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MLS: MLS Cup
San Diego 2, Toronto 0 February 8, 2011 TORONTO – Dwayne DeRosario scored a goal and assisted on the other as San Diego beat Toronto 2-0 in the MLS Cup final to capture their record third MLS championship. Kyle Beckerman was sent off in the 31st minute and San Diego dominated after that, beating Toronto 12-2 in shots on goal. Donovan Ricketts was the only thing that kept the Sun from a five or a six goal victory.Even before Beckerman’s red card, San Diego looked like the more dangerous team. Wade Barrett made a nice play to move Chris Rolfe off the ball in the seventh, avoiding the first good scoring chance of the game and an offside trap barely worked to draw Shalrie Joseph offside after Landon Donovan dribbled around two players and passed it to Joseph wide open in front of the net in the 13th minute. Ricketts barely got enough of Freddie Ljungberg’s shot in the 26th to keep the ball out of the net. The Trojans’ defense was disorganized early in the match and San Diego was able to find holes routinely. Before Toronto could even get a handle on things in their own third of the field, Beckerman committed an undisciplined mistake that changed the course of the game. With Rolfe dribbling the ball away from goal, about 25 yards out, Beckerman came in from behind for a tackle, lunging into the back of Rolfe’s legs. Tempers flared and the teams got together as Rolfe was laying on the ground. After the referee calmed the situation, he pulled the red card out and presented it to Beckerman. San Diego took advantage of their ten man opponent with clinical ease and countless times, it was DeRosario that was on the end of their attacks. Locked in a one-on-one battle all day with Ricketts, he forced no fewer than five diving saves by the Trojans’ keeper. This was a one-on-one matchup though that the Trojans couldn’t possibly win in the end. DeRosario had two great scoring chances in the first five minutes after Beckerman’s red card. Ricketts dove to make a save on the first try in the 35th minute but DeRosario scored on the second try two minutes later. On the goal, DeRosario received the ball with his back to goal and Brandon McDonald was caught badly out of position as DeRosario turned and fired a shot inside the far post. Toronto was lucky to get into the locker room down by just a goal. DeRosario missed the net with a good chance late in the first half and the Trojans were at a loss trying to create offense with ten men. Toronto regrouped at halftime and pressed forward with a more dangerous looking attack after the intermission. Edson Buddle had a chance in the 53rd minute but Wil Hesmer was able to push the shot wide. It was Toronto’s best chance since the red card and only down a goal, they were still just one break away from making a game of it again. For every scoring chance the Trojans created though, San Diego had two or three of their own. DeRosario came close to doubling the lead three times in a span of ten minutes leading up to the hour mark of the match. His 62nd minute volley off a pass that traveled 40 yards forced Ricketts to make yet another diving save. It took some luck after that for the Trojans to keep San Diego from scoring as two straight shots in a span of 15 seconds hit the crossbar. The second, a header by Marvell Wynne from six yards out, was an easy scoring chance that he should have converted. In the 75th minute, San Diego finally broke through for their second goal. DeRosario this time played the role of playmaker, slipping a pass behind the Trojans’ back line to Steve Ralston, who beat Ricketts from six yards out. That goal took the wind out of Toronto’s sails. They had just one more shot in the final 15 minutes of the match as San Diego loaded up defensively and held possession to bleed out the clock. In the end, the 2010 MLS Cup went down as the most one sided championship game in league history, even if the scoreboard didn’t show just how one sided it was. DeRosario was named Man of the Match. Shalrie Joseph also turned in a stellar performance for the Sun. Plenty of teams have won with 10-men, including Toronto in the opening game of their semifinal series, but Joseph erased Toronto playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto and defused the Trojans’ vaunted counter attack at every turn. With the Sun’s back line covering up Buddle and Findley, the Trojans weren’t able to get their offense going while San Diego attacked at will. Box Score Scoring San Diego – Dwayne DeRosario (Stuart Holden, Landon Donovan), 37th San Diego – Steve Ralston (Dwayne DeRosario, Shalrie Joseph), 75th Bookings Toronto – Kyle Beckerman (red), 31st San Diego – Shalrie Joseph (yellow), 86th Team Statistics Shots: San Diego 14, Toronto 6 On Goal: San Diego 12, Toronto 2 Corners: San Diego 5, Toronto 2 Possession: San Diego 54, Toronto 46 Passing: San Diego 89, Toronto 85 Lineups San Diego Sun GK-Wil Hesmer (7) – Controlled the area and made a couple tough saves LB-Andre Hainault (5) – Shaky on the ball, avoided a costly mistake though CB-Ugo Ihemelu (6) – Didn’t do much to get noticed, good or bad CB-Bobby Boswell (7) – Came up with a couple important tackles when called on RB-Marvell Wynne (7) – Clean game on defense, got forward well LM-Stuart Holden (7) – Moved around well, created some chances DM-Shalrie Joseph (8) – Didn’t give Barros Schelotto much space, killed counters, setup a goal AM-Landon Donovan (6) – Should have done more with so much space RM-Freddie Ljungberg (7) – Very active and dangerous for the first 58 minutes ST-Chris Rolfe (7) – Active and drew the defense but his biggest impact was drawing the red card ST-Dwayne DeRosario (8) – Nearly had a bevy of goals, had the whole Toronto defense on the run Substitutes Steve Ralston (Ljungberg, 58) (7) – Played smart, took his chance and scored Richard Mulrooney (Holden, 63) (6) – Steady play defensively Gordon (Rolfe, 63) (5) – Made no impact despite a lot of touches Toronto Trojans FC GK-Donovan Ricketts (7) – Would have been an historic blowout were it not for Ricketts LB-Wade Barrett (6) – Saved a goal scoring chance, had a clean game CB-Brandon McDonald (4) – Made way too mistakes, was burnt on the first goal CB-Sean Franklin (4) – Gave almost no resistance to DeRosario, left McDonald helpless RB-Craig Waibel (5) – Caught out of position wide and forward too often LM-Eddie Lewis (5) – Didn’t spark the offense or settle the team down a man DM-Kyle Beckerman (3) – Red card ultimately doomed his team AM-Guillermo Barros Schelotto (4) – Was the missing man of the match RM-Emmanuel Ekpo (6) – Speed gave San Diego trouble periodically ST-Robbie Findley (6) – Made the best of almost no service from the midfield ST-Edson Buddle (6) – Looked dangerous enough to make a game breaking play Substitutes Clint Mathis (Ekpo, 58) (4) – Push on the right wing died when he entered John Wolyniec (Findley, 63) (5) – Didn’t get enough touches to make an impact Andrew Jacobson (Lewis, 63) (5) – Didn’t set anything up with Toronto pressing late Man of the Match: Dwayne DeRosario, San Diego |