Welcome to Counter Attack, Sportsnet’s Monday column that recaps the weekend and previews the week ahead for the three Canadian teams in Major League Soccer.
While Toronto had a bye in MLS last week, both Montreal and Vancouver continued on with mixed results.
The Impact held on in the second leg to win their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal series on the away goals rule, becoming the first Canadian team to reach the tournament finals. But Montreal’s MLS woes continued, as they remain winless after four games, their latest setback coming in a road loss to Houston on the weekend.
As for Vancouver, they too had a pair of matches, and the three-day turnaround meant their depth was tested. The ‘Caps did well to come from behind to a earn a draw at home to Columbus, but then put forth easily their most uninspired performance of the MLS campaign in a loss away to San Jose.
What happened?
• Vancouver 2, Columbus 2
• Houston 3, Montreal 0
• San Jose 1, Vancouver 0
Records
• Montreal Impact: 0-2-2, 2 points (10th in Eastern Conference)
• Toronto FC: 1-3-0, 3 points (9th in Eastern Conference)
• Vancouver Whitecaps: 4-2-1, 13 points (1st in Western Conference)
Did Morales deserve to see red?
What did we learn?
Montreal 2014 revisited: This looks a little too familiar. Last season, Montreal struggled out of the gate, going winless through their first seven MLS matches. This season, the Impact are winless in four (with two losses) and look every bit as inept in the league as they did a year ago. Against Houston, the Impact enjoyed successful spells where they pressed high up the field to win back possession, put together some nice attacking sequences in the final third and enjoyed most of the possession—but the end-product was missing. The addition of Kenny Cooper (more on that later) seems like a desperate move, considering he was a part-time player in Seattle last season and that his best years in MLS were some time ago. But what choice does Montreal have? They need somebody with experience and Cooper fills the bill—whether he can fill the back of the net with goals for Montreal remains to be seen.
Patience required with Flores: Prior to the start of the season, Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson heralded Honduran loanee Deybi Flores as one of the league’s brightest prospects. The 18-year-old midfielder looked solid in his debut, coming on as a substitute against Portland on March 28, and Robinson rewarded him by giving him his first start against San Jose. Playing alongside Matias Laba in front of the back four, Flores put in a workmanlike performance, and did well to maintain possession. But he also appeared timid at times, opting to make the safe pass rather than look to drive the play forward by making a run or delivering a killer through-ball. This performance may have pushed him back down the depth chart below Russell Teibert, but that’s okay. The young Honduran is still learning his craft, and it’s going to take him time to adapt to MLS and live up to Robinson’s prognostications. Patience is required.
Upcoming schedule
• Dallas vs. Toronto (Saturday, 8:30 pm ET)
• Salt Lake vs. Vancouver (Saturday, 9:30 pm ET)
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Stories to follow
Montreal adds Kenny Cooper: The Montreal Impact added some experience and size up front after acquiring veteran striker Kenny Cooper off MLS waivers on Sunday. The signing of Cooper gives Montreal, who never found a replacement for Marco Di Vaio following the Italian’s retirement in the off-season, some much-needed attacking depth. Rookie forward Cameron is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury, and winger Justin Mapp is several months away from returning after injuring his elbow. Cooper, who stands six-foot-three-inches and weighs 210 pounds, will also give Montreal more of a physical presence up front than Jack McInerney, who’s been starting for the Impact in recent weeks.
TFC’s defensive injuries: The bye week afforded TFC some extra time to recover from their defensive injuries. Steven Caldwell, Damien Perquis, Mark Bloom and Eriq Zavaleta have all missed action in recent weeks, with Caldwell and Perquis being a bit slower to recover. Last time out, Warren Creavalle picked up two yellow cards vs. Chicago, ruling him out for this weekend’s match in Dallas, while the Justin Morrow at centre back experiment was less than successful. Coach Greg Vanney really needs at least two defenders from the injured foursome to come back—otherwise his team’s defensive depth is going to be tested once again, and he’ll be forced to field another makeshift back four. Also, if Caldwell can’t return this week, it raises even more questions as to how much Toronto can rely on the Scottish defender—he missed 11 games through injury a year ago, and has already missed two and half this campaign.
How will Vancouver fair without Morales?: Pedro Morales’ red card means he’s suspended for the Whitecaps’ upcoming road game vs. Real Salt Lake. Utah isn’t the easiest of places for visiting teams, and it’ll be that much more difficult for the Whitecaps without their influential playmaker on the trip. Coach Carl Robinson deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation vs. San Jose, with a midfield attacking three consisting of Morales, Kekutah Manneh and Darren Mattocks. It’ll be interesting to see who he replaces Morales with in Salt Lake—whether he gives a start to Russell Teibert who has looked solid this year but was on the subs’ bench in San Jose; whether he installs Gershon Koffie in the centre of midfield; or whether Honduran teenager Deybi Flores retains his starting place in a new formation.