th minute,
The Calgary, Alberta-native would complete his hat-trick – the first of his MLS career – in the 86th minute, finding himself perfectly positioned to roof a right-footer at the back-post after a left-sided Michel corner kick was directed on goal by Perez. Busch again made the save, but the rebound fell kindly to Tesho, who reacted quicker than the nearest defender Bernardez.
The three goals bring his haul thus far to seven, surpassing Harrison Shipp’s six goals for the most by a rookie this season, but Shipp has five assists to Akindele’s one. Last week this very review mused that by dint of sheer numbers, Shipp was likely the favourite for Rookie of the Year honours, but with six goals in his last six games and playing a crucial role in a playoff-bound team, Akindele is making a name for himself.
He was named MLS Player of the Week for his goal-scoring exploits, becoming the first Canadian to receive the nod this season and just the second rookie, after, of course, Shipp, who was named so after his hat-trick against New York.
Maxim Tissot
Tissot, despite scoring in his last two appearances, was back on the bench for Montreal on Saturday at home against Chicago, conceding the left-sided midfield position to designated player, Ignacio Piatti. He did however make a second-consecutive appearance from the bench, entering in the 74th minute for Justin Mapp – it was his seventh substitute’s appearance and twelfth overall of the season.
Taking up that left-side of the midfield, Tissot was lively in his time on the pitch. Last week it took him just four minutes to get on the score-sheet; it was a feat he nearly repeated, collecting a pull-back from Dilly Duka in the 78th minute, but he was closed down quickly and could not get off a shot.
The Gatineau, Quebec-native would have his impact on the match,
Tissot then put himself in a great position to collect an outlet pass from Di Vaio on an attack shortly thereafter, but the confident striker overlooked him and had a go himself. His play on the left-side of the midfield, further up-field from his left-back slot, is making a name for himself in MLS.
Doneil Henry
Henry made his third-straight start for Toronto in their 4-1 loss at Sporting KC on Saturday night – it was his fourteenth start and fifteenth appearance of the season.
Taking to the pitch as the left-sided of the centre-back pairing, alongside Nick Hagglund once more, Henry displayed both sides, the good and the bad, of his game. Mere minutes in, he was called into action, cutting out a run from Dom Dwyer after a Toronto giveaway with a big tackle. Henry was a little late on his next challenge, taking a big chunk out of Sal Zizzo as the KC player burst past. He would show his ability to read forwards’ intentions on another play, stabbing the ball away, out for a corner kick, from a lively Graham Zusi, but his next intervention was a regrettable one.
In truth, both those aforementioned sides of Henry’s game are borne of the same energy – his aggressive defending. The same desire that sees him win headers – in both boxes – and make those crunching tackles is what inspires him to lunge into unwinnable situations. In the 32nd minute, the Brampton, Ontario-native was drawn into another such desperate act, lunging in on Dwyer, taking him down to concede another penalty kick – the second TFC gave away that match and the fourth Henry has conceded this season; his last, also against Kansas City back in May.
Henry was again a threat in the opposition’s area, once rising well to meet a corner kick, but he could not keep his header down and on target. He was called upon again defensively in the 76th minute, this time making a sweet intervention to clear a pass away from Dwyer, but was caught
When Michael Bradley was replaced, Henry wore the captain’s armband for the completion of the match; an honour that did little to quell his displeasure, visibly refusing an amicable slap from Dwyer after the forward fouled him in pursuit of a long ball.
Even in the midst of a tough night, Henry still racked up eight recoveries, four interceptions, four clearances, and three tackles. Toronto fans should not be overly concerned about his mistakes – once he eliminates them from his game he won’t be long for this league, so enjoy while one can.
Will Johnson
Johnson started a 24th consecutive match for Portland in their 1-1 draw at New England, continuing his iron man run of beginning every league match for his side this season.
Alongside Diego Chara at the base of the midfield, Johnson was tasked with a very defensive role, keeping a close eye on the machinations of New England’s potentially explosive central midfield pairing of Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe, while also providing support whenever Diego Fagundez and Teal Bunbury dashed in-field.
As such, he had a fairly quiet night going forward, making one strong run into the box in the first half, nicking in front of Darius Barnes to get on the end of a Diego Valeri pass, only to lose his footing on the concrete carpet in New England. He would return the favour in the second half, picking out Valeri at the top of the box from a good run up the left, but the Argentine would whisk his shot wide of the far-post. Johnson himself would have three shots: first a free-kick that drifted wide, then a poor attempt from a Liam Ridgewell layoff that should have at least been on frame, and finally a blocked effort late.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Toronto-born midfielder tallied six recoveries, two interceptions, a tackle, and a block, though his one glaring miss-step,
Johnson was left at home when Portland travelled to Guyana to face Alpha United in their first match of the CONCACAF Champions League – the Timbers would win 1-4.
