Crew looking for consistency in back

COLUMBUS -- While the Columbus Crew have found stability in the midfield and forward positions the past three matches with the same starting six, the backline continues to be a source of adjustment.

However, coach Sigi Schmid said the constant changes are a matter of tactical moves and not unhappiness with the players, trying to fill the left back spot and one of the center back positions alongside Chad Marshall. For instance, rookie Ryan Junge started on the left side Saturday at Real Salt Lake in part because Schmid thought his long throw-in capability might be useful on the hard artificial turf. In the previous two games Danny O'Rourke was on the left side.

"We felt that in the case of Colorado (June 28), O'Rourke was the better person at left back," Schmid. "We felt that at Salt Lake with the narrowness of the field and the ball going out of bounds we could use his throw-ins."

Since Frankie Hejduk returned from the U.S. national team four matches ago and occupied his usual right back position, he and Marshall have been the only constants on the backline. Rookie Andy Iro has made two starts in the middle as has O'Rourke, a converted midfielder who also made two starts on the left. Junge has been in the opening lineup twice.

The shuffle was caused by injuries to left back Gino Padula then his replacement, Ezra Hendrickson. Padula has not played since April 26.

"Padula was the guy we expected to play at left back but he's missed so much that we've had throw different people out there. Ezra was there for awhile, now Danny," Schmid said. "It's really been a reflection of Iro's development in the middle and wanting to keep Danny on the field that pushed him to the outside."

Hendrickson has missed the last five matches due to a left groin strain but said Tuesday he is fit.

"To be honest, my best position is center back," he said. "I prefer playing in the middle. I bring a lot of experience and organization to the middle of the pitch. If I had choice, that's where I'd play but I'm ready for wherever they need. I know I'm not going to straight into a starting role."

The emergence of Iro, the 2008 first-round pick from California-Santa Barbara via Liverpool, England, gives Schmid options in the middle. When he wants quickness he goes with the 6-foot O'Rourke.

"Danny has great speed," goalkeeper Will Hesmer said. "Danny's still learning the job but overall is doing a good job. He still has his moments when you think, 'Yeah, we understand you're not a center back.'"

Iro (6-5) and Marshall (6-4) are the masts on the Crew's ship.

"When we're next to each other opposing players see two big guys," Iro said. "At least that's one element to the game that maybe they think, 'We can't go long here. There's really no point in crossing the ball because there's two big bodies in there.' Although Danny is very good in there I think people look at a big guy and a small guy and think they can attack that way."

Added Hesmer, "Andy and Chad gives us a great aerial presence."

Marshall said he is comfortable with either partner.

"Everyone has different tendencies but I've with both of them enough to know what they're doing," he said. "With Danny, I know if the ball goes over the top he's a little faster and has the speed to get there where with Andy I have to cover more."

As the Crew prepared Tuesday for Thursday's home match vs. Kansas City, the first 11 had two personnel changes from the starters in the 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Stefani Miglioranzi replaced Brad Evans as the center midfielder and Iro was at center back instead of O'Rourke, who went to the left in place of Junge.

Iro could make his fourth start.

"There's a lot of ups and downs to being a rookie. I've learned not to take criticism personally. I was letting it get to me. It was affecting my performance in terms of mistakes on the field," he said. "When I first got here I was thinking every bad pass meant I was a really bad player. I've learned to roll with the punches. Ultimately I'll keep doing that until the end of the season.

"Every time I step on the field I still feel like the new guy. For sure, it's going to take awhile to wear off. You notice the difference between the older guys and how confident they are and how they interact. They're more mature with their decisions than me as a rookie."

Schmid said Iro's transformation from a nervous newbie to a reliable defender is noticeable.

"From the beginning of the season until now he's really improved in a lot of areas -- his approach to training has taken a tremendous leap forward and he's a much more confident player than he was at the beginning of the year," he said.

Iro credits being paired with Marshall.

"I learn from him. He's a really, really good player," Iro said. "He has a lot of things I don't have that I would like to have. He's so clean on the ball. I'm not sure if he's had that his whole life or if he's learned it in his four years in the league."

Someday a rookie defensive partner might be asking the same question of Iro.

Stars gush over All-Star experience

TORONTO -- The best players in MLS descended on Toronto for the MLS All-Star Game. And after it was over, they gushed about the experience as if they were a developmental player on the very tail end of the roster.

For some, like Jim Brennan and Dwayne De Rosario, it was a chance to play in Canada and play in front of fans who wanted to see them do well.

