San Jose out to spoil Toronto FC's season
Earthquakes trying to end TFC playoff hopes at BMO Field
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BMO FIELD, Toronto, Ont., Canada
Oct. 10, 2009 (WEEK 30) / MLS Game #207
4 p.m. ET (CBC; CSN-BA)
If Toronto FC are to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history, they will likely have to win out over their three remaining regular season games, and it starts Saturday in the first of back-to-back home contests when they entertain the San Jose Earthquakes. TFC comes into the game with 35 points, three behind the New England Revolution, who hold eighth place overall and the final wild card spot. The Earthquakes are coming off a midweek loss to FC Dallas in their 2009 home finale, a defeat that officially eliminated them from playoff consideration.
REFEREE: Mark Geiger. SAR (bench): Thomas Supple; JAR (opposite): Greg Barkey; 4th: Steven DePiero MLS Career: 60 games; FC/gm: 28.5; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 11; pens: 22
INJURY REPORT: TORONTO FC - OUT: MF Carl Robinson (facial bone fracture); QUESTIONABLE: DF Marvell Wynne (quad); PROBABLE: DF Adrian Serioux (neck); FW Pablo Vitti (quad) ... SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - OUT: MF Darren Huckerby (R hip surgery); MF Andre Luiz (L knee sprain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Cornell Glen (R knee sprain); DF Jason Hernandez (L hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: TOR: Amado Guevara (Honduras; Oct. 10 vs. USA) ... SJ: Arturo Alvarez, Ramon Sanchez (El Salvador; Oct. 10 vs. Mexico); Simon Elliott (New Zealand; Oct. 10 vs. Bahrain)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: TOR: Chad Barrett, Nick Garcia
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: TOR: Dwayne De Rosario, Amado Guevara, Carl Robinson, Pablo Vitti ... SJ: Arturo Alvarez, Quincy Amarikwa, Bobby Convey, Ramiro Corrales, Darren Huckerby, Ryan Johnson, Chris Leitch, Brandon McDonald, Aaron Pitchkolan, Shea Salinas, Chris Wondolowski
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME: Toronto FC 1 win, 3 goals ... Earthquakes 1 win, 3 goals ... Ties 1
AT TORONTO: Toronto FC 0 wins, 0 goals ... Earthquakes 0 wins, 0 goals ... Ties 0
• The teams met for the first time ever a year ago, and Toronto FC did not score a goal in either meeting.
• The teams played to a scoreless draw at BMO Field in July before the Earthquakes claimed a victory in the season finale for both club.
• Coaches record: Chris Cummins vs. SJ: P1 W1 L0 D0 ... Frank Yallop v TOR: P4 W1 L1 D2
LAST MEETING (MLS)
7/11: SJ 1, TOR 3 (Huckerby 32 - TOR: Barrett 5, 69; Vitti 54)
• Toronto FC won for the first time ever at Buck Shaw Stadium, claiming a 3-1 victory against the Earthquakes on July 11 in their first meeting this season.
• It took the visitors just five minutes to open the scoring. Dwayne De Rosario collected a throw-in, held off a defender and hooked the ball over his head to Chad Barrett, who lashed a first-time drive inside the left post.
• The Earthquakes drew even in the 32nd minute. A long ball behind the TFC defense sent Ryan Johnson into the area, and after he held up and drew three defenders to him, he laid the ball back for Darren Huckerby to side-foot home unmarked for his second goal in four weeks.
• But the Reds took control of the game with two goals in 15 minutes. First, in the 54th minute, a free kick wasn't cleared and eventually sailed high into the air. Nana Attakora headed goalward to Pablo Vitti, and his backward flick sailed over Joe Cannon for his second goal in three weeks.
