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Issey Nakajima-Farran Nakajima-Farran returned to the Montreal starting lineup in their 1-1 draw against DC on Saturday – it was his fifth start and thirteenth appearance for the Impact and his first start since picking up a red card back on July 24 against Salt Lake. From the left-side of the midfield attacking three, Issey was incredibly active, getting up and down that side, swapping flanks with Andres Romero, and generally forcing the match forward. But first a painting he crafted for retiring teammate Marco Di Vaio, entitled ‘Taking Off the Tape’ was presented to the Italian veteran prior to kickoff. It took barely more than a minute for Nakajima-Farran’s first foray forward, getting on the end of a Calum Mallace ball to the near-post, sending his header over the bar. In the thirteenth minute, Issey would size up a right-footed shot from the left-corner of the box, only for his effort to skim the top of the bar at the far-side – the second of his three attempts at goal (the third would be blocked, squirreling out for a corner kick). Come the 26th minute, it was an interception by the Calgary, Alberta-native that helped bring about the opening goal, , directing his header forward for Di Vaio. Bobby Boswell would cut it out, but Dilly Duka recovered and played the striker down the left for a clinical finish.He completed over two-thirds of his passes, pretty good considering how he was trying to spring attacks against a solid DC defense. One such example was this neat little ball to find Duka, who in turn sprung Di Vaio, drawing a save out of Bill Hamid. Another measure of how active he was in searching out the ball was his nine recoveries; Issey also collected two interceptions, an indication of his willingness to get back and defend. Nakajima-Farran was , trying to cover both Eddie Johnson and Fabian Espindola on a short corner kick, losing out on a last-ditch lunge, allowing Espindola to walk in a hit a low drive that beat Evan Bush.Adding his totals for both Montreal and Toronto, Issey made seven starts and eighteen appearances in his first season in MLS, racking up two goals – both for TFC – a yellow card and a red one to match. Doneil Henry Henry made a second-straight start for Toronto FC in their 1-0 loss in New England on Saturday – it was his nineteenth start and 21st appearance of the season. Alongside Steven Caldwell in the centre of the defense, playing as the left-sided of the duo, Henry was again impressive, if caught out on one or two occasions. But he made headlines midweek when it was revealed that he had been sold to a Cypriot club in a deal involving Kia Joorabchian and played the 2014 season on loan in Toronto – a rather bizarre turn of fate. There is apparently a possibility that he will still be with TFC, on loan, next season, though developments – and their timely revelation – could potentially happen at any moment. Back to the match – Henry was on the ball a lot in Toronto’s more controlled 4-3-3 system, completing a majority of his mass of passes, though his ability to play long balls out of the back was again lacking – they accounted for a majority of his incompletes – though he did pick out Gilberto on one occasion, the ball eventually being put out for an attacking throw-in. The Brampton, Ontario-native was again a force at the back, collecting six clearances, five interceptions, five recoveries, and tackle on the night, while making one big stepping-block to cut out a troublesome run by Charlie Davies, whom he and Caldwell kept under tight wraps all match, but Henry was caught out by a ball over the top from Lee Nguyen for Kelyn Rowe, who mercifully chipped his attempt over the bar. Henry was also guilty of not playing to the whistle, rather than closing down Nguyen, who scored the game’s only goal.He would end his fifth season in Toronto with one goal and eight yellow cards. Undoubted the most successful academy product the club has produced thus far, if Henry leaves, he will do so with seventy league appearances for the club, 55 of which came as starts, having scored two goals and collected three assists. Patrice Bernier Bernier maintained his starting position for a second-consecutive match in Montreal’s draw on Saturday – it was his twentieth start and 26th appearance of the season. Stationed at the base of the midfield, alongside Calum Mallace, Bernier was again impressive on the ball and solid in preventing DC from operating in those troublesome areas in from of the back-line. The Brossard, Quebec-native misplaced ten of his forty-odd passes and proved particularly adept at swinging the ball into those wide positions, regularly picking out Krzysztof Krol on the left to spur attacks up that side, including one play when he made a neat back-heel to the full-back before getting leveled by Lewis Neal. Bernier was involved in the wars, making a good interception on one play, only to get flattened by Eddie Johnson in pursuit; a foul call was not forthcoming – though on four other occasions he did win fouls. The Montreal captain, who passed the armband to Marco Di Vaio on his special day, added thirteen recoveries, three tackles, two interceptions, and a pair of clearances to his tally. He was one of several Impact players to give