"It's definitely a dream come true, scoring in a game of this magnitude," De Rosario said. "This game is huge. People don't realize how big this is because this is an opportunity to showcase our talent throughout the world and show them how good this league is."

The crowd chanted Brennan's name until he arrived on the field. He said it was just an expression of how much Toronto wanted to host this game and wanted the league to do well.

"I think for this game with all the buildup there was a buzz around the city," Brennan said. "Everyone wanted to come out and watch this game because we have the best players in the league playing against a Premiership side."

NEWS • Blanco plays the hero for MLS
• All-Stars demonstrate strength of MLS
• Stars gush over All-Star experience
• All-Star nod No. 9 fine for Mastroeni
• All-Star notebook: Long day's end
• Hammers pleased with performance
• Blanco leads MLS past West Ham
• Garber's State of the League address
• All-Stars aim to defeat West Ham
• All-Star first for MLS luminaries
• De Rosario shines in spotlight
• West Ham visits land of opportunity
• MLS announces All-Star First XI
• MLS All-Stars to face West Ham
ANALYSIS • Davis: All-Star Game earns high marks
• Davis: All-Star matchups
• A look at West Ham United roster
PRESS RELEASES
• MLS All-Stars defeat West Ham United
• MLS seeks two expansion teams by 2011
• MLS finalizes '08 All-Star roster
• West Ham to face MLS All-Stars
• Toronto to host 2008 All-Star Game
SIGHTS & SOUNDS

Highlights: MLS 3, WHU 2: 350K

Postgame press conference: 350K

Awards presentation: 350K

David Beckham postgame: 350K

Dwayne De Rosario's penalty kick: 350K

Dean Ashton's double: 350K

Cuauhtemoc Blanco's bender: 350K

Christian Gomez's goal: 350K

MLS-West Ham Preview: 350K

All-Star Highlights, part 1: Photos

All-Star Highlights, part 2: Photos

2008 All-Star First XI: Photos

For a few younger players, the game was a chance to meet up with some of the best players in the league and test themselves by trying to fit in with other talented players with considerably more experience.

"It was awesome," Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein said.

FC Dallas striker Kenny Cooper said it was probably the highlight of his career to take the field in the game.

"It's just incredible," Cooper said. "There are so many amazing players. It's been a great experience for me."

The tricks and treats on display were just one manifestation of how the players tried to put a show on for the fans. Dummies, backheels and audacious attempts kept the fans entertained and showed how comfortable the players were with getting into the flow of the game and playing with each other once they settled down.

"With all of these guys, you know whomever you are passing to, they're going to be great," New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis said. "They're great on the ball. You can really play off them. You know what you're going to get every time. It's a lot of fun playing with them."

And these are the sorts of nights, with the collection of talent on display and the spectacle of the occasion, that at least one player says that he'll remember for the rest of his life and share with his loved ones.

"It's awesome," Revs midfielder Shalrie Joseph said. "To get a chance to play with a guy like Beckham and a guy like Blanco is a pleasure for me. It's one of those things where I can look back later in my career and see that I played with these guys. Then I can tell my kids about it. I love playing with these guys. These guys are the best players in the league."

Win worth wait for victorious Orange

WASHINGTON -- The game took seven weeks to the day and a few extra hours to complete, but the Houston Dynamo finally secured the three points against D.C. United with a 2-0 win at RFK Stadium. Officially, the game took 4 hours and 44 minutes to complete and ended at 12:20 a.m. ET.

"I don't think I have ever been playing at midnight," said Brian Ching, who scored the Dynamo's second goal in the 79th minute. "Crazy, crazy game. I'm glad it's over and I'm glad we got the three points -- we really needed it."

This match was originally scheduled for June 4 but was postponed after 16 minutes due to a rainstorm that left the field unplayable. The match was then rescheduled for Tuesday but was again postponed after another driving storm left RFK Stadium and the surrounding areas without any power for most of the night.

The rain started again as the second half commenced and as it got progressively heavier, the lights went out again in the old ground at 8:47 p.m., 54 minutes into the match. The lights returned and went out again, then lightning joined the party, and finally after multiple inspections by the officiating crew, the match finally restarted at 11:41 p.m.

"The field in some areas was not playable," said Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear, who was playing with Tampa Bay when their match with D.C. United was delayed more than an hour on July 4, 2000. "I understand the reason for wanting to play this game and I understand the reason for us probably not wanting to play the game."

