Major League Soccer 2009 All-Star Game Recap and Video Highlights: Everton beats MLS All-Stars 1-1 (4-3 on penalties)

The Major League Soccer 2009 All-Star Game took place on Wednesday night with the MLS All-Stars taking on English side Everton. Here’s a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Everton defeats MLS All-Stars 1-1 (4-3 on penalties) – Video Highlights

Everton was able to be the first European club to beat the MLS All-Stars in the the annual Major League Soccer All-Star game. The story of the match was Tim Howard who played exceptional and made a few saves that kept Everton in the match.

1st Half

The first half saw Everton start very strong and grab the early lead as Stuart Holden made a mistake that Louis Saha capitalized on. Holden made a back pass and Saha intercepted it and easily beat Kasey Keller for the first goal. Everton took the 1-0 lead but couldn’t hold onto it as the MLS All-Stars quickly started to find their form. After the goal, the All-Stars started to get pressure and were able to find the equalizer. A long ball was played to Conor Casey who was able to find Holden making a run into the box who passed it to the far post for Brad Davis who scored. It remained 1-1 into halftime but the All-Stars had all the momentum.

2nd half

The 2nd half was dominated by the MLS team who just couldn’t convert on their chances. Everton and American goalkeeper Tim Howard made 2 or 3 saves that should have been goals in most games. He singlehandedly kept the club in the match including a header from Arnaud from a few feet away. The best chance was probably Donovan from point black but his shot hit the post. Overall, it was a little disappointing that the All-Stars couldn’t convert as the definitely deserved the victory. The score remained tied at 1-1 at the end of the 2nd half and it went to penalty kicks.

Penalty kicks

The penalties began with the MLS All-Stars grabbing the early advantage as Everton missed the first two. The first was missed way wide and the next was saved by Keller. For the All-Stars they were able to convert 1 out of 2 and had the early lead. Tim Howard came up big in the next few kicks as he saved another shot to make it tied at 2-2 after 4 rounds. Both teams converted the next round to make it 3-3. In the 6th round, Everton easily converted as Keller was unable to guess right on the penalty. Freddie Ljungberg was now up for the All-Stars and had to convert to keep it going. He tried a chip shot down the middle and didn’t hit it well as Howard guessed to the side but was still able to get a hand on it as Everton won.

Conclusion

It’s safe to say that without the great play of Tim Howard that the MLS All-Stars could have easily won 3-1 or 4-1. Also, the mistake of Holden was a gift to Everton who didn’t have nearly the chances as the MLS side. Everton may have snapped the streak but the fact it was an American and former MLS goalkeeper that led them is a good thing. It shows how far the American level of players has grown and that MLS players can make the jump to the top leagues.

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