Di Vaio a solid hug as he left the pitch for the final time in his storied career. Post-match, he spoke of the legendary Italian’s time with the club, commenting: “Marco brought us to another level in this league and was always a leader amongst us. It was an honor to play with him and to have my name side by side with his in the Montreal Impact`s history.” Remarking, “Even though he played at a higher level before, he never came here with a bad attitude. He was always happy and professional with everyone he met. He has a passion that he transcends on to everyone. We want him to stay, but all we can do now is appreciate his time spent with us and salute his successful passage here in Montreal.” Bernier is one of several Montreal players whose contract will be up at the end of the season, but there is little doubt he will re-sign, despite his production dropping off this season with no goals and just three assists, having averaged six and four over his first two seasons in the league. Russell Teibert Teibert started a twelfth-consecutive match for Vancouver as they saw their push to the playoffs come to fruition with a late 1-0 win over Colorado on Saturday – it was the 22nd start and 29th appearance of the season for the player. Stationed at the base of the Whitecaps midfield alongside Matias Laba, Teibert was heavily involved in the build out of the back, while helping to keep Colorado from putting any serious dents in those post-season aspirations. His passing was again solid, if unspectacular, completing all but seven attempts, but again he was unable to force the play forward – not really his role, anyways – four of those incomplete passes came in the attacking half. But with Vancouver in need of a goal, the Niagara Falls, Ontario-native was replaced by Kekuta Manneh in the 56th minute. Like Bernier, his offensive production stagnated this season, failing to score a single goal and collecting just two assists after his breakout 2013, where he scored twice and racked up nine assists, likely in part to his newfound defensive role with the club under the tutelage of Carl Robinson, himself a tenacious defensive-minded midfielder. Kyle Bekker Bekker returned to the TFC starting lineup in their loss at New England on Saturday – it was his thirteenth start and twentieth appearance of the season. Greg Vanney opted to try something a little different in Toronto’s final match, taking to the field in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, depending on how one looks at it, with Bekker playing that central attacking midfield role. In recent weeks, Bekker has been playing more advanced than he has in previous outings, granted the attacking license to get forward and press high, rather than tracking deep into his own third – to mixed results. The most obvious measure of his advanced position was that he had three shots – two on goal and one blocked – considering he only had fifteen all season that is a marked increase, though none of his efforts caused Bobby Shuttleworth much trouble. His first, spreading a quick ball wide out to Dominic Oduro on the right before making a surging run into the box to receive a return pass, was nice, but he sent his tight-angled effort straight at the keeper rather than spotting the back-side run of Gilberto, who may have been in a better position. The Oakville, Ontario-native’s passing was clinical, missing just nine of over forty attempts, but he was not able to either get on the ball or do much with it in the final third – New England is not the sort of opponent to give opposition a lot of time on the ball, especially with Scott Caldwell and Jermaine Jones both on the pitch. Bekker was able to contribute defensively, making four recoveries and two interceptions – not bad considering how ball-hungry the Revolution are – and he made one key clearance, blocking a sneaky Lee Nguyen ball into the goalmouth. His clearance caught Michael Bradley in the face before trickling out for a corner. He ends his sophomore season in MLS with new marks for starts and appearances, but has yet to register a single point; though he did pick up his first booking. No doubt a disappointment, but there is plenty of room for growth and there has been some progression from season one to two, albeit less than many had hoped for. Karl Ouimette Ouimette made his first appearance in six weeks, coming in for Montreal season-ending draw with DC on Saturday – it was his ninth start and eleventh appearance of the season. A part of a young four-man back-line that featured three Canadians, Ouimette, paired with Wandrille Lefevre in the centre, took up the right-sided slot and helped to keep a potent DC attack under wraps for the majority of the match. Defensively the Terrebonne, Quebec-native accumulated some impressive numbers, collecting eight clearances, seven recoveries, four tackles, and three interceptions, once vitally arriving to clear a dangerous DC passage with a thumping clearance. Both he and Lefevre were caught out on one occasion, both stepping up to pressure Eddie Johnson, allowing him to slip Fabian Espindola in behind, but the attack fizzled out. Wandrille Lefèvre Lefevre returned to the starting lineup after a four-match absence in Montreal draw against DC United on Saturday – it was the