Sometimes, this part of the report is written before a match in a vain attempt to build towards some kind of atmosphere, as someone who's reliving the "match-day experience" or whatever that could possibly mean in MLS(E) land. But tonight, there will be no pre-match set-up beyond the following : Toronto mediocre, everyone else better, wonder how the hell a team six seasons on is still this crap.
But the finish was a classic. The football was sloppy at times, but a classic nonetheless.
Predictions match the absurdity going into the match. @theyorkies1812 was calling for a 4-0 loss so we could use the headline "Cat-tastrophy" in regards to Soolsma's departure. Brandon was predicting a penalty shootout, but he was crazy so telling him that it couldn't happen was off the table. We had 2-1 for Toronto from @kzknowles, 2-1 loss, and I was feeling 0-0.
On to the match.
Quote of the Match
If only all of our players were somebody else.
20' - Frings' ball into the box as Danny K goes for a cute flick redirect but doesn't get enough on it and it rolls out.
28' - SUB - Hall comes off early due to injury and is replace by Henry
36' - YELLOW - Silva does stuff, gets booked.
41' - Oh Johnson... fail. On a break with only Cannon to beat and can't do it. Rebound ends up at the feet of deGoo who spins around to get a shot off that Cannon lunges for to parry around the post.
Half-time mood : Not the most exciting first half ever witnessed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
50' - GOAL - Darren Mattocks gets around a downed Kocic and pots it. Not terribly surprising.
ROBINS 0, VANCHESTER 1
53-59' - My good friend Phil nudges me and we start singing "Bohemian Rhapsody". We got through the whole song. Brilliant stuff. If you have a youtube link of it, please let us know...
60' - SUB - an unremarkable deGoo makes way for Avila.
63' - YELLOW - Dunfield does stuff, gets booked.
We need a goal right now! We need to put in Plata and Soolsma. No? OK, then Nesta...
69' - GOAL - Well, a game is certainly now on. Short cross from Morgan finds the boots of Silva who swings it past Cannon, banking off the far post and in.
ROBINS 1, VANCHESTER 1
72' - Frings free kick curls over the wall and is screaming for the inside right post, but a flight from Cannon tips it away.
73' - GOAL - Frings has a go from 20 yards out, dummied by Dunfield to slide into the far left corner of the net. Brilliant stuff.
ROBINS 2, VANCHESTER 1
85' - Mattocks goes around a downed Kocic and hits the post. Rebound comes out for an attempt, stopped by Eckersley. Following rebound stopped by Staltini (that's Emory). #exhausted
4 minutes of extra time
90+1' - GOAL - OMFG... Mattocks takes flight over Kocic and another defender and pokes it. The disbelief... heartbreak.
ROBINS 2, VANCHESTER 2
or is it?
90+4' - No flags gone up. No cards. The ref isn't pointing at anyone or anything. OMG... GOAL - Terry "Mother F**kin'" Dunfield with his first goal in a Robins jersey, gets the header over everyone and puts it top left corner. Absolute madness and delirium ensues.
ROBINS 3, VANCHESTER 2
FULL TIME : Toronto 3, Vancouver 2
Wow. Just wow. What a roller coaster.
Man of the Match : Though Dunfield had an amazing game, as did Frings, but I'm going to give it to my buddy Phil for starting "Bohemian Rhapsody" when they were down 1-0. Total turning point.
Goat of the Game : Ryan Johnson, who often works his ass off has a finishing problem. If he buried 10% of his chances, he'd probably have 7 goals by now. With the elation of the finish to the game, his performance was the only one goat-worthy.
Ref Rating : 3 out of 5. The question remains, in a match with two Canadian franchises, who does the ref screw over more? Wasn't sure if the answer was still Toronto at times.
Kit Spotting : Saw Olympiakos home, FC Koln but the winner was the lad behind us with the Oxford United jersey.
Greatest TFC match ever. Not the best performance, but that finish was just fantastic. Typically the Robins are the team getting put over the barrel with injury time remaining, but this is a first. Haven't left BMO with this big a grin since Canada drew Ecuador (which is technically a win since Ecuador shouldn't draw Canada ever) and the irony is the goal that made the difference in both games was scored by Terry "Mother F**kin'" Dunfield.
Frings was just comprehensive tonight. He is truly the leader and captain of this ship. Hard to believe that Frings is 46 years old... Seriously. Great finish... The departure of Soolsma disappoints me greatly. Aside from the cat references and the pretty shirt that we made is now a dead gag, Nick Soolsma went from being my goat of the season in 2011 for always being in position, getting the ball and not being able to beat a pylon - to turning defenders around and providing some great passes and shots in the short time he was here in 2012. There is likely more to it than just simply cutting ties and that's unfair. We wish him the best and safe travels with his wonderful cat Suarez... That was the best match ever. Man you should've seen it... Come to think of it, if Suarez is canned for being the wrong guy under an old regime, I get it, but if it is for embarrassment to the club, then someone needs to fire the hell out of whoever wasn't paying attention to DeRo training with Celtic or Plata going back to LDU Quito. For a club/company that controls and manipulates the media, that's truly an embarrassment... Good lord what a match!
Player Ratings : Kocic 6; Hall N/A [Henry 6], Eckersley 6.5, Emory 6, Morgan 6.5; Dunfield 7, de Guzman 6 [Avila 6], Frings 7.5, Silva 6.5; Koevermans 6, Johnson 5.5, Phil* 9
* Phil is not really a player, just my friend.
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Here's the link to the video for the awesome singalong. Sadly it's only about half of the song but still; awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHLTo3NUaFw
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