• Then Barrett completed his double. Running onto a long ball from De Rosario, Barrett was left to walk in all alone after San Jose defender Aaron Pitchkolan went down with an injury. Barrett rounded Cannon at the edge of the area and strolled in to touch the ball home.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - Chris Leitch, Jason Hernandez, Aaron Pitchkolan (Shea Salinas 71), Michael Zaher - Arturo Alvarez, Simon Elliott, Brandon McDonald, Darren Huckerby - Pablo Campos (Cornell Glen 59), Ryan Johnson (Quincy Amarikwa 79). Substitutes Not Used: Antonio Ribeiro, Jamil Roberts, Andrew Weber, Chris Wondolowski
• Here's Cummins' team (4-3-1-2): Stefan Frei - Marvell Wynne, Nick Garcia, Adrian Serioux, Nana Attakora - Dwayne De Rosario, Carl Robinson, Jim Brennan (Marco Velez 90) - Amado Guevara - Chad Barrett (Danny Dichio 80), Pablo Vitti. Substitutes Not Used: Brian Edwards, Gabe Gala, Emmanuel Gomez, Fuad Ibrahim, O'Brian White
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC return to action after a weekend off, after playing to a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire in their last match, Sept. 26 at Toyota Park. TFC has 35 points from 27 matches, now in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, nine points behind pace-setting Columbus.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire were coming off back-to-back draws, last a 2-2 home result with the Columbus Crew, while Toronto FC was trying to stop a six-game road winless skid, lengthened in a 2-0 loss at the LA Galaxy the weekend before.
• The visitors though took the lead after six minutes. A long ball out of the back was misplayed by two Chicago defenders, allowing Dwayne De Rosario to collect it and run unmolested into the area, and he beat goalkeeper Jon Busch for his 11th of the season, the first goal for TFC in 422 minutes on the road.
• But Chicago pulled level just eight minutes later. Brian McBride sent in a low cross from the right corner and trying to shepherd it away, TFC defender Nick Garcia saw it go off his chest and into his own goal.
• Yet the Reds were back in front before a minute had elapsed after the break. De Rosario received the ball on the left flank and whipped in a bouncing cross that Chad Barrett got on the end of, the former Fire striker sliding in to knock home a first-time effort for his fifth goal.
• But the home side had one more comeback. Justin Mapp curled in a cross from the left in the 78th minute and McBride snuck in behind the last defender, heading home inside the back post for his seventh on the season.
• TFC interim head coach Chris Cummins made no changes to the team that lost 2-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy the Saturday before at The Home Depot Center.
• Here's Cummins' team (4-2-3-1): Stefan Frei - Marvell Wynne, Nana Attakora, Nick Garcia, Jim Brennan - Amado Guevara, Julian de Guzman - Sam Cronin, Dwayne De Rosario, Chad Barrett (O'Brian White 85) - Ali Gerba (Carl Robinson 63). Substitutes Not Used: Brian Edwards, Lesly Fellinga, Gabe Gala, Emmanuel Gomez, Amadou Sanyang
• "I'm disappointed," Cummins said. "We had a real go tonight. We scored two decent goals. But I'm disappointed in the goals we conceded. I guess it was a fair result."
TEAM NEWS
• Toronto FC is three points out of eighth place overall and the final wild card spot with nine points remaining to be gained. But two of their final three games are at home - this weekend's contest with San Jose and next Saturday's home match against Real Salt Lake.
• "It's terrible -- we let ourselves down -- two times we were in the game and we could have come home with three points and there at the end we could have come home with zero points," said Dwayne De Rosario. "... We are very disappointed we got a point and we still aren't out of it yet. We put ourselves in another tough position where we have to have three wins in three games. We need to get those results."
• After being shut out in four of their last five games, TFC scored a pair of goals, the second time in three games they have hit for multiple goals. The other was the 3-2 home win vs. Colorado on Sept. 12, one of just two wins for the Reds since mid-July.
• "I think we had a purpose tonight. There were some sloppy spells tonight where we gave the ball away cheaply and it's going to happen but Chad Barrett deserved his goal through his effort and his work rate," Cummins said. "We could have had a couple more goals as well, but De Rosario had a terrific effort and they had a couple good efforts as well. A draw is probably a fair result."
• For Barrett, his goal in Chicago was his first since hitting for a brace in the 3-1 win at San Jose on July 11 in the first meeting between the clubs this season. "It was good to get back on the scoresheet," he said. "I haven't been back here in a year. The fans were receptive. I had a good time while I was here."