thirteenth start and fifteenth appearance of the season. Taking up his usual left-centre-back position, alongside Karl Ouimette, Lefevre was incredibly busy, contributing twelve recoveries, eleven clearances, five interceptions, five tackles, and a block, but his usually superb passing was a little off, completing less than half of his attempts – though to be fair the French-born defender often attempted to spring attacks with long, low-percentage balls. Like Ouimette, he bit a little too hard on one play, rushing towards Eddie Johnson, opening up space for a DC attack. He was also spared a potential handball penalty concession by an offside flag late in the match. Sam Adekugbe Adekugbe was forced into the crucial season-decider for Vancouver in the 33rd minute when Steven Beitashour went down injured – it was just his fourth appearance of the season, the first in nearly two months, and his third as a substitute. Despite being thrown in the deep-end, the London-born left-back did very well, getting up and down his side with ease, combining to build up that flank, and putting in a defensive shift with two tackles, a recovery, a clearance, and an interception. But perhaps his most important play was an intelligent passage of defending, inserting himself in-between Charles Eloundou and the ball on one Colorado odd-man break, drawing a foul by cutting in front of the attack to quell the threat. Maxim Tissot Tissot returned to the starting lineup, making a third-straight appearance after a pair of solid substitute outings – it was his seventh start and twentieth appearance of the season. Returned to his original left-back spot – he has spent a lot of time playing as more a left-winger – Tissot was lively, but a little less-so than normal – apparently he was dealing with a stomach bug that would eventually force him off, to be replaced by Krzysztof Krol in the 59th minute. The Gatineau, Quebec-native was not able to get forward as much as he normally would, perhaps the effect the aforementioned illness, but he did hit one nice corner kick – a skill set he has been allowed to display more often of late. Having doubled his starts and trebled his appearances, Tissot will end the season with two goals to his name – similarly double his output from last season. Post-match, club manager Frank Klopas commented on Tissot and the performance from the younger players: “Max had a solid game. He had something in his stomach that was bothering him so he gave it his all and it came to the point where he couldn’t continue. The younger generation, are guys that we can rely on but they have to understand that it takes hard work to continue to develop and grow and one of the positive things that we can look at from a club standpoint, is the future USL PRO team that will be created. These games are crucial for the reserve player`s that don’t get to play on a regular basis with the MLS team so that they can stay fit and sharp. I think that will be a big plus for the organization and there was no better guy for them to learn from than Marco Di Vaio.” Tesho Akindele Akindele was again left out of Dallas’ starting lineup on Saturday as they fell 0-2 to Portland - it was the fourth time in the last five matches that he has come on as a substitute and his 26th appearance of the season, eighteen of which were starts. Coming on the 73rd minute to replace David Texeira with Dallas trailing by a goal, Akindele was energetic, but could not help his side find a way back into the game and Portland doubled their lead shortly after he entered. Blas Perez nearly found him with a little ball to the near-post on one occasion, but Portland full-back Jorge Villafana was able to cut out the pass; the Calgary, Alberta-native did find a late chance, meeting a corner kick in the 95th minute, but his header was just over the bar. Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé Gagnon-Lapare was a late substitute for Montreal on Saturday, coming on in the 92nd minute to make his fifth appearance of the season, but just a second from the bench. In doing so, the Sherbrooke, Quebec-native made himself a place in football trivia lore, becoming the final player to replace Marco Di Vaio as a substitute. The Rest Kyle Porter, Maxime Crépeau, Louis Beland-Goyette, Ashtone Morgan, and Chris Mannella were on the benches for their respective sides. Vancouver will be the sole Canadian representative in this season’s rendition of the MLS Cup Playoffs. By finishing highest amongst the three Canadian clubs, they will also represent the nation in the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League, as the Voyageurs Cup reconfigures its timing for next season. All quotes and videos courtesy of MLSsoccer.com 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

