ahhhhh... much better
At least it isn't raining. If I can take but one thing away from this match is the distinct lack of precipitation.
Its Champions League, and we're playing a side that 98% had to wikipedia to discover "hey, they look like Celtic/Sporting Lisbon/Yeovil Town". The Mexicelticans come in with plenty of mystery, and none of it good. Some key players are out with injuries and suspensions, and I'd look them up if I were a journalist... And I'm not about to insult journalists.
Postulating over something nice to say, if there is a miracle team in MLS, its our beloved Robins. Toronto has done the
Quote of the Match:
Why so negative? You should always have a positive outlook!
~ Dom, being cheery in cold stupid weather in a difficult match ahead
Predictions weren't good, 2-0, 3-0, 4-1, 4-0 all for Santos Laguna and one crazy bastard went for 2-0 for the home side.
It was very cold and it made it difficult to want to write. Forgive the brevity.
9' - In an early free kick attempt, Koevermans slots a low ball past the wall, but easily gobbled up by Oswald Sanchez.
18' - It starts raining. Stick it up your arse Weather Network...
31 - GOAL - Someone for Laguna Santos did something. Didn't see it, couldn't see the replay. Doesn't matter.
Robins 0, Mexicelticans 1
36 - YELLOW - Koevermans gets a booking for, what I can only assume, taking a free kick too early?
38 - GOAL - OMG! Free kick just outside the box and Aceval curls a pretty ball around the wall and past the sprawling Sanchez.
Robins 1, Mexicelticans 1
42 - Pinball in the Laguna Santos end results in the ball cleared off the line by a defender. Yes, Toronto is for real.
Half-Time mood : Delerious
49 - SUB - Aceval for Maund. We can only assume it was an injury thing as it appeared that Aceval headed right for the changeroom under the auspices of a trainer.
72 - SUB - Soolsma for Plata. A tactical switch, as Soolsma received a nice round of applause for his efforts. You had to see it to believe it.
78 - Eckersley and some Santos player collide over the ball, which Ecks gets the ball, but the Santos player kicks back studs up at Ecks and he goes down. That player gets a red as he's rolling around like a damn fool. The ref is waving for first aid WITH THE RED CARD IN HAND LOOKING LIKE HE'S BOOKED HALF THE PITCH!!! Rather comical.
5 minutes of extra time
Full Time : Toronto 1, Santos Laguna 1
Shortly after the whistle, absolute mayhem breaks loose. Morgan is holding his head and everyone is running into the middle of the pitch to join the fracas. Someone else on Santos Laguna gets a straight red.
What a fantastic game. Seriously. Just brilliant. The tragedy was Toronto DESERVED a 3-1 victory.
Man of the Match : Reggie Lambe. He went after everyone, he beat defenders, distributed the ball, had a few attempts and played hard. Honourable mentions to Dunfield and Soolsma.
Goat of the Game : (Ty Harden [delete this name from template if it isn't him]) Toronto played exquisitely. The goats of the game go to the majority of the Laguna Santos side who did the whole dive-roll around manouver.
Ref Rating : 4 out of 5. The ref didn't fall for Laguna Santos diving shenanigans but he could've handed out a few more yellows, if nothing more than for unsportsmanslike conduct.
Wow. Seriously, wow. I am convinced that last season, we had a fake Soolsma and this season, the real identical twin Soolsma replaced him. He turned defenders inside out all night. It's like Laguna Santos only watched OLD tapes of him... Maund. Wow. I get why Winter has been "throwing him to the wolves" in some situations as he takes on attackers without fear... Koevermans was actually running back to go at the defenders with the ball... seriously, screw you weather network... There is something to be said with the south end is in full voice all on the same page, watching and reacting to the game. It's brilliant... I can't say enough about the side tonight. They looked amazing and I could easily write a line about each of them and a line for Winter's ability to get them up for the match after the humiliation on Saturday.
Dear TFC Marketing people,
Please exploit every visit from a team in the champions league by offering a commemorative scarf that's half TFC, half the opposition with the date and competition. If you made one for every game TFC has participated in in the Champions League, I'd own 8 different scarves, much to my girlfriend's disappointment and at $20 a pop, that's $160 by my math.
Something to think about.
Yours in footie,
The Yorkies
Something to think about.
Yours in footie,
The Yorkies
Kocic 7, Eckersley 7.5, Harden 9.5 (which is like a 7 really), Aceval 7 [Maund 7.5], Morgan 7.5, Lambe 8.5, deGoo 7.5, Dunfield 8, Soolsma 7.5 [Plata 7], Koevermans 7, Johnson 7
Posts
so that's why the ref kept flashing the red card. was confusing the crap out of me at the time.
ReplyDeleteIt took a few mins to figure it out... no coaches or players were losing their minds at all of the cards being bandied about. Then I realized that the faker on the ground needed to be stretchered off at some point and he just didn't put the damn thing away.
DeleteOh CONCACAF...
I think that game was even better then the one at the Skydome (It's will forever be the skydome to me). Although the cold and rain does completely suck but, does some how bring out the intensity of the game. Also the fact that it wasn't a sell out of 48,000 or even 22,000 means the real diehards came out.
ReplyDeleteThe commemorative scarf thing is a definite must or even a pin or something.
It'll always be Skydome! That's why, if you ever build your own stadium, name it what you want first for a few years, then sell the corporate sponsorship.
DeleteAnd the die-hards were served up a treat of a match, weren't they? :)
I thought that Plata might have missed a few down their end, but the way he tore back late in the game to squash one of the Languid Satanics counter attacks down our left side put TFC on top (and probably sparked their cheap shot on Morgan at the end). He sent a message that they did not like. Our Mr.Tiny was shutting them down physically and at the end all they could do was pout and try to cause injury...I smile when I think how they would have handled a Torsten Frings in red...
ReplyDeleteI came back for the updated graphic. glad i did.
ReplyDeleteand yeah, that was much much better than the skydome event.
Loved the updated graphic - although the original wasn't too bad either. Sad I missed it, thanks for the recap (and yes, it is always Skydome).
ReplyDelete