THE SOUTH STAND REPORT : Toronto v Chicago... Or There REALLY is Nowhere To Go But Up.

This is the LAST team to get a mock-up logo.  Its been bad luck, really.

Overcast Saturday afternoon.  Fresh, yet not cold.  Props to the scheduling gods for picking a kickoff closer to the train schedules.  Don't have to wait an hour before the match, won't have to wait 45 mins after it.

Chicago is 1-1-2 and Toronto has neither earned a point nor scored a goal at home.  The preview isn't my schtick... so onto the match!

Predictions were 3-1, 1-0, and a few 2-1s for the Robins, a 1-1 and a scoreless draw (that one's mine).

Quote of the Match

He must have been paid off by the Mexicans.

~ Julie on Julian de Guzman

0:25' - GOAL - No. Way.  Seriously?  Ugh... Oduro gets free, 1 on 1 with Kocic and he slides it under the sprawling keeper and in the back of the net.
Robins 0, Waterboys 1

11' - Oduro gets another 1 on 1 with Kocic.  Kocic lunges to make the stop.

14' - Lambe gets fed a nice ball and forces Chicago's Johnson to leap to make the save.

24' - YELLOW - Cann delivers an elbow to the neck.

28' - Dunfield leads a counter and slots a nice ball through to Lambe who puts one on net, forcing another stop from Johnson.

36' - GOAL - After some positive possession in the Chicago third, the ball finds its way to Lambe who does two step overs and launches a rocket from 25 yards out.  Brilliant!

Robins 1, Waterboys 1

39' - GOAL - OMG! Johnson crosses a great low ball for Stinson who's marker takes him out, and Lambe pounces on the wide open goal and buries it!

Robins 2, Waterboys 1

41' - GOAL - Dammit no!  We just got the f'ing lead!!!  Cross comes to Sagares, who loses his marker and heads it past Kocic from 5 yds out.

Robins 2, Waterboys 2

Half Time mood : Thrilling, frustrating, amusing and depressing all at once.

58' - GOAL - Nyarko breaks free of his marker (and the hearts of the faithful) and outraces Kocic to a loose ball near the edge of the box, walks around the fallen keeper and pots it.

Robins 2, Waterboys 3

59' - SUB - Dunfield makes way for deGoo.

68' - SUB - Stinson is out for for Silva.

70' - YELLOW - deGoo for a careless late challenge.

71' - Cross for Plata way too high.  If he only had a vertical leap like Spud Webb did.

75' - Awesome gaff by the pyro people who fired off the confetti cannons after a Toronto shot attempt rolls past the post.

77' - Johnson gets a great attempt off and hits the post, but no confetti for his troubles.

80' - YELLOW - Eckersley for a late "challenge" which shows that he never came close to touching Oduro.

85' - SUB - Avila makes way for Burgos Jr.

88' - Frings pushes his way into the way of a cross from Johnson and knocks into the keeper's hands.

5 minutes of extra time.

Full Time : Toronto 2, Chicago 3

Man of the Match : Aside from being the marker for the Sagares goal, Reggie Lambe was outstanding.

Goat of the Game : The worst player on the pitch was likely Stinson, but that's not to say he was "bad".  So nobody is the goat.

Ref Rating : Started out as a 2 out of 5, then was working his way back up, then plummeted back to a 2 out of 5.  When the game started getting chippy, if Chicago had a tough tackle, he'd let the next Toronto challenge go... but if it was Toronto to go in hard first, instant foul.  And he missed a few hand balls.  Failure.

Tweet of the Tie : "That's the best substitution of all time at BMO Field. Puppo for Pappa. Love it." courtesy of @SNGerryDobson

Ryan Johnson needs to learn the idea of a volley or a half-volley and that they are legitimate techniques to be used on the pitch.  Yes, they tend to be wild attempts, but you take advantage of the out of position defense by having a go with the advantage presented before you... Plata could attend those classes too as when he's trying to get that last bit of ground advantage, that last touch he takes gives the defenders the cue to close him down and the resulting pass/cross/shot is weak and panicked... Is the restaurant sensation of "boneless chicken wings" just a means of selling chicken fingers to an adult audience?  Stupid TV ads... If there was 19,000+ people at the game today, I make $95,000 per year as a graphic designer... We floated the idea of doing a podcast with the Yorkies regulars.  We just have to convince someone that being a host is a good idea (and it is).  Making the four of our regular readers happier is what it's all about... One of the questions floated was, "if you were the money man at TFC and you had to offer deGoo a fair contract based on his performance since he arrive, how much would that be?".  The response was "$100k, $200k at the most".  I had him $3-400k area... Originally, Frings was rated at 7.5, but that first goal was a howler.  Still thrilled to see him back.  Once they figure out where he'll play, it'll be even better.

Player Ratings
Kocic 6.5; Eckersley 7, Frings 6.5, Cann 6; Stinson 5.5 [Silva N/A], Dunfield 6 [deGoo 6], Avila 6 [Burgos N/A], Morgan 6.5; Lambe 8.5, Johnson 7, Plata 6.5