Patrice Bernier Bernier returned to the Montreal starting lineup in their 1-1 draw at Toronto on Saturday for the first time in a month and a half, having just returned from a bout of plantar fasciitis last week – it was his nineteenth start and 21st appearance of the season. Lining up alongside Calum Mallace at the base of the midfield, Bernier was a dominant force in the middle, even if his usually accurate passing was a little off – completing roughly half of his attempts, though in fairness many incomplete ones were of the longer variety, trying to spring attackers behind the Toronto defenses from deep. Raw numbers rarely tell the whole story, but by way of evidence they can be indicative, as such Bernier racked up a jaw-dropping sixteen recoveries, six interceptions, four clearances, and three tackles – a stunning 27 defensive interventions. He had one attempt at goal, sending a long-range effort wide in the 75th minute, but his real impact came in his quelling of Toronto attacks and spring of Montreal ones. He intercepted a weak ball in the centre of the pitch, playing up to Dilly Duka that led to a Jack McInerney chance in the first half and it was his lovely, long cross-field ball that found Andres Romero streaking down the left that led to Felipe’s equalizer in 39th minute. The Brossard, Quebec-native was not done there, hitting a curling free-kick to the back-post for Hassoun Camara in the second half that led to a handball shout and devising a quick restart from a later dead-ball that found Issey Nakajima-Farran leading to a Marco Di Vaio chance as the match wound down. Bernier’s leadership was also evident, trying, without success, to talk Baldomero Toledo out of an early booking for Camara – the defender would be sent off for his second yellow later – and mixing it up with National Team compatriot Dwayne De Rosario as the two sides debated the merits of Jackson’s yellow card – each shoving the other. Post-match he commented: “It was a good performance. Against Toronto, it’s always special for a Montrealer. It’d been a month since I played. The last game was [with Canada] against Jamaica, here in Toronto, and we won 3-1. It went well, and I'm glad, all the more so given that I’d only returned to training last week.” Adding: “Emotions are let loose sometimes, and you try to control the game, you try to help the referee as well, but you can see it goes overboard sometimes, especially in those games. There were a few red cards, but in the end, it didn’t go overboard so much. For me, it was one of the more exciting and emotional games we had against Toronto.” Doneil Henry Henry too returned to the starting lineup for Toronto on Saturday against Montreal for the first time after a six-match hiatus – it was his eighteenth start and twentieth appearance of the season, though more importantly (if rumours are to be believed) it may well have been his final home match for the club. Paired with Steven Caldwell in the centre of defense, taking up the left-sided role, he was tasked with keeping the tireless running of Jack McInerney under wraps. With Toronto taking the initiative and Montreal looking to spring quick breaks, Henry was required to mop up a lot of half chances, making nine recoveries, five interceptions, three clearances, and two blocked throughout the ninety mintues. The Brampton, Ontario-native was a little late to spot Felipe’s trailing run on Montreal’s goal, both he and Caldwell dropping back with the runner rather than protecting the vulnerable top of the box, but he made amends with that error with a good recovery-intervention when Felipe chipped McInerney in early in the second half, doing just enough to rush the striker into clipping his finish off the face of the bar. With TFC in desperate need of the points late and some time with the National Team at full-back, Henry pressed high up the right later in the match, getting involved in the oft-impotent attack. His first pass into the box showed all the finesse one would expect of a centre-back in attack – easily cut out by Patrice Bernier – but his second was rather nice, scooping the ball over the tackle of Felipe before bypassing Bernier to play in Dwayne De Rosario down the right-side of the box; unfortunately De Rosario blazed his effort over the bar. Perhaps indicative of change in the future, Henry was one of the few Toronto players who ventured to the South End to applaud the fans after another disappointing season. Henry has been the success story of the nascent TFC academy and has a lot of room for further growth in his game. Jonathan Osorio Osorio started a sixth-consecutive match for Toronto in their draw on Saturday – it was his 24th start and 27th appearance of the season. Allowed to take up his preferred central-role, playing ahead of Collen Warner with Michael Bradley suspended, Osorio was good, but was unable to make use of the full pitch, opting instead to stay deep, often taking up the Bradley-role of dropping very deep to pick up the initial pass out of the back. The consequence of which was that he did not have a single pass in the final third of the pitch, which is a criminal misuse of his skills with Toronto desperate for goals. The Toronto, Ontario-native was indeed key in TFC’s ball movement, completing all but eight of his approximately forty passes, but it would have been nice if some had been in more dangerous areas of the pitch. Despite that reserved nature, he did help spring two notable attacks – laying a skipping ball down the right for Mark Bloom that led to Luke Moore’s fade-away header at the back-post that was cut out by Matteo Ferrari and playing a scoop pass in midfield to Moore that led to the counterattack that drew a fine foot save out of Evan Bush at the back-post on Dominic Oduro – likely TFC’s best