The brand new turf at the old stadium took a beating as the rain continued. The Dynamo got a dry goal from Brian Mullan in the first half and the soggy one from Ching in the second to easily defeat United for the second time in four days. Houston defeated United in similar fashion 3-1 on Saturday to advance to the semifinals of SuperLiga.

Neither has a date on their respective calendars where they could legitimately slip in another game with both teams participating in the CONCACAF Champions League and United still alive in the U.S. Open Cup.

"This game had to get in for both sides," said Kinnear. "The field crew did a great job trying to get as much water off the field as possible. The rain kept on coming. Everyone was trying their hardest to get the game in. ... I'm glad this game is behind us."

The combination of the treacherous field conditions and the nearly 3-hour delay created less than ideal circumstances for a any player to perform effectively.

"I don't think a 2-hour delay for a professional athlete is necessarily the best way for our bodies to be treated ... it's definitely going to affect my body more than these young bucks," said defender Craig Waibel. "There may not be better ways but I don't know if tonight was the right way as far the veteran guys -- and especially the two guys that are expected to represent our league tomorrow at their best have very little opportunity to do that."

Dwayne De Rosario and goalkeeper Pat Onstad are heading to their homeland to play in the MLS All-Star game Thursday night in Toronto against West Ham United.

"I don't think these guys bodies are meant to go and then stop for a couple of hours and then go again. It's almost like youth soccer when you play two games in a day," said Kinnear.

The field conditions, relatively dry in some places while still extraordinarily wet in others, afforded neither team the ability to play clean, fluid soccer after the restart.

"There were a couple of instances where the ball stops dead and the guys are running for it, or guys slip and that normally doesn't happen," said Kinnear. "Especially when the ball stops dead in a big puddle of water and funny enough most of the puddles of water were down in our end so the margin for error was a little higher."

"It's probably the easiest thing," said Ching about his goal, which came from a header. "You don't have to dribble or work with the ball on the ground."

Stuart Holden had seen conditions like these playing in his native Scotland before coming to the U.S. more than a decade ago.

"I played in probably worse but it's never good to play soccer (in conditions like this), you can't play soccer," he said. "A couple of times you could pass it around but other times it's getting caught and tackles are flying in -- it becomes dangerous."

Frustrated Fire hungry for success

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Soccer is unique to most sports because outcome does not always match performance. In other words, the better team doesn't always win. Or tie.

There doesn't appear to be any other explanation for the way the first half of the Major League Soccer season went for the Chicago Fire, who start the second half Saturday at home against Real Salt Lake.

The Fire was 5-1-1 through their first seven games, hot as a pistol thanks to a 5-1 win against New York at Giants Stadium on May 25. In the second seven games, the Fire went 1-4-2 (they ended the first half with a 2-1 win against Toronto FC last Saturday).

There was no traumatic event that changed the Fire from a team with a winning record to a team with a losing record. It's hard to know whether the Fire are the team from the first seven games, or the team from the second seven games.

"That's one of the frustrating things about soccer," Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe said. "You can dominate a team in possession and opportunities for goals and you could come away losing. That is just the way soccer is. It can be extremely frustrating."

The difference between the first seven games and the second seven games "was probably a combination of quite a few things," Rolfe said. "Early on the bounces were going our way, the next seven, we could say they weren't at times."

There are reasons to think the Fire is a solid defensive team. They still lead the league with only 14 goals against in 15 games, and have the only double-digit goal differential (10).

But the Fire are way behind the opposition in shots (189-164) and shots on goal (89-81) which makes it appear the offense still needs work.

The second half begins with a home game, which is not necessarily a good thing. The stoppage-time goal scored by John Thorrington last Saturday still raised the Fire's home record to a middling, at best, 3-3-1.

For the second half, the Fire can concentrate fully on their MLS games. Unlike some teams playing in the SuperLiga or still alive in the U.S. Open Cup, the Fire are out of non-MLS competition for the time being.

The loss to D.C. United in the Open Cup quarterfinal was difficult for the Fire, who have won the Cup four times in their first 10 years. But it does allow the team to focus on one goal.

"It helps us to be mentally focused on one thing right now," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said.

"It allows us to work on more things in practice, and we have more time on the practice field," Rolfe said. "We can do more on the practice field because we have a longer time to recover. That could help us as we go to the second half of the season."

The Fire have roster issues for this game. Forward Calen Carr is out for the season with an ACL tear, and forward Andy Herron remains unavailable following a concussion suffered two weeks ago. Defender Dasan Robinson is out with an ankle sprain and defender Gonzalo Segares is listed as doubtful with a sprained foot.

