making his MLS debut, ran onto it, rounded goalkeeper Jon Busch and rolled the ball into the goal from a tight angle for his first MLS goal. He became the fifth-youngest player in league history to score, aged 16 years, 332 days.
• But the Fire hit for the game-winner in stoppage time. John Thorrington knocked a cross to Justin Mapp, who nodded a return pass over a defender into the area. Thorrington stroked the ball under Sutton from close range for the winner, his fourth goal on the season.
• TFC head coach John Carver made three changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the New England Revolution. Greg Sutton returned to goal in place of Brian Edwards, and Julius James and Jarrod Smith came into the team in place of Rohan Ricketts and the injured Danny Dichio as Carver completely changed his formation.
• Here's Carver's team (3-4-1-2): Greg Sutton - Tyrone Marshall, Marco Velez, Julius James (Abdus Ibrahim 46) - Marvell Wynne, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Jim Brennan - Amado Guevara - Laurent Robert, Jarrod Smith (Rohan Ricketts 46). Substitutes Not Used: Nana Attakora-Gyan, Jeff Cunningham, Brian Edwards, Kevin Harmse, Tyler Rosenlund
• "We could have been out of sight in the first half. They had enough chances to kill us, but it was only 1-0. It could have been more," Carver said. " ... It's horrendous defending, basic defending. Not clearing the ball in the first place, and then dropping too deep. We have got to defend better than that."
TEAM NEWS
• Ibrahim became the fifth-youngest player to score in MLS history with his goal. Aged 16 years, 332 days, Ibrahim is behind Freddy Adu (14 years, 320 days at the time of his first goal); Santino Quaranta (16, 217); Eddie Gaven (16, 253) and Jozy Altidore (16, 314).
• "I thought about giving (Ibrahim) his debut at the start, and he scored a great goal," Carver said. "The future is bright because we have a young kid like that who can put the ball in the back of the net."
• The Fire, who ended the game with 15 shots and eight on goal, peppered goalkeeper Greg Sutton with eight shots after the game was tied, and had three shots on goal after the 85th minute, including the game-winner. Carver said his team was looking for three points on the road, after winning one of their first six games away from BMO Field.
• "You push to get back in, and then you think 'Do we keep what we've got, or do we go for the winner?'," Carver said. "Our guys threw their bodies on the line, until the end." Said Amado Guevara: "Once we tied it, we went for the win. But we just couldn't get it."
• Striker Danny Dichio missed the match with symptoms of a concussion. "Danny is going to see a specialist," said Carver early in the week.
• Defender Olivier Tebily returned to training this week after missing the last five games with an ankle injury.
• "Olivier has done some straight line running and some agility work," said Carver. "He looked very good from what I saw. He won't be in contention against Independiente but he might be ready for the San Jose game on Saturday."
• On Tuesday, TFC lost 1-0 to Independiente of Argentina at BMO Field in an international friendly. The game's lone goal came from Pablo Vitti, who also scored in Independiente's 2-1 loss to Columbus on their tour.
• While the Reds ran out a team of mostly reserves, assistant coach Chris Cummins said the loss was indicative of a club-wide problem. "We didn't look comfortable, to be honest, on most of the set plays," Cummins said. "We were a little bit too deep when the ball was coming in, which doesn't give the goalkeeper a chance to come in and command his box. We're going through a stage where we need to [score]. We had three or four good chances but obviously we haven't put them away. As you've seen tonight the one goal makes the difference. We have to be a bit more clinical in front of the goal."
• Here Cummins' team: Brian Edwards, Julius James, Gabe Gala, Nana Attakora-Gyan, Tyler Hemming, Maurice Edu, Joey Melo (Gerard Ladiyou 77), Tyler Rosenlund, Abdus Ibrahim (Rohan Ricketts 58), Jeff Cunningham (Frank Jonke 64), Jarrod Smith (Murphy Wiredu 72)
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes saw their winless run reach six games, pulled back by a quick equalizer before settling for a 1-1 draw against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Earthquakes sit in seventh place in the Western Conference with 13 points from 16 matches, five behind FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
• The Earthquakes were back home for the first time in nearly a month and playing their first game in Santa Clara in nearly two, on a five-game winless streak. The Rapids had put an end to a four-game winless run in emphatic fashion the week before with a 4-0 win against New York.