scoring chance of the match. His night would come to a premature end in the 93rd minute when he was dismissed with a very harsh red card from the referee, who had obviously tired managing the game midway through the second half and chose to instead start sending everybody off – it was the first red card of his MLS career and just his third bookings. No doubt Osorio caught Felipe with a foul, but did it warrant a red card? Video evidence is inconclusive, but it is worth pointing out no Montreal players were particularly angered by the challenge, as they were by Jackson’s on Eric Miller some minutes earlier. Unless it is rescinded, which is unlikely given the Independent Review Panel’s silence on Nick Hagglund’s bizarre red the previous week (there is little reason to stir the pot and overturn cards when the matches are meaningless), Osorio will have played his final match of 2014, ending the season with three goals and five assists after scoring five and garnering a single assist in his rookie campaign, making six further starts, but one less appearance than he did in 2013. Post-match he discussed a plethora of subjects, sharing his thoughts on the match: “It was a difficult game. Obviously they came out with a lot of energy. You could kind of feel that. They definitely wanted to end our playoff hopes. To be fair they played pretty well. We played pretty good too. I thought we had many chances, especially in the first half. Unfortunately we gave up that goal and we couldn’t get the next one in the 2nd half.” On the red card: “As Felipe was passing the ball I just kind of reached in with my foot and I kind of got him a little bit. I don’t know if it deserved red card but I did get him. It was a foul.” On Felipe’s goal-celebration: “I was waiting to get a goal myself because I had something up my sleeve but it’s okay it happens.” And finally on the fan’s impatience, speaking truth in the face of much pressure: “We understand the fans are impatient now because it’s been a long time since the club started and we’ve never been in the playoffs. We have to look at the reality and the reality is we’re still a club making changes. We went up a step from last year and if we can continue building that, pretty soon we will be a team fighting for a championship. “We definitely do have the players, maybe we’re missing some pieces but I think more it’s about the team being together longer. The more we get to practice with each other, the more fluidity we’ll get in our team and the better we will be.” Russell Teibert Teibert retained his starting position for Vancouver in the 0-0 draw in San Jose on Saturday night for the eleventh-consecutive match – it was his 21st start and 28th appearance of the season. Once more alongside Matias Laba at the base of the midfield, Teibert had a solid outing, covering tons of ground and was nearly perfect in his passing, competing all but four of some fifty attempts. It was a rather quiet match on the whole, but the Niagara Falls, Ontario-native had one crack from long range that strayed wide and hit a spectator, who dropped like a stone and he played numerous balls into the wide areas, hoping to spur attacks, finding Erik Hurtado one on occasion, who could not see out the chance. He was guilty of over-committing on one occasion, biting hard and blazing past Khari Stephenson’s touch allowing a blistering shot from the top of the box that was well-saved by David Ousted. Teibert looked forward to Vancouver’s final match – the one which would determine if they will make this year’s playoffs - in his post-match comments: “We said that we had five cup finals to play in, and we’ve won three and tied one. This is the last cup final that we’re going to have to play in before the playoffs, and we’re going to approach it like we have the past four games. I think if we stick to our game plan and everybody focuses on their tasks, individually and collectively, I know we can get a result.” Issey Nakajima-Farran Nakajima-Farran began his return to Toronto on the bench, coming on for Dilly Duka in the 73rd minute to make his fifth-substitute appearance in Montreal’s last six matches after an impressive outing for Canada against Colombia on Tuesday – it was his twelfth appearance of the season for the Impact, all but four coming as a sub. Lively and full of confidence, the Calgary, Alberta-native took every opportunity to close down TFC players on the ball, helping to prevent the home side from finding the game-winner they needed. He nearly got a winner himself when Patrice Bernier played a quick free-kick to him, running at Steven Caldwell before playing to Marco Di Vaio down the right. Joe Bendik would deny the striker’s attempt and the rebound trickled beyond the reach of Nakajima-Farran at the back-post with the net gaping – it would have been sweet justice for how his midseason transfer between the clubs was handled. He spoke post-match about returning to Toronto: “I’ve got close friends on the other team so I always wish them the best but at the same time it’s bittersweet because of how the situation went down. As much as I want to prove myself to them against them for what they did, but this is MLS, but I have mixed feelings because I have close friends on the other side.” And on how everything has played