TORONTO – The MLS All-Stars defeated West Ham United, 3-2, in front of 20,844 fans at BMO field in Toronto, Ontario.
West Ham’s Dean Ashton put the visiting English club ahead in the 26th minute when he hammered home a half-volley from 12 yards out. Less than a minute later, Christian Gómez responded for the MLS All-Stars when his right-footed strike found side netting after a clever back-heeled through ball from Cuauhtémoc Blanco.
Blanco, who was named All-Star Game MVP, would add his name to the score sheet in the 43rd minute when he curled a shot into the upper-right corner of the net, giving the MLS All-Stars a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Ashton would strike again for West Ham as his in the 67th minute equalizer took a deflection and easily skipped past MLS All-Star goalie Matt Reis.
Just three minutes later, Dwayne De Rosario was brought down in the box by a slide tackle from West Ham captain Lucas Neill. De Rosario capitalized on the penalty and sealed the win for the MLS All-Stars.
In the first ever All-Star Game held in Canada, the MLS All-Stars extended their winning streak to five in a row against foreign competition.
Scoring summary
WHU—Ashton (Cole) 26
MLS—Gomez (Blanco, Beckham) 27
MLS—Blanco (Toja) 43
WHU—Ashton (Boa Morte) 67
MLS—De Rosario (PK) 69
MLS: Matt Reis (Pat Onstad 70), Jonathan Bornstein (Edson Buddle 88), Frankie Hejduk (Steve Ralston 88), Jimmy Conrad, Pablo Mastroeni, David Beckham, Christian Gomez (Jim Brennan 59), Shalrie Joseph, Juan Toja (Dwayne De Rosario 59), Kenny Cooper (Juan Pablo Angel 46), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Landon Donovan 46)
West Ham: Robert Green, Lucas Neill, Calum Davenport, Anton Ferdinand, Joe Widdowson, Julien Faubert (Junior Stanislas 75), Hayden Mullins (Jack Collison 65), Scott Parker, Matthew Etherington (Luis Boa Morte 46), Dean Ashton (Kyel Reid 80), Carlton Cole (Tony Stokes 91+)
Misconduct summary
WHU—Parker (caution; Delaying a restart) 46+
MLS—Bornstein (caution; Pushing, Holding) 52
MLS—Hejduk (caution; Reckless foul) 56
MLS—Conrad (caution; Reckless foul) 82
Referees: Mauricio Navarro; Hector Vergara, Greg Barkey; Mark Geiger
