We are now two-thirds through the season, and week twelve proved how critical each match is becoming. The league will now go on a brief break ahead of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Sporting KC is on a 17-day break following their 2-0 road victory over the LA Galaxy in Carson, California on Sunday, July 4 – since Kansas City is one of the host cities for the Gold Cup group stage. The win put Sporting atop of the Western Conference standings, even though they only held it for three days.
Toronto FC continues to make surprising moves by firing head coach Chris Armas and scoring three goals in the first half-hour over the New England Revolution.
Continuing with our Canadian teams, CF Montreal earned a glorious 2-1 win over New York City FC. Even though New York fared better statistic-wise on paper, Montreal rallied from a goal deficit to claim all three points with a pair of goals from Mason Toye and Romell Quioto.
Vancouver. Oh, Whitecaps. Never change. Although Coach Dos Santos has had some moments, he still struggles with consistency after dropping points to their host club, Real Salt Lake.
Following a road win in Salt Lake City, the Black-and-Gold traveled to Austin, who just came off their first home win. Carlos Vela scored the opening goal off a Kim Moon-Hwan connection. But it was later called back due to a foul caused by Raheem Edwards. Jose Cifuentes scored two games in a row to give LAFC the lead, and Diego Rossi beat Brad Stuver in a 1v1 for the game-winner.
It was another sleepless night in Seattle as the Sounders continue to stun the league week after week.
The Sounders are now leading with thirteen unbeaten matches and made league history following their 2-0 shutout. Kelyn Rowe, a Seattle native, got the breakthrough in the second half off an Alex Roldan pass. Raul Ruidiaz scored the game-winner late into stoppage time for his 10th goal – tying with Chicharito for the top spot in the Golden Boot Race.
Lastly, the Crew and Cincinnati closed the week in the first Hellis Derby of the season. Goals from Lucas Zelarayan and Berry lifted the Crew out of a two-goal deficit with ten players for the 2-2 draw.
Then again, what do you expect from a club who watched Portland double their international spot for twice the amount with Nashville within hours.
Club of the Week:
This week’s Club of the Week goes to Toronto FC.
*image courtesy of Toronto FC
Let me explain.
The Chris Armas era did not last long as the club relieved him of coaching duties following the club’s sixth consecutive defeat in a 7-1 loss against D.C. United on Sunday, July 4.
“The way we have been losing, especially since returning from the three-week break, has been very difficult to watch,” Bill Manning, Toronto’s president, told the media. “And when you see a team concede like we did yesterday, we just saw no way back outside of making the coaching change.”
Javier Pérez was appointed as the interim head coach prior to the New England Revolution match, giving the former NYCFC and U.S Soccer assistant coach his first win at the helm.
Although it seems Toronto is finally making strides and winning games, they are still struggling to scrap their way out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Reds entered a type of rebuilding period following Greg Vanney’s departure. Even though not being able to use their club resources, like Montreal and Vancouver, due to COVID travel restrictions can play a huge factor, their backline is still a mess.
Bringing Jozy Altidore back into the mix is what the team needs to succeed after the club forced the 31-year-old forward to train on his own following a verbal altercation with Armas.
According to ESPN reporter Jeff Carlisle, Altidore is currently en route to Toronto from the team’s training base in South Florida and is to have one more conversation with Toronto management to make sure that all parties are on the same page.
It seems Altidore and Toronto are in the final stages of reconciliation, as he is available for selection for TFC’s next game on July 17 against Orlando City.
Final Scores:
New England Revolution 2-3 Toronto FC
CF Montreal 2-1 New York City FC
Chicago Fire FC 3-1 Orlando City
Colorado Rapids 2-0 Minnesota United
Seattle Sounders 2-0 Houston Dynamo
Austin FC 0-2 LAFC
Vancouver Whitecaps 0-4 Real Salt Lake
LA Galaxy 3-1 FC Dallas
Nashville SC 2-2 Atlanta United
New York Red Bulls 1-1 Philadelphia Union
FC Cincinnati 2-2 Columbus Crew
Conference Standings:
*Images provided by MLS
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