out for him this season: “Well, they didn’t really play out too well for me. As soon as I settled down in Montreal, I haven’t been playing as much ever since the red card. I’ve been playing here and there but no more than an hour in the past 10 or 15 games I guess. It’s been frustrating and very unexciting time for myself, but, everything has been going great with the national team. I’m very thankful for Benito (Floro) and especially all the guys that surround the national team so it’s been a great season for that.” Dwayne De Rosario De Rosario entered Toronto’s draw from the bench in the 57th minute, replacing the goal-scorer Warren Creavalle with TFC in search of an equalizer – it was the eighth-straight appearance for the veteran, all but the first coming from as a substitute; he has made nineteen appearances this season, four of them starts. Given a free role, De Rosario ranged all over the pitch in an effort to find a way through the Montreal defenses, though he was nominally stationed on the right of the midfield. Shortly after entering, he nearly picked out the run of Gilberto with a long ball down the left-channel, but his delivery was slightly over-hit, skidding to Evan Bush who cleared away the threat. The Scarborough, Ontario-native had a glorious chance to get the winner himself, after Doneil Henry silky-skills played him in down the right-side of the area, but his right-footer sailed woefully over. His run into the area even later was overlooked by a Gilberto headed pass, opting instead to try and find Luke Moore to little effect. De Rosario had several run-ins with his Canadian associates, marking Issey Nakajima-Farran on a free-kick, tangling and bundling him over in the process and exchanging shoves with Patrice Bernier after Jackson’s booking. The veteran exhibited he still has plenty of fire, responding to getting hacked down by Hassoun Camara with a back-heel, leg-hook, can-opener, earning a yellow card for his troubles – it was his first booking of the season. Kyle Bekker Bekker’s run of three-straight starts came to an end on Saturday, returning to the bench from which he made his introduction in the 68th minute, replacing Collen Warner with TFC chases a victory – it was his nineteenth appearance of the season and seventh as a substitute. Taking up the deep-lying central role, Bekker was good, but wasted his chance to play the hero, sending his last-second free-kick sailing high onto the roof of the net. The Oakville, Ontario-native did have his moments, making the interception that led to Dominic Oduro’s chance on the counterattack and hitting a lovely corner kick that Gilberto should have done better with, but it was not to be; his frustration when his free-kick floated away was obvious. Tesho Akindele Akindele was back on the bench for the start of Dallas’ eventual 0-1 win in Colorado on Saturday – it was his 25th appearance of the season, eighteen of which have been starts. It was the third match in the last four in which he was used as a substitute, perhaps Oscar Pareja is trying to get the rookie some rest before the playoffs begin, plus Dallas’ other offseason acquisitions – David Texeira and Andres Escobar - have found their form, making inclusion in the starting lineup a more uncertain prospect. Entering the fray at half-time, replacing Texeira, the Calgary, Alberta-native was full of his usual running, unfortunately it was a pretty uneventful match. Dallas took the lead in the 56th minute from the penalty spot and then Colorado were reduced to ten men in the 79th minute, all but ending the contest. Despite that awesome ‘Vote for Tesho’ campaign video, his Rookie of the Year bid will have suffered some in that his production has dropped off of late – his last goal came in that hat-trick nine matches ago; since then he has picked up a pair of assists. The transition from the short college season to the lengthy professional one always weighs heavy on young players, perhaps a further reason for his lack of starts recently. Maxim Tissot Tissot entered Montreal’s draw in Toronto in the 82nd minute, replacing Andres Romero with fresh legs as the Impact looked to end TFC’s season – it was his nineteenth appearance of the season; all but six of which have come from the bench. Taking up the left-side of the Montreal midfield, the Gatineau, Quebec-native was tasked largely with matching the speed threat of Dominic Oduro down that flank, making at least one crucial intervention on the tricky Ghanaian to see out the result. The Rest Ashtone Morgan, Maxime Crepeau, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Sam Adekugbe, and Kofi Opare were unused substitutes on the bench for their respective sides. Mark Watson and Nick Dasovic were relieved on their managerial duties in San Jose last Wednesday when it was announced that the rumoured return of Dominic Kinnear to his former stomping grounds would be coming to fruition next season. Despite the shockingly public nature of the back-room machinations, Watson ‘took the high road’ in his comments to the San Jose Mercury. Hopefully the duo will land on their feet; who knows, Toronto could be looking for a new management team in the near future. All quotes and video courtesy of MLSsoccer.com 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