• TFC suffered a blow in training during the week when midfielder Carl Robinson suffered a fractured facial bone in a collision with another player and will miss the remainder of the regular season. Robinson was due to undergo surgery on Thursday and expected to be sidelined 6-8 weeks.
• The game against Chicago was the last one for TFC against any of the teams they are directly in contention with for a playoff spot, though they have a favorable run-in for the remainder of the season. The Reds can eliminate San Jose from postseason contention with a victory; they then take on Real Salt Lake (one point behind) and New York (already eliminated to conclude the campaign.
• "We needed to come here and get the (win)," Barrett said. "We did well to fight hard, but we did not do a good job of managing the game. But maybe this point is the one that will get us into the playoffs."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes were officially eliminated from playoff contention, seeing their four-game unbeaten streak come to an end with a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday night at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Earthquakes have 28 points from 27 matches on the year, still in eighth place in the Western Conference.LAST MATCH
• Both the Earthquakes and FC Dallas had kept alive their slim playoff ambitions with back-to-back wins in their two previous games.
• Dario Sala made a trio of top-notch saves late in the first half to keep the match scoreless, then FCD took the lead four minutes after the break. Jeff Cunningham played provider, flicking a pass into the area for David Ferreira. The Colombian rounded goalkeeper Joe Cannon and slotted the ball home for his eighth goal.
• But the Quakes leveled the score in the 73rd minute. Shea Salinas launched a ball down the right touchline and Quincy Amarikwa latched onto it before cutting into the area, chipping the ball over an onrushing Sala for his first career MLS goal.
• Yet FC Dallas regained the lead in the 81st minute. With San Jose holding a high line, Ferreira played a through ball, sending Dax McCarty in alone on goal. He went wide of Cannon then laid the ball square for Cunningham to dribble into the goal for his league-leading 17th goal of the season.
• The Quakes nearly stayed alive with a stoppage-time leveler. Cannon went forward for a corner kick and got his head on a loose ball, but Sala was able to swat at it and Jair Benitez headed off the line.
• With his team decimated by international call-ups and injuries, San Jose head coach Frank Yallop made four changes from the side that beat New York 1-0 last Saturday with Bobby Burling, Mike Zaher, Shea Salinas and Antonio Ribeiro all entering the lineup.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - Chris Leitch, Bobby Burling, Brandon McDonald, Michael Zaher (Cornell Glen 87) - Shea Salinas, Ramiro Corrales, Antonio Ribeiro (Quincy Amarikwa 61), Bobby Convey - Ryan Johnson, Chris Wondolowski. Substitutes Not Used: Aaron Pitchkolan, Jamil Roberts, Andrew Weber
• "I am disappointed with the result. We should have at least tied the game to be honest. We had chances, but we didn't play real well. Our general play, especially in the final third, was poor tonight," Yallop said. "We had chances at 1-1 to go and break and score a goal. We couldn't even muster a cross or a shot, which is tough."
TEAM NEWS
• All told the Quakes were missing six players due to either injury or international commitments. The reduced numbers also meant that the Quakes had just five available substitutes.
• "I don't think you saw our team. Any time you change a lot of players in your lineup it's tough for the players coming in. I don't make excuses, but it was difficult," Yallop said. "I think we should have still won the game with the chances (we had). We kind of huffed and puffed but didn't blow any houses down in this game."
• With the Quakes the only team to play twice during the international weekend, things will not improve for the trip to Toronto.
• "It might be difficult, but we're going to go to Toronto and try and win, and obviously go to Chivas and to LA and try to do the same thing," Yallop said. "We are a good team, I think. We've got to make sure that we look at the whole thing, and we were starting to really play well, and we get a few injuries, (and) that really hurt us."
• In his 21st appearance of his rookie season (his 20th coming off the substitutes' bench), rookie Quincy Amarikwa finally broke through for his first professional goal.
• "It feels good to finally get in there and score my first goal this season. It was not always in the back of my mind, but more as a way to find my rhythm and keep it going for the whole night," he said. "Right when I hit the shot, I knew it was going in. I've seen Chris (Wondolowski) hit those same shots at practice, so when I saw the goalie commit to the ground, I went for the chip."
