Martins, Dempsey lead Seattle past Toronto 2-1

Eriq Zavaleta scored in the 59th minute for Toronto (11-11-4).

For a man that just appeared in one of Seattle’s last 12 games, what else would you expect from Clint Dempsey but than to do what he does and get in the right positions to make goals happen.

Key Stat: Toronto have failed to win any of their last five away ties in MLS and have conceded at least three in all of those games. Dempsey chipped the Toronto defence and Martins was barely onside, beating Toronto goalkeeper Chris Konopka with a left-footed shot in the sixth minute. After the ball hit the back of the net, Martins turned, ran to Dempsey and jumped into his arms. Schmetzer manned the sideline for the Sounders on Saturday due to manager Sigi Schmid’s health problems.

“My very good boss over there, Mr. (Adrian) Hanauer, called me at 8 o’clock this morning as I was having my coffee and reading the newspaper and he gave me the heads up that I might be coaching tonight”, Schmetzer said after the match.

Seattle had a capacity crowd of 64,358 during the match against the Timbers which according to MLS.com is the 11th-largest single-game attendance in a regular season match and they hope they will have the same support facing Toronto.

Dempsey and Martins had last played together on June 16 – the night of the U.S. Open Cup loss to Portland when Martins was injured and Dempsey was suspended. Reports indicate that Giovinco has an Abductor Injury, thus keeping him from fulfilling his national team duties this coming weekend.

Toronto FC had faced up against an impressive frontline of Martins and Clint Dempsey and the defenders had issues coping with Martins pace.

“We did pretty much everything we needed to do but we were just a little bit unfortunate”. “I thought they, by and large, got better at it over the course of the game and had strong performances”.

Seattle’s three designated players were united for the first time in the 61st minute, when Nelson Valdez substituted on for Lamar Neagle at left wing. Seattle will be without defender Roman Torres (Panama) and midfielder Marco Pappa (Guatemala), who are on worldwide duty.

With Michael Bradley and possibly Dempsey available for Tuesday’s clash with Brazil, we should expect to see the closest thing to a first-choice starting XI trotted out by Klinsmann.

Dempsey said he expected to discuss the matter with Klinsmann by phone later Saturday.

Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco has been named Major League Soccer’s player of the month for the second consecutive time.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Conor Casey scored two late goals on headers and Philadelphia rallied to beat San Jose, ending the Earthquakes’ winning streak at four games. Osvaldo Alonso and Andy Rose are both one caution away from suspension.