THE SOUTH STAND REPORT : Toronto v Santos Laguna... Or (upside down exclamation point here)VAMOS LOS ROJAS!

 

Hard to believe that I worked on this logo for 14 hours.

The Ex is still on. I genuinely fear for these events because it feels like a ridiculous money grab from the gate onward.  This is amusing because once you get to BMO, prices dramatically increase.

Pre-match music selection isn't good this early.  With all the anti-cussin' initiatives, you'd think these hypocrites wouldn't permit Mumford & Sons' lyric of  "I really fucked it up this time" blaring.

Weather is perfect for an upset... Or at least a draw, which is an upset. I'm calling for a squeaker of a finish, either a draw or eeking a 2-1 victory. @kzknowles is pro-Reds at 3-1. @philbot101 isn't as positive calling for 3-0 thrashing as is @theyorkies1812 says 2-1 loss.  @WakingtheRed plays it safe with a 1-1.

Onto the match.

Quote of the Match :

 It's Sounders Laguna!

~ @theyorkies1812 on our opposition wearing their away kit

15' - YELLOW - O'Dea gets booked for two-handing a defender while waiting for the corner to be delivered.  The other guy totally deserved it.

19' - Wiedeman has a long range attempt that just misses to the right of goal.  Helluva go there...

24' -  Ramirez crosses a dangerous ball low in front of Freddy Hall which finds Peralta who misses an absolute sitter and it skitters past the wide open net.  Bullet dodged.

30' - YELLOW - Dunfield for something.

Half-Time Mood : Getting out of that without a goal conceded, I'm gonna say relief.

45' - SUB - Hassli comes off for Amarikwa.

46' - Wiedeman has a second near miss of the game, just wide of the right post again.  He's getting closer.

49' - GOAL - Quintero gets past his marker as a ball comes over the top and from a tight angle, he blasts one past Freddy Hall, who did not look like he was expecting a shot.
ROBINS 0, MEXICELTOS 1

51' - Wiedeman turns a defender around and sends another shot just wide of the net, but Amarikwa manages to get a foot on it, only to skip around the post.  Unlucky.

69' - GOAL - Back clearance from Sanchez lands in front of Amarikwa who skips a ball past two defenders.  Heady stuff.

ROBINS 1, MEXICELTOS 1

84' - A black cat runs across the pitch just in front of the TFC goal.  Casual supporters and Groupon purchasers find something to cheer at which they understand.

90' - GOAL - Ugh.  Luduena does a give and go, then slides it past Hall.  Top class finishing.

ROBINS 1, MEXICELTOS 2

2 minutes of extra time

90+2' - GOAL - That's all folks.  Ramirez bags it in almost identical fashion to the previous goal.

ROBINS 1, MEXICELTOS 3

FULL TIME : Toronto 1, Santos Laguna 3

Man of the Match : Wow... Amarikwa gets it, not for the goal, but for being aggressive.  Felt that Ecks and O'Dea had very good games.

Goat of the Game : the f'ing cat.

Ref Rating : 2 out of 5.  If you think that refs are unbiased, watch some of the free kicks that Toronto dealt with where a Santos player stood a few feet in front of them without showing any sportsmanship to move into a suitable place.  Then watch the ref not do enough to stop the epidemic of ass-holery.

In all reality, Santos are dangerous.  The quality balls can come from everywhere.  Quick passing, there were a few times it looked like Toronto were chasing shadows... A curious advertisement behind the north end goal reads "GONHER" which could be anything. Hypotheses ranged from Mexican detective agency, STD treatments, a 'scottish waxing' product (as if that's a real thing), canned vegetables, dog food and electronics.  Apparently they are selling car parts... It has been brought to my attention that Wiedeman is lost playing behind the centre line.  I can see that.  Defensively, he's clueless.  Offensively, he was making runs, taking chances.  Kinda fun to watch.

An open letter to very select members of supporters groups (but not certainly all and you might not even belong to them but you were in the appropriate areas),

It is amusing to see how much flack we've received from singing, if you can call it singing, Bohemian Rhapsody.  The reasons we sing it are simple, it's fun, it's a tune we all know, it's lyrically appropriate when we're losing and it is different compared to the unofficial song book that has barely flirts with change in six seasons.

If you don't like to sing it, don't.  All stop.  You don't have to protest it.  You don't have to get our attention to get us to stop.  You don't have to express your $0.02 at us.  We're certainly not barking at you to join in with a megaphone.  We don't cast self-important downward glances at you if you don't.  Which is cool, because we don't really want to sing your songs anymore either.  Certainly not when they're playing frustratingly bad, or when they've just conceded their second goal, or when no one it trying.  It's difficult to sing a song about "loving a team" that is giving up right before you.  I certainly can't.  I sing when I become highly emotionally involved in a game.  Like in the 60th minute onward.  I sang.  A lot.

But I cannot sing a song about Danny Dichio who scored 14 goals in 66 games when we never had a song for former players Maicon Santos or Chad Barrett (both understandable), or current players like Ryan Johnson or Danny Koevermans, who has a strike rate at better than 1 goal per 2 games.  We had a song for DeRo... and THAT is a legend.  He scored a hat-trick once.  He took a mediocre team and a front office that went back on their word on his back and won games on his own.  He's not even on the wall of honour!

And all of those players have an equal or better strike rate than Dichio ever did.  So how about putting an effort into a song for the CURRENT squad. A different tune would be nice. I like Men Without Hats as much as the rest of the south stand, but there are other songs out there if you can believe it.

If the results on the pitch are getting stale, at least we can amuse ourselves in the stands.  Evolve.  Grow.  Change.  The songs are beyond stale.  Our little enclave have offered change.  We are responsible for the "There was a boy from Scarborough..." chant, the "La Marseillaise" song for Laurent Robert, and a few others that fell by the wayside when that player moved on.

So, if you don't like change and you feel the need to express disappointment or anger or resentment to someone trying to offer something else to the south end repertoire, I guess this is an apology for ruining your love of 'the same old shit'.

But we'll try again.  Promise.

Love,

The Yorkies

@ignirtoq can be followed if you're bored. He's not usually this frustrated with people. In fact, he's quite affable and had a little conversation with the woman who runs @TorontoWUFC Twitter account.  Mind you, he often gets stick for the ability to have random conversations with strangers everywhere. Sorry mom.