Like a reliable pair of shoes, steady Jamaican midfielder Lovel Palmer can be easily overlooked.

He’s not as flashy as fellow Dynamo central midfielder Geoff Cameron, and he isn’t as dangerous on set pieces as All-Star midfielder Brad Davis.

Yet, there’s a reason Palmer and center back Andre Hainault are the only Dynamo position players who have logged every minute of every regular-season game this year.

Whether holding the ball, pushing up and distributing to the forwards or helping out in the back as a holding midfielder, Palmer has been one of the unsung and important players for the Dynamo, who will face Eastern Conference power New York on Saturday night at Robertson Stadium.

Whether holding the ball, pushing up and distributing to the forwards or helping out in the back as a holding midfielder, Palmer has been one of the unsung and important players for the Dynamo, who will face Eastern Conference power New York on Saturday night at Robertson Stadium.

“Lovel is one of those guys that you love to have on the team because you know that he’s going to be working his butt off to get back and make that defensive play,” goalkeeper Tally Hall said. “And attacking-wise, I think he’s kept the ball for us well.

“Even against Real Salt Lake, I think he did a great job of receiving balls and playing out wide. They’re known for their midfield, and I think Lovel did a good job to show that he’s a midfielder of quality. To have a midfielder like that, as a goalkeeper, who comes back and plays defense, obviously to me it means more because you know you have a guy who can be a fifth defender.”

In his second year with the Dynamo, Palmer, 26, is one of three Jamaican players on the roster. Of those three, Palmer is the only one who is a permanent fixture in the starting lineup. Center back Jermaine Taylor was expected to start, but he was injured on national team duty in March and hasn’t regained his starting spot from Hainault since he has returned to health.

Je-Vaughn Watson has shown flashes of brilliance while making two starts and five appearances, but he’s been behind Colin Clark on the right side of the midfield and behind Cameron and Palmer in central midfield.

But Palmer was the Dynamo’s only Jamaican player who didn’t make the roster for the upcoming Gold Cup.

“It’s really disappointing because you play well with your club all season,” Palmer said. “You’re putting out good performances hoping that you would get the look in, but you don’t get it and it’s very disappointing.”

Palmer was one of the key contributors late last year as Jamaica won the 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup, so Palmer’s Dynamo teammates and coach were surprised he was left off the Gold Cup team.

“Any time you don’t get called into something that you’re hoping to be a part of, it can bother you,” coach Dominic Kinnear said. “He’s a pretty honest kid. I thought from watching the Digicel Cup last year that he would have a good chance of playing in the Gold Cup.”


MAICON’S GOAL CAPS OFF THE NIGHT
A 1-1 draw gives Toronto the advantage heading to BMO Field.
Brandon Timko

Maicon Santos’ equalizer against Vancouver puts Toronto in pole position.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Toronto FC withstood an onslaught from Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on Wednesday at Empire Field to head into the deciding leg with a 1-1 tie.

Finally able to field their regular starters, Vancouver looked as good as they have since their March 19 MLS season opener against Toronto. Vancouver looked the more aggressive side throughout and took the lead courtesy of an Eric Hassli strike in the 64th minute, but Toronto responded with a deft goal from Maicon Santos nine minutes later.

While Vancouver enjoyed the run of play and threatened from the early going, their best chance of the match didn’t come until a half-hour in, as Camilo cut into the box and struck a hard shot to the near corner only to be denied by a terrific save from Stefan Frei.

However, TFC wouldn’t go into the rest period quietly. Just before the halftime whistle, Reds striker Nick Soolsma turned ‘Caps defender Alain Rochat at midfield and raced down the right wing before hitting a shot towards the near corner that was denied by a diving Jay Nolly, sending the teams into the dressing rooms tied 0-0.

Looking to take a crucial lead into the second leg, Vancouver came knocking with a flurry of chances. In the controversial play of the match, Camilo went down in the box just two minutes after the restart off a sliding challenge from TFC’s Adrian Cann but no call was made.

Nonetheless, the ‘Caps kept pushing forward for the lead and twice found the woodwork. First, in the 48th minute, Hassli turned at the top of the box and fired a low shot off the post. Six minutes later, Camilo took his turn, stinging a shot past Frei but off the crossbar.

Finally, four minutes past the hour, Vancouver’s efforts paid dividends as Davide Chiumiento broke up the field and found Hassli on the far side. The big striker then cut to the middle of the park and unleashed a curling left-footed shot past Frei for a 1-0 lead.

Toronto eventually found their legs in the second half and nearly scored on 72 minutes, when Adrian Cann found the ball at his feet after a corner kick but was shut down by a Nolly kick-save. However, the visitors found an equalizer a minute later as Maicon Santos deflected a cross from Soolsma into the net to tie the game.

Vancouver had one final chance in stoppage time to retake the lead as a prayer launched up the field by defender Greg Janicki was nearly answered when Rochat got to the bouncing ball before Frei and rose up to head the ball towards goal only to see it hit the wrong side of the net.

The two sides will meet again in a week’s time for the deciding second leg in Toronto at BMO Field on Wednesday, May 25.

The winner of the two-game aggregate goals series will take home the Voyageurs Cup as Canadian champions and qualify for the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League.

SCORING SUMMARY
VAN — Eric Hassli (Davide Chiumiento) 64’
TOR – Maicon Santos (Nick Soolsma) 73’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
TOR — Dicoy Williams, caution 52′
VAN – Gershon Koffie, caution 68′
VAN – Terry Dunfield, caution 77′
LINEUPS:
TORONTO FC – 24.Stefan Frei; 27.Richard Eckersley, 31.Dicoy Williams, 12.Adrian Cann, 8.Dan Gargan; 23.Jacob Peterson (26.Matthew Gold 33’), 6.Julian de Guzman 22.Tony Tchani (16.Oscar Cordon 45’); 18.Nick Soolsma, 29.Maicon Santos, 7.Joao Plata (20.Ty Harden 76’) Unused substitutes: 30.Milos Kocic; 3.Nana Attakora; 11.Nathan Sturgis; 1.Alen Stevanovic
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC — 18. Jay Nolly; 25.Jonathan Leathers, 14. Greg Janicki, 6.Jay DeMerit; 4.Alain Rochat; 20. Davide Chiumiento, 7. Terry Dunfield, 28. Gershon Koffie, 22.Shea Salinas (31.Russell Teibert 83’); 29. Eric Hassli (17. Omar Salgado 73’), 37.Camilo (16. Nizar Khlafan 78’) Unused substitutes: 1. Joe Cannon; 8. Wes Knight, 12.Jeb Brovsky, 50.Mouloud Akloul
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Assistants: Darren Clark, Kevin Duliba
4th official: Drew Fischer
Attendance: 15,474

VIETNAM:
Kavin Bryan scores twice as SNLA wins against Khanh Hoa to continue leading the V-League at the break, Andre Fagan played his part in earning a penalty and Devon Hodges scored the final goal in a 4-0 victory.
SNLA also advanced to the August 7th Knockout Finals.
ANTIGUA/USL PRO LEAGUE:

Christopher Harvey and Newton Sterling, lost 0-2 away to Rochester Rhinos on Saturday night in the USA, as the Antigua Barracudas FC lost their first game in the last seven as a new franchise in the USL Pro League, but still lead their Division.

Nicholas Beckitt renewed his US Visa at the US Embassy and will join them next week on loan until mid August like the other two players.