Wednesday MLS Recap: Stars Don't Shine

Week 11 of MLS kicked off this week with NYCFC taking on Toronto, and the lackluster Red Bulls taking on last place Chicago Fire. In New York, what was supposed to be a duel between big named strikers, turned out to be more of an even match, with midfielders Will Johnson and Kwadwo Poku scoring for their teams in a 1-1 draw. Poku's goal in the 16th minute was a spectacular curled effort from just inside the box, beating Clint Irwin at his far post. Then in the 42nd minute, a wonderful cross by the rookie, Mo Babouli found Josh Williams at the back post, who was just able to keep the ball in play and leave an open tap in for Johnson to level the scores. The scoring ended there, and NYCFC fans may feel after the game that David Villa should've gotten that start ahead of Patrick Mullins, but his impact was very little even after he was subbed on in the 74th minute, only registering one shot in his 17 minutes on the field. Toronto on the other hand, were very unlucky not to get all 3 points, having 7 shots on target, but Josh Saunders' 6 saves, including a 1-on-1 with Giovinco and a good free kick save, left them with a single point. A disappointing two points dropped by Toronto at home, to say the least.

Curler. #mls (Vine by @MLS) https://t.co/oFo4AV8Aqq

— Just More Soccer (@JustMoreSoccer) May 19, 2016

Hopefully you chose to watch the 6:00 game last night and didn't wait for the 6:30 game between New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire to start. The Red Bulls had only one shot on target the entire 90 minutes, and Chicago only had two, but sometimes two isn't better than one (yes that is a Boys Like Girls reference). NYRB's one shot on target resulted in the game's only goal, courtesy of Mike Grella in the 58th minute. The red side of New York has Chicago defender Jonathan Campbell to thank, as his errant back pass was intercepted by BWP who found Lloyd Sam, who was able to slot in Grella for an easy tap in and a very fortunate 3 points.

Overall, a rather mediocre and mundane midweek display, let's hope the New York derby, the Cali Clasico and the rematch of the 2013 MLS Cup Final, bring some spice into this week of MLS soccer.