• It took the Quakes until nearly the midway point of the second half to break through. Ronnie O'Brien served an in-swinging free kick from the right flank and Ryan Johnson flung himself forward to send a diving header past Bouna Coundoul for his team-best third goal on the season.
• But it took the Rapids just eight minutes to pull level. Terry Cooke put in a cross from the right and Rapids forward Conor Casey got up over San Jose defender Jason Hernandez to head in his second goal on the season.
• The goal didn't come without some controversy, as San Jose manager Frank Yallop vociferously protested Hernandez was fouled on the play, and ended up being sent off by referee Hilario Grajeda.
• Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop made no changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Chivas USA the previous weekend at The Home Depot Center.
• Here's Yallop's team: (4-4-2): Joe Cannon - James Riley, Nick Garcia, Jason Hernandez, Eric Denton - Ronnie O'Brien, Ramiro Corrales, Kelly Gray (Ned Grabavoy 57), Ivan Guerrero (John Cunliffe 56) - Ryan Johnson, Kei Kamara (Shea Salinas 81). Substitutes Not Used: Jay Ayres, Dan Benton, Ryan Cochrane, Jovan Kirovski
TEAM NEWS
• The game kicked off a run of seven home games in a nine-match stretch over two months, but the way the Earthquakes responded left the players scratching their collective heads.
• "We were the second-best team out there in the first half today," said goalkeeper Joe Cannon. "If we come out like that we don't have a chance. I think the reason it's so disappointing that we came out like that is I think we've all been looking forward to this homestand, and this game as the one to kind of help us turn the corner. I'm down. I don't know what to say."
• After being sent off following the Colorado goal, Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop will not be allowed on the touchline or in the locker rooms at halftime for the Toronto FC match. It was just the second ejection of his career.
• "I was thrown out with Canada once," said Yallop. "I don't get angry very often, but I struggled with that [call]. I just looked at it again on the tape, and from the angle I was at, [Casey] pushed [Hernandez] in the back."
• Since scoring five goals in a three-game span, the Quakes have still scored just two in the last six matches, though Johnson's goal came after back-to-back shutouts.
• "Going in up 1-0 at halftime after not playing well would have made a big difference," said Yallop. "We're just stuttering around the goal, and that's the frustrating part about it."
• It was a third consecutive game where the Quakes played well defensively, allowing just the Casey goal, after a stretch of five games where they allowed three goals on three separate occasions.
• "We showed that we can shut a team down pretty well today," Yallop said. "We limited their chances and Joe (Cannon) was not forced to make many saves. That was a positive today." Said Nick Garcia: "Sometimes we're bleeding more goals than we're scoring. And for us, hopefully with the new signings, we'll turn a corner and get better results."
• On Tuesday, the Earthquakes rolled to a 4-0 victory against the Honduras Olympic team at Buck Shaw Stadium. Ned Grabavoy and Shea Salinas scored first-half goals for the Quakes, then Jovan Kirovski and Kei Kamara scored after the break as the Earthquakes eased to the win.
• The four goals were the most for any game since the rebirth of the Earthquakes, as Yallop took the chance to start some players who've seen little -- if any -- action in MLS matches this season.
• "It's always good to score, but obviously it's a friendly, and (Honduras) wasn't the strongest team that we've faced this year," Yallop said. "But it's never easy finding the back of the net, and it was nice to have four different scorers. It might give us some confidence to feel a little more comfortable in front of goal. ... I think we played with a bit of confidence for a change. It's a friendly, but it shows that we can play decent football."
• Here's Yallop's team: Michael Gustavson, James Riley (Jamil Roberts 45), Ryan Cochrane, Jay Ayres, Ivan Guerrero (Eric Denton 45), Shea Salinas (Adam Smarte 67), Ramiro Corrales (Amir Lowery 45), Ned Grabavoy, Matt Hatzke, Jovan Kirovski, John Cunliffe (Kei Kamara 67)
• The win also came on a night when the club introduced the just-signed Darren Huckerby and Francisco Lima to the media. They did not dress for the game, but should be ready, along with the newly acquired Scott Sealy, to see action for the Toronto FC match.
• "Like Darren (Huckerby) said, he's only trained once in two months, so it'd be a little tough for him to be thrown out there, but hopefully he can be on the bench. I don't want to force him into anything he's not quite comfortable with. The same with (Francisco) Lima. We'll see how he feels," Yallop said. "Scott Sealy will probably be available, because he's played in MLS and he's fit and raring to go. but they might all get some time."