Russell Teibert
Teibert made his first start in exactly one month on Saturday as Vancouver played to a scoreless draw at Chivas on Saturday night – it was his eleventh start of the season.
Having entered from the bench in the last two matches, Teibert took up a starting position beside Matias Laba at the base of the midfield in a re-jigged lineup with playmaker Pedro Morales rested. He was incredibly active all night, racking up ten recoveries, five interceptions, four tackles, and a pair of clearances throughout the match.
His passing was very solid, ranging all over the central areas of the pitch, once playing a long pass forward for Jordan Harvey that led to a Nicolas Mezquida chance, then later spraying wide to Steven Beitashour who picked out Erik Hurtado with a cross – his header was poor and he was flagged for offside anways.
The Niagara Falls, Ontario-native took up much of the set-piece duty as well, hitting a excellent corner that found Omar Salgado at the near-post, but Dan Kennedy was equal to the challenge, over quick to push the chance wide.
Wandrille Lefevre
Lefevre made a second-consecutive start for Montreal in their win over Philadelphia, putting in an excellent defensive shift to help snap the long losing run – it was his seventh start and eighth appearance of the season.
Paired with Matteo Ferrari as the left-sided centre-back, Lefevre was physical – bringing down Alex with a heavy lunging challenge at the edge of the area (the referee would waive play on) and then requiring treatment after an awkward landing having gone up for a header with Razvan Cocis; he would return to the pitch immediately.
The French-born defender even had a long range crack at goal – it was a hopeful hit that was blocked well before it caused any trouble.
En route to a clean-sheet – their first in six weeks, a span of seven matches, Lefevre collected an impressive twelve recoveries, eight clearances, five interceptions, and a tackle, helping to back-stop an much-needed win for the struggling Impact.
Jonathan Osorio
Osorio made his third-straight start for TFC in their loss at Kansas City – it was his fifteenth start and eighteenth appearance of the season.
With KC dominating large swathes of play and Toronto struggling to string together possession, Osorio was marginalized and isolated on the left-side of midfield. He did well to cut in-field, getting himself involved in the limited interplay, but, as with the rest of his side, it was a bit of an off night for the Toronto, Ontario-native.
A poor touch led to a needless turnover early and a later one-two with Gilberto broke down under KC pressure, Osorio did win a foul going forward, getting tripped up by Sporting right-back Igor Juliao and tracked deep to block a Sal Zizzo shot.
He had a minor run in with KC keeper, Jon Kempin, barking at the keeper after a long, offside run led to the keeper smashing a clearance by his head after the play was blown dead.
Patrice Bernier
Bernier started an eleventh-straight match for Montreal in their win over Philadelphia – it was his seventeenth start and 22nd appearance of the season.
Paired with Gorka Larrea at the base of the Montreal midfield, Captain Bernier put in a solid half of play for the Impact before making way for Felipe at half-time.
The Brossard, Quebec-native picked out the run of Hassoun Camara with a lovely long-ball down the right, but the full-back cross was cut out by Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and then did his due defensive diligence in tracking Razvan Cocis to cut out his attempted cross on a Chicago break.
Misplacing just three passes, Bernier was once more superb on the ball, but struggled to get forward regularly – no doubt his early removal had something to do with an upcoming Champions League match in El Salvador against CD FAS on Wednesday, seeing how nearly all of the Impact’s eggs are firmly in the CONCACAF basket.
Bernier accepted the
Kyle Bekker
Bekker made a third-straight appearance from the bench for Toronto in their loss at Kansas City, replacing Michael Bradley in the 84th minute.
It was the Oakville, Ontario-native’s twelfth appearance of the season, four of which have come from the bench.
The Rest
Karl Ouimette, Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Ashtone Morgan, Dwayne De Rosario, Kofi Opare, and Kyle Porter were all unused substitutes on the bench for their respective sides.
Kofi Opare was
Rob Friend is still dealing with concussion-related issues that have plagued him for several weeks, though strangely the Galaxy injury report makes no mention of it – of all the MLS clubs, LA are the worst at providing injury information. With the departure of Brazilian target forward Samuel and Friend’s injury, LA reacquired Alan Gordon, which could eat into Friend’s playing time once fit.
Nana Attakora too is still dealing with concussion symptoms, though he was listed as Questionable and was in training last week, which is a positive step.
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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