The first game that I am going to talk about, since I watched more of it, is the Toronto FC match. The sense among most TFC fans was that this was not going to be a good outing for the team and they were just hoping to keep things close. Recent history though would suggest that when these two teams meets it is likely to end in a draw but if you look at the forms of the two teams Toronto's chances looked slim. The Galaxy came into the match unbeaten in 7 games and on their second longest run in franchise history without conceding a goal. So when Chris Birchall opened the scoring only 2 minutes into the game I for one was thinking here we go again assuming that things were going to get ugly for TFC. Things would settle down though and TFC slowly seemed to be getting in to the game. A bad tackle from Beckham would see him get a caution just before the half hour mark and a lot of TFC fans were left wondering how he managed to avoid a red card as he would be spoken to about 2 fouls later in the game without receiving a second yellow. It really did seem like he was getting the old super star treatment and not being punished for his actions. The tackle also resulted in Toronto having to make one of its two first half changes as Tony Tchani seemed to pick up an injury and had to be replaced by Plata. Jacob Peterson would also have to leave the game before the half when his hamstring appeared to tighten up. He was replaced by Gordon who was returning to the TFC lineup after missing several games with a groin injury. In Gordon's absence TFC's attack looked weak and lacked any real punch but his return to the lineup paid off quickly. The first half ended with LA up 1-0 but it was no where near the dominant performance that many would have expected.
In the second half Toronto continued to fight back and show that they were not going to be pushovers. It was nice to see the team playing with some real heart and acting like they wanted to go out and try to salvage a result. In the end their effort paid off as Gordon marked his return to the lineup with a 68th minute goal that leveled things. It looked like TFC had done enough to earn a draw but in the 90th minute Juan Pablo Angel scored a heart breaking goal that seemed almost certain to send the Galaxy on to all 3 points. In the past Toronto would have folded like a cheap tent under that goal and not had enough about themselves to even try to fight back. They have a proven history of lacking any sort of performance in the clutch moments of matches and stoppage time goals have been few and far between for the club since their inception. On this night though things seemed to be very different as TFC bounced right back from going down 2-1 and went right to work trying to pull it back in stoppage time. Just as it seemed like time was going to run out on the Gordon again proved his value to the team as he scored his second of the game against his former team. Gordon managed to volley home the ball in to the top corner in what would have been one of the best MLS goals I have seen in a long time if not for one that took place in the Whitecaps game.
For me the game felt like a win for TFC despite it being their 4th draw in 5 matches and extending their winless streak to 6 games. It also ensured that the Galaxy's unbeaten run continued for an 8th game. Toronto did show a lot of positive signs in this game and when the club is working to rebuild that is the kind of thing that you look for. After their 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas I was concerned about how the team were satisfied with that and seemed to be lacking the desire to win matches. Combine that with the fact that anyone who has followed the club knows that they are terrible in the clutch moments of matches and you can see how this result was even more unexpected. The team showed a lot of heart and passion in LA as well as showing that they really can hold their own with the better teams in the league. There is no reason for this team to be happy with 0-0 draws against poor KC teams but this draw is one that you can build on. The game also proved that Alan Gordon makes TFC a whole lot better in the attack. With him out of the lineup they looked far to one dimensional and if teams could deal with Santos Toronto had very little other options in terms of scoring threats.
The Toronto result had me all excited but it was a moment from the Vancouver game that stole all the headlines and may actually help to increase the profile of the MLS. Vancouver played a very good opening 80 minutes and led 1-0 thanks to a penalty that was converted by Eric Hassli. It all seemed like it was going to be undone though as the team had a terrible couple of minutes and Seattle scored a pair of goals very quickly to go up 2-1. It looked like all of the Caps hard work would be for nothing and they would lose yet again but then Eric Hassli stepped up with one of the best goals you have ever seen. If you have not seen his goal yet well you need to! It is a world class goal, not just one of the best ever in the MLS. Hassli showed that he has the skill to be a great goal scorer when he is actually able to avoid card trouble and stay on the field long enough to show these flashes of brilliance. Some poor defending by Seattle set up Hassli's second goal of the game as they turned the ball over to him near the corner of the 18 yard box. He flicked the ball up and with his back almost to the goal he volleyed the ball across the net and right into the top corner of the net. It was one of the best goals you will ever see and it was enough to ensure that Vancouver would at least be able to grab a point from the match. Even the loud Seattle crowd could not help but appreciate what they had seen and gave Hassli a well deserved round of applause.
So if you went to bed on Saturday night then you missed out on both Canadian MLS teams being involved in some exciting games. Its a shame that both teams had to settle for draws but the efforts of Gordon and Hassli are ones you can be proud of as fans and both teams had games that they can build on going forward.
And now for your viewing pleasure:
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