THE SOUTH STAND REPORT : Toronto v New Jersey... or who the f**k is Henry

So I admittedly gave up during the V-Cup and went to bed.  Figuring that it was only a matter of time for the bottom to fall out and the kids would knock them out only to read that they pulled it off.  Fantastic.

Then Issey Nakajima-Farran was shipped to Montreal for some reason.  Ahhh,  there it is... just like the TFC of old. The element of head-scratching confusion. Straight out of the 2010 player management manual.  Get rid of a depth player because Toronto have such a wealth of forwards and wingers now.

Whatever. 

Gonna miss his drive. I believe Montreal will have won that deal.

Toronto is functionally struggling in the final third of the pitch as the last few goals have been flukey at best.  Maybe they can pot one that isn't a deflection or impeding the keeper.  We'll see.

On to the Match :

8' - Defoe from the left fires a goal forcing a clumsy save from Robles but cleared to safety.

12' - GOAL - Orr puts a perfect ball through the heart of NJEB defense and finds Defoe who buries it under the cross bar.   

ROBINS 1, EXTREME BEVERAGE 0

17' - Free kick from edge of the box from Bekker is low, skips through and finds a lunging Gilberto who connects but puts it past the post.  Everyone do a shot.

New Terrace Classic (you're welcome)

Bloom Bloom Bloom
Sweeping up like a broom
And he can clear it all night
And he can do it just right
Oh-oh-oh... [for reference]

43' - After the foul by Olave on Gilberto,  free kick was low and fast through the middle of the penalty area and just misses Caldwell.

45' - YELLOW - Morrow for stuff.

Half Time Mood : Entertained and alarmed at the same time.

56' - SUB - Moore comes on for Gilberto.  Too soon.

61' - Toronto under pressure and a cross from Henry finds Bendik's hand on the ball then eats a foot from Sam.  Wide open net was Weideman'd by someone.

67' - SUB - Lovitz in for Rey

68' - Bloom sent beautifully down the wing and low crosses, Moore at the doorstep and misses, the rebound hits the only defender in the way.  Heartbreaking.

88' - YELLOW - Defoe gets stepped on by Armando and no call, Defoe gets in an altercation with Armando and goes down like his face was broken, naturally.  Draws the booking anyways.

5 min of extra time

90+1' - Osorio sends Bekker with a weak ball but it gets to him and fires a shot just wide of goal from 18 yds out.  Harrowing

90+4 - GOAL - A calamity of defending has a collision between Robles and Olave where neither get the ball and Moore walks it in. Nanners.
ROBINS 2, EXTREME BEVERAGE 0

FULL TIME : TORONTO 2, NEW JERSEY 0

Man of the Match : Mark Bloom was a machine so he gets the nod.  Nick Hagglund was a very close second.

Goat of the Game : none.

Ref Rating : 3 out of 5.  Was ok first half then lost the plot as the game wore on.

Kit Spotting : The Arsenal kits were awesome. Kidding, I won for wearing my Sheffield Wednesday kit and it's sweet.

I Am Not The Gaffer But... : felt taking Gilberto off was harsh and the turtle defending of the first 20 mins of the second half was a bit depressing.  Extreme Beverage wasn't that good.

Gilberto's Missed Shots : 1

Not to piss on the celebrations, but one of those goals was very flukey... What hustle from Bloom! So nice to see him step his game up even further. He was everywhere... I used to rate Olave but he's not the rock he once was when I first saw him v RSL many moons ago. Gaffe notwithstanding, he was a magnet for the ball... When Moore picked up the ball for that gaffe, I might have been crazy, but I swear he took a look around to see if a flag was up or something that would take this away from him. He obviously knew about  the lack of luck for TFC from officials... In a private suite was Dike and Cesar watching the game. The most feared private suite in MLS.  Weideman was in there too... it didn't rain, so that was good... anyone else expecting a bed-crapping coming on in the 60ish minute mark? Was sure they were gong to ruin a perfectly nice afternoon at the ground.

Player Ratings : Bendik 7, Bloom 8, Caldwell 6.5, Hagglund 7.5, Morrow 7, Rey 6 [Lovitz N/A], Bekker 7, Orr 7, Osorio 7.5, Defoe 7, Gilberto 6.5 [Moore 6.5]