One point from a possible six last week kept Toronto FC stagnant in MLS standings, though luckily not a lot of movement took place in the Eastern Conference.
The week started on Wednesday with the Reds’ unfortunate loss in Dallas, but Philadelphia was able to secure only a point at home to Los Angeles.
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New England was the only Eastern team that won last week, taking a 1-0 decision from Vancouver on Shalrie Joseph’s 49th minute penalty kick. Elsewhere on Saturday in the East, D.C. drew Colorado 1-1 at home, Philadelphia, in its second match of the week, took a 2-0 beating form Dallas, while Columbus was routed 3-0 in San Jose and Kansas City was destroyed 4-1 by Los Angeles where all the stars - Landon Donovan (twice), Juan Pablo Angel and David Beckham - got on the score sheet.
On Sunday, Eastern Conference leading New York Red Bulls lost 3-2 at home to Chivas USA. Former Toronto FC player Dwayne De Rosario opened his NYRB account from the spot at the 35th minute and Thierry Henry scored his fifth of the season, but it wasn’t enough to stave off a Justin Braun hat-trick that lifted Chivas over the Red Bulls in New Jersey. After the game Henry indicated New York's midweek glamour friendly in Montreal (glamorous for the home team, anyway) is one of the factors to blame for the Red Bulls' less than convincing performance.
Western Conference teams feasted on the East last week as per the score lines above. They were the better conference last week, but it can be argued that's the case every week. If MLS was a single table, six of the top 10 would be from the West including the top three.
In an all-Western affair Vancouver and San Jose drew 1-1 at midweek. One point from six was the fate shared by both Canadian teams in MLS as they prepare for their midweek Nutrilite Canadian Championship first leg encounter (Vancouver v. Toronto - Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET on Rogers Sportsnet).
The other two Western Conference clashes also ended in draws; Salt Lake was held scoreless at home to Houston and in the first MLS meeting of old rivals Seattle and Portland a 1-1 draw settled the tie.
New York continues to lead the East with 15 points from nine games with Philadelphia trailing by a point. Places three to five are occupied by Houston, Columbus and New England with 13 each, Toronto in seventh place, two points behind that group.
Los Angeles continues to lead the West with 20 points but from a league-high 12 games. Dallas is three points back with two games in hand, while Salt Lake is at 16 points but have a staggering five games to make up the gap to the top.
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