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MLS Preseason Rewind: Crew topple TFC; Sporting KC beat Red Bulls; and more

Federico Higuain

By DAN ITEL

Federico Higuain got the Columbus Crew started with a 10th-minute goal Wednesday against Toronto FC and they didn’t let up in a 3-1 victory in the opening game of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, Fla.

Higuain sent a curling free kick past Toronto’s newly acquired Brazilian international goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who was seeing his first action in a Reds jersey, to send the Michael Parkhurst-captained Columbus squad to their second preseason victory in as many games.

Josh Williams doubled the lead two minutes later on a blast from the edge of the area, and Adam Bedell rounded out the Crew scoring with a 61st-minute goal.

Toronto, playing in their second preseason match, featured three of their four major offseason acquisitions in U.S. international Michael Bradley, Brazilian striker Gilberto and Julio Cesar. Their lone tally came on a Crew own goal in the 14th minute.

Here are some other results from Wednesday’s action:

PETERSON GOAL GIVES SPORTING 1-0 VICTORY OVER RED BULLS

A Jacob Peterson goal broke a scoreless stalemate and gave Sporting Kansas City a 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls in Wednesday’s preseason showdown between MLS’ two Cup winners from last season.

Peterson struck in the 65th minute after he got to a loose ball in the box to put it away in the teams’ opener of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic.

Sporting, which are now unbeaten in four preseason matches (3-0-1), went with a mixture of fixtures from last year’s MLS Cup championship squad, with Peterson coming on as a second-half substitute. New York (1-2-0 in preseason), last season’s Supporters’ Shield winner, also fielded a lineup of expected starters and reserves.

CHIVAS DRAW FC TUCSON IN DESERT DIAMOND CUP

Carlos Alvarez, the second-overall pick from the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, salvaged a 1-1 draw for Chivas USA with a goal against PDL side FC Tucson on Wednesday in the opener of the Desert Diamond Cup preseason tournament in Tucson, Ariz.

With Chivas trailing 1-0, Alvarez, a second-half substitute, scored on a shot from outside the penalty area in the 59th minute.

Martino Rapella put FC Tucson up 1-0 with a 54th-minute goal following a scoreless first half.

Comments

  1. The Reds season will be dictated by how well the outside players have success , namely Jackson,Morrow and Orr,their movement up the center was very bad,the outside was better,and I think will become much better.

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  2. Michael Parkhurst captained the second half after the full team switch. First half captain was Will Trapp, who may end up as the first Homegrown to captain team.

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    • I am dreaming, right there with you…….Bring em back !

      ps. except for that Red Bull thing, you are on an island there….

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  3. folks…. Toronto has a lot of work to do before they will succeed (i.e. win!) so many new players (yes, very good ones!) on the roster, but they do need time to play as a team. They will need several months to “come together” though I wonder how long before fans get frustrated.

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    • People said the same thing about the Miami Heat when James and Bosh went down there, and they also didn’t have a so called high profile coach at the time. They have made it to the Finals every year since. Will that happen with TFC? Who knows, but I won’t dismiss their chances of getting to and winning the MLS Cup this season just because they are trying to make some new pieces fit together…

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    • In all seriousness, I would like to know how he looked. Julio Cesar let 3 in? I wonder if there was a good reason for him not to start on his last club team.

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      • Cesar didn’t start for a couple of reasons, primarily because his salary is bloated so when they went down to the Championship they wanted to ship him like they did their other big stars. Cesar said no because he liked his big contract. So QPR threw him into the doghouse, hoping it would force his hand. It didn’t.

        Then the other truth is that he’s not that much better than the keeper they’re using now. So there wasn’t pressure to play him, outside of his cost.

      • A team can ship him anywhere they want to, they own his contract. Having him on the bench doesn’t lower his salary one bit.

    • In all seriousness, Tim Leiweke needs to fire Ryan Nelsen and hire a proper coach who knows what he’s doing. Nelsen can join Kevin Payne in the unemployment line…

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      • Exactly. Don’t forget that this is only preseason, a lot of these guys have never played together outside of training, and that’s only gone on for a matter of weeks. With that said, if Nelson can’t make something happen with the players he’s got, then you have to get rid of him. No way Toronto can accept a mediocre season this year.

      • A bit early for that conclusion. The season literally hasn’t even started yet. TFC has to overcome a losing culture. It won’t happen overnight.

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