Segares is actually out of the game anyway with a yellow card accumulation as is Thorrington, the hero of Saturday's game.

The Fire were about two minutes away from a tie in that home game Saturday, so although Thorrington's goal did give them a win, it wasn't a win of overwhelming domination.

"It helps a lot," Rolfe said. "But because we got a late goal to win, that doesn't solve everything. It definitely helps the confidence and gives us something to build off of."

Red Bulls rue missed opportunity

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The chances were there for the New York Red Bulls. One more goal from a bevy of scoring opportunities, two more minutes of solid defending and the Red Bulls would snap a three-game winless streak and beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 for the second time this season.

But the Red Bulls, which came into the match having scored one goal or less in the last 10 league games, couldn't score a third goal and they let a Landon Donovan cross to the far post sneak past Jon Conway and it's more squandered points, more disappointment.

"Either you bury the game early where you score the third one and we had plenty of opportunities to do so or you kill the game defensively," Dave van den Bergh said. "We failed to do either. A lot of positives, but still you've got to be critical of your own performance and we didn't get a win."

There were positives, of course. Jorge Rojas, who was signed to be the playmaking midfielder the Red Bulls lacked this year, showed his class, setting up both Red Bulls goals and Juan Pablo Angel is getting back to form, putting his stamp on the game with what should have been his third consecutive game-winning goal against the Galaxy.

And defensively, the Red Bulls did a solid job on Los Angeles' big three of David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle for most of the match. Beckham had limited touches because of Dave van den Bergh's defending and Donovan was quiet until second-half stoppage time.

But all the Red Bulls could think about in the locker room after the entertaining draw played in front of 46,754 fans, the largest single-game attendance in Major League Soccer this year, was that they threw away two points and blew an opportunity to move out of the Eastern Conference basement.

"We're scoring goals again, getting organized again and we're actually starting to play some football for long periods of time," Andrew Boyens said. "Now the mentality really has to be that we need to die on the defensive end, give everything you've got and make sure if we score two goals we're winning games."

Aided by Ante Jazic, whose overlapping run gave him time to deliver a cross, Donovan sent the ball from the left flank. Jon Conway stayed on his line, appearing distracted by Edson Buddle, who was crashing the far post.

"It was a good ball, one of those balls, as a goalie, you can't come out and get it," Jeff Parke said. "Edson made a good run across and threw Johnny off his spot because he thinks if he gets his head on it, he's putting it far post. It's a tough decision for him."

The Red Bulls 'keeper would pay for that hesitation, as the ball landed into the side netting and Donovan celebrated his league-leading 12th goal of the year.

"You put those balls in to ask the goalkeeper a question and Jon was asked a question and I think at the end nobody touched the ball and that ended up in the goal," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said.

But the Red Bulls contend it shouldn't have even come to that, that the game should have been over long before Donovan's late equalizer. Sure, New York scored two goals for the first time since it beat the Galaxy at The Home Depot Center on May 10, but there were opportunities to get a third and perhaps a fourth.

"When we create that many opportunities we need to bury one more and kill the game early," van den Bergh said. "If you score the third one, you break them and you might bury one more and kill the game early. If you score the third one, you break them and you might even walk away four or 5-1."

The best chance came to Rojas in the 58th minute when a cross by van den Bergh left him alone in front of the net with the ball on his foot. But he said the ball took a bad bounce off the turf and it went off his ankle and over the net from the top of the six-yard box.

"Jorge had a lot of quality balls tonight and he was able to break the team down," Osorio said. "Unfortunately, and Jorge will be the first to agree with this, he had the chances come to him too and couldn't finish them."

Hoops, Rapids settle on tie

FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas came back from a goal down and took the lead in the second half, but the Colorado Rapids immediately pulled level once again as the two teams played to a seesaw 2-2 tie Saturday night at Pizza Hut Park.

The Rapids took an early lead in the fifth minute thanks to Herculez Gomez before FCD answered in the 49th off a Kenny Cooper corner kick. The Hoops drew ahead in the 64th when Juan Toja scored but that edge lasted just three minutes before Conor Casey made it 2-2 in the 67th minute with his third goal of the year.

FC Dallas was returning to action after two weeks away from a league match, but Gomez put the Rapids into an early lead with his second goal of the season. Near the top of the arc, FCD left back Adrian Serioux misplayed a long ball from Mehdi Ballouchy. Gomez was able to capitalize on the miscue and beat Hoops goalkeeper Dario Sala far post from about 16 yards out on the right.

