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MLS All-Stars Defeat West Ham United 3-2 in 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game

July 24, 2008 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


TORONTO (July 24, 2008) - MLS All-Stars defeat West Ham United 3-2 in front of a BMO Field record crowd of 20,844 in the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star game on Thursday night in Toronto. MLS All-Stars Chicago Fire forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco scored a goal and added an assist en route to being named the game's most valuable player.

West Ham got on the board first with a Dean Ashton goal in the 26th minute scoring on a low drive past MLS goalkeeper Matt Reis (New England). The MLS All-Stars answered immediately on a goal from Christian Gomez (Colorado Rapids). The play started in the center of the field with David Beckham feeding the ball ahead to Blanco, who flicked the ball back to Gomez with the back of his heel. Gomez touched the ball forward and fired the ball to the left corner of the goal past West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green.

The MLS All-Stars took the lead before the end of the first half on a spectacular effort by Blanco. The Mexican forward received a pass from Juan Toja (FC Dallas) in the top left corner of the penalty area, dribbled by a West Ham defender and curled the ball from a sharp angle around Green and into the top right corner of goal in the 43rd minute.

With the MLS All-Stars up 2-1 in the second half, Ashton struck again for West Ham drawing the game level at 2-2 in the 67th minute. Ashton fired a long-range shot that deflected off an MLS defender and with Reis going the opposite way, the ball snuck by the left post.

The match was tied for only minutes as the MLS All-Stars went ahead for good on a penalty kick goal in the 69th minute. Houston Dynamo midfielder and Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario was fouled in the penalty area by defender Lucas Neill, which set up the spot kick. De Rosario stepped to the spot and blasted a shot high and down the left center. The ball crashed into the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and up into the goal. The goal was De Rosario's second game-winning goal in an All-Star game. He scored the lone goal in a 1-0 defeat of Chelsea FC in the 2006 All-Star game.

The MLS All-Stars are 5-0 in the format of MLS versus top-flight clubs from across the globe and have outscored opponents 13-5 in the five matches.

Scoring:

WHU -- Dean Ashton 1 (Carlton Cole 1) 26

MLS -- Christian Gomez 1 (Cuauhtémoc Blanco 1, David Beckham 1) 27

MLS -- Cuauhtémoc Blanco 1 (Juan Toja ) 43

WHU -- Dean Ashton 2 (Luis Boa Morte ) 67

MLS -- Dwayne De Rosario 1 (penalty kick) 69

Discipline:

WHU -- Scott Parker (caution; Delaying a Restart) 46+

MLS -- Jonathan Bornstein (caution; Pushing, Holding) 52

MLS -- Frankie Hejduk (caution; Reckless Foul) 56

MLS -- Jimmy Conrad (caution; Reckless Foul) 82

Referee: Mauricio Navarro

Referee's Assistants: Hector Vergara; Greg Barkey

4th Official: Mark Geiger

Time of Game: 90:00

Weather: Partly Cloudy -and- 72 degrees

Attendance: 20,844

MLS All-Stars versus West Ham United FC

Quote Sheet - July 24, 2008

West Ham United FC head coach Alan Curbishley on the game, MLS and the team's trip North America.

"I want to congratulate the MLS team on their victory. I think for everyone concerned it's been a success. There were some goals scored, some chances created. There could have been a bit more of a score line, but I think everyone came away with something tonight.

"We have enjoyed our week here, we have been well looked after. Everybody has been fantastic to us. As I say, I think that anyone who came to the game tonight would have enjoyed it.

"MLS is gaining momentum week in and week out in Europe. We see lots of the games; we keep in touch with it. As I said yesterday, you are probably going to find more European players attracted to the league and I think you are going to find more American and Canadian players coming to the Premier League because they have the attributes to come into the Premier League. There are a few in there at the moment and I can only see that getting stronger as the years go on."

Dwayne De Rosario on the game and the All-Star experience in Toronto

"For me this is a dream come true, growing up in Scarborough... I always wanted to play in my hometown in my home stadium especially in a game of this magnitude. You have to realize how important this is for our League. The last four years we've played some world powerhouses and have been victorious. We are constantly promoting our talent throughout the world. It's another good example of how much good talent is in our League..."

Jim Brennan on the game and the All-Star experience in Toronto

"It was great because all of my friends and family were here and obviously there are the fans that see me play week in and week out, so I mean it was a special moment for me today, definitely."

"It was amazing. It's hard to describe it. You know, you're sitting on the bench having the fans scream for you to come on, you know like I said it'll be something that I'll always remember."

Jim Brennan on entering the game

"He said I was going to get on, even though Dwayne played last night and even though I played on Tuesday so we talked about that and then he said yeah definitely you'll get on so I went and just tugged his arm and I think after maybe the fifth time the fans started calling us he said all right TFC get on.

"I think for this game with all the buildup there was a buzz around the city and you know everyone wanted to come out and watch this game because we have the best players in the League playing against a Premiership side. And you know some of the TFC fans were a bit disappointed with the last couple of games we've played so I mean it was great to see them cheering today and they're back on track and they seem like they enjoyed it today."

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