His score was the earliest that the Rapids have found the back of the net all year. It was also the first time this season that Colorado has scored in the first half on the road.

Despite the early goal, FCD was the more active side for much of the first half. In the seventh, Cooper hit a bomb from long range that was saved by Colorado 'keeper Bouna Coundoul. The rebound squirted free, but Toja was a step slow in getting to the ball and his shot landed harmlessly in Coundoul's hands.

Toward the end of the opening half, the Hoops had several more chances to draw the match level. The first came in the 39th when Coundoul saved a shot from Cooper. One minute later, he stopped another effort by Cooper from about 25 yards out. The rebound did pop free but the Rapids 'keeper scurried over to retrieve the ball at the right post just before it went over the endline.

And just seconds before the half, FCD's Andre Rocha made a great move to get around Colin Clark just inside the 18-yard box and hit a shot that nailed Coundoul in the breadbasket. The rebound landed right in front of the Colorado goal but Dominic Oduro's rebound shot went high.

FCD had nine shots in the opening half, including five by Cooper and two by Toja. Colorado had seven, including four from Herculez Gomez. Of FCD's nine shots, five were on frame compared to just two by the visitors.

After the halftime break, the equalizer by FCD was set up after Coundoul came outside the box to make a play on a ball contested by Cooper. The FCD forward was first to it and lobbed the ball into the heart of the Rapids' box, where Oduro was elbowed and sent flying by Colorado defender Facundo Erpen.

Referee Terry Vaughn wasted no time in pointing to the spot. Cooper then stepped up and after a quick stutter step, punched the ball into the right side of the net to tie the score at 1-1. It was FCD's first goal off a penalty kick of the year.

Another Coundoul miscue was a key factor in FCD's second goal. After a long cross from Marcelo Saragosa came in from the right flank, Coundoul came off his line to contest the ball against Cooper. But the Hoops striker headed the ball back into the goalmouth, landing at Toja's feet.

With an empty net, Toja, named an MLS all-star earlier in the week, then booted a shot into the back of the net. It was his second goal of the year and first tally in league play since FCD's season opener against Chivas USA on March 30.

However, FCD's edge proved to be a fleeting one. Just three minutes after Toja's score ignited the partisan crowd, the Rapids quickly silenced them. Terry Cooke started the sequence with a nice ball to Christian Gomez, who was dashing up the right side. Gomez then spotted Casey open at the far post and found him with a well-placed cross that he headed into the net to make it 2-2. It was the visitors' first shot of the second half.

In the 71st, Saragosa was shown yellow for FCD, giving him five on the season. That means that the Hoops midfielder will miss the Hoops' next game, which will be on Sunday, July 27 against the L.A. Galaxy.

The Hoops had two great chances over the final minutes to give Schellas Hyndman his first league win as head coach. In the 86th minute, Rocha took a corner from the flag on the near side of the field. The ball eventually landed at Toja's feet and he launched a rocket toward Coundoul, who had to make a great, diving play on the ball to deflect it over the crossbar.

One minute later, Toja hit another great effort toward the Colorado goal, but once again, Coundoul was up to the challenge. The ball did pop free and Oduro apparently punched it in for the go-ahead goal, but he was whistled offside as the linesman's flag went up.

West Ham visits land of opportunity

COLUMBUS -- When West Ham United officials were offered a chance to play the MLS All-Stars, the match itself was just one of the reasons the club accepted.

Among others was an opportunity for the club to continue its preseason conditioning, starting with a friendly Sunday in Columbus that reaped a 3-1 win for the Hammers.

"It was fun, a lot of hard work and a really good test. Columbus is in midseason so we knew it was going to be a tough game," Hammers captain Lucas Neill said. "I was a bit surprised how fit and strong we looked."

NEWS • De Rosario shines in spotlight
• Fun secondary for MLS All-Stars
• West Ham visits land of opportunity
• Healthy Angel primed for All-Star Game
• MLS announces All-Star First XI
• MLS All-Stars to face West Ham
ANALYSIS • A look at West Ham United roster
PRESS RELEASES
• MLS finalizes '08 All-Star roster
• West Ham to face MLS All-Stars
• Toronto to host 2008 All-Star Game
SIGHTS & SOUNDS

MLS-West Ham Preview: 350K

2008 All-Star First XI: Photos

That bodes well for an extremely competitive and entertaining match when the English Premier League club faces the best Major League Soccer has to offer on Thursday at Toronto's BMO Field.

"Obviously, we know it's a big game," manager Alan Curbishley said. "We know it's sold out. We've got a lot of fans going there who have booked up holidays around the game. We're going to make sure we're OK for the game, probably ease up training for the game a little bit. We understand it's going to be an electric atmosphere, so, game on. We're looking forward to it."

In addition to the match, the Hammers were motivated to leave East London to see for themselves the emergence of soccer in the States. And, if, the club can develop a stronger fan base here and sell a few more pieces of merchandise, then all the better.

"We wanted to come to America. We wanted to promote ourselves. We want to help America promote soccer and do our part," Curbishley said. "Not only the first team squad came out but a lot of the academy coaches came out to do soccer camps, soccer schools as we go along.

"We're here for a whole bundle of reasons. One of them is to get fit. The other is to show everybody what we're about at West Ham."

The Hammers are a mid-level club in the Premiership and not as well-known or marketed as widely as powerhouses Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and, of course, Manchester United.

"West Ham is a unique club. We've got fantastic support -- very, very aggressive when you play at Upton Park. They're like another player for us," Curbishley said. "Over the years West Ham has been known for the way they like to play soccer, for a lot of players. A lot of people will look in the history book and Bobby Moore first comes to mind, playing in the World Cup in '66, but there's been a tradition after that of bringing players along and playing a certain way.

"We feel we can become even bigger. We've got lots of fans in America, we know that, and the interest in these two games is fantastic from Americans who support West Ham and not just ex-pats. We know when we get to Toronto we'll have good support there and, of course, David Beckham is from West Ham so it could be interesting."

Striker Luis Boa Morte, who along with midfielder Matthew Etherington sat out the Crew match but should be fit for Thursday, played for Fulham when the EPL took on the MLS All-Stars in Columbus in 2005 and lost 4-1.

"It was not good memories after five, 10 minutes. No, it was good to be part of this game against MLS. We enjoyed the experience," he said. "It's more about conditioning. Of course, we'd like to come here and get two wins because at the end of the day, who doesn't like to win? I like to win but most important is to get football games without injuries and enjoy it as much as we can."

Curbishley came away from the match in Columbus excited about the progress of soccer in the United States. He watched from afar as the North American Soccer League tried to gain a foothold on the American sports scene in the 1970's and mid-80s.

"I remember the American soccer FA attempting to get soccer off the ground in perhaps the wrong way. I don't mean to be unkind in saying it, but they brought aging stars to try and promote the game when they should have brought coaches out and go into the schools and go into the grassroots and get people interested, generating the interest and let the grassroots set in," Curbishley noted. "That's what happened. Over the last 10, 15 years it's changed dramatically with the coaching the schoolboys and schoolgirls are receiving.

"The fact is there are American players in the Premiership. We've got one, Jonathan Spector, and there will be more in the coming years. I know Americans can take in the Premier League (on TV), albeit at strange times some times. I was in Tampa, Fla., in the summer and managed to catch the European Cup finals and saw the excitement."

He had watched several MLS games on the tube but Sunday was his first chance to see a league club live. The match on a sweltering afternoon drew 9,117 fans, including more than 500 West Ham followers.

"I'm impressed with, I must admit, my first MLS game and stadium I've been to," he said. "We're really pleased. I've been really impressed with the stadium; really impressed with the fan support. Crew fans are very good and obviously our American contingent was as well."

Neill said the players have only regret so far about their journey abroad.

"The whole trip is shorter than we wanted because we wanted to stay longer and probably make base here a bit but the dowry doesn't allow that," he said. "We're really excited to be here and the exposure we're getting is great. We didn't realize how many American West Ham fans there are. It's amazing. Major League (Soccer) is trying to take off soccer-wise and you can see by the crowd coming out on a Sunday afternoon it's really good. They've got a lot of work to do but the more publicity and high profile teams from England and all over the world that come to play, the better it will be."

The West Ham contingent arrived in Toronto on Monday and planned training sessions the next two days.

"There are one or two things we want to do this week. We want to get fit but we want to give MLS an uplift," Curbishley said. "It's going back live to England as well (midnight London time). It's not just being shown here. We're going to take it seriously."

That's the theme ingrained into the players as the Hammers prepare for their Premiership opener Aug. 16 vs. Wigan.

"We've got to look at the bigger picture and the picture is we've got a season to be training for so we'll work Tuesday and Wednesday a little harder than we would a normal game but certainly come Thursday we'll be really excited," Neill said. "Obviously, it's the best players in America and we're getting to take it on in what seems to be a really promoted event and we're privileged to be a part of it."