THE SOUTH COUCH REPORT : Los Angeles v Toronto... or is THIS a streak?

I've been away on vacation but I've kept up with the trials and games of the Toronto "Football" "Club" (good thing the stadium is where it is).  That Portland thing sounded crazy.  And I did watch the Houston match at 2:00am in London (mostly because I snore really loud and the wife hadn't slept yet so I got up so she could sleep... where was I going with this...).  I was spoiled with some exciting footy and the English Championship is still more exciting than MLS.  My London ECL (English Championship League), Brentford, was awesome, even in a loss.  Great fun.  Recommend a visit to Ealing before the demo Griffin Park.  And visit the 4 pubs at each corner of the ground!

This is a streak isn't it?  I mean, it isn't the most ideal streak, but they've earned 7 from a possible 9 points over the last three games.  Doom, gloom, blah blah blah... I know.  It's played out.  Toronto is only a few bad results away from maintaining the status quo.  I think they can make the playoffs!  Who's with me?  Guys?... guys...

Whatever, Defoe is healthy and will cause a headache for the Los Angeles back four...

ICYMI - The Starting XI: Bendik, Creavalle, Caldwell, Hagglund, Morrow, Osorio, Bekker, Bradley, Lovitz, Moore, Oduro. #TFCLive
— Toronto FC (@torontofc) October 5, 2014

Ummm... OK.  That was anti-climactic with the whole superstar drama.  Certainly he'd be good for the bench?

Anyways, Los Angeles is crushing everything.  Their last loss was a month and a half ago.  So Toronto needs everyone to keep their shit together for 90+ minutes.  That's plausible enough but is it likely? I have $2 that's telling me 'oh yeah it is'.  We'll see.

On to the match...

12' - Juninho has a go from 20 yards out that loops over everyone and catches Bendik out a little too far, but the crossbar bails him out.

22' - GOAL - Zardes sends it on to Robbie Keane who slips it past a lunging Bendik.  Tragic.
BECKHAMS 1, ROBINS 0

25' - GOAL - Donovan to De La Garza to Keane who volleys this and holy crap it's gonna be like that tonight, isn't it?
BECKHAMS 2, ROBINS 0 

36' - American feed suggested that the conversation between Toledo and Bendik could be time wasting. THEY'RE DOWN BY TWO?  WHO WASTES TIME WHEN YOU'RE LOSING?  Stupid hacks. 

54' - If they gave goals for effort, Toronto would be down by 4.

59' - SUB - Lovitz off for Defoe.  I here he likes dealing in blood or something.  It's been a while, no.

66' - YELLOW - Osorio got booked.  So did Zardes, but I barely care for the bookings Toronto get.  Whatever.

68' - Did Oduro just play right back to deny Zardes?  Did Oduro ask for directions to go play that far back?  Well done sir!

74' - SUB - Moore makes way for DeRo


76' - No hat trick for Keane, as Bendik swatted it out of the air as the Irishman goes for the chip.  Well, no hat trick... yet.

79' - SUB - Bekker comes out for Warner

3 minutes of extra time

90+3' - GOAL - Alan Gordon gets the ball, takes two touches and launches from 20 yards out.  It's a bit of a screamer.  That's about right.
BECKHAMS 3, ROBINS 0 

Full Time : LOS ANGELES 3, TORONTO 0

Man of the Match : Nobody really.

Goat of the Game : Nobody really.

Ref Rating : 5 out of 5.  I know.  But nothing really happened.  Screw it, 3 out of 5 just for the PTSD he's caused.

In Case You PVR'd it : Fast forward to the 20th minute, watch until the end of the half then skip to injury time and you're good.

It's times like this, I feel that Gilberto won't be back.  I'm sure he'll be amazing in DC when he'll kill us repeatedly next season... Also, thanks MLS Live for the privilege to watch the paid for stream via a VPN.  Glad the decision to give you money was a poor one... When Morrow came off, the first instinct was to check the game stats feed to find out when he was substituted on, but the line-up tweet staggered me to find out he'd been playing all along... this Wild Beer company Indigo Child stout I bought in Bath is really sour and nasty.  If you see this and you're curious, just get anything else.  If you're really curious, get something you might like then add a shot of vinegar to it... It was such a strong PRO-LINE ticket. Man City won, Liverpool won.  How could Toronto losing go so wrong *eye roll*... That Vocal Minority Podcast has been decent the last few weeks.  I feel there's going to be rating spike next week as the principle writer of these match reports will be returning... The biggest difference noticed between the three matches I took in on my vacation and every TFC match was that the crowd was watching the match from start to finish and  nobody was straggling late getting 2 overpriced beers or filling their instagram accounts. Will miss that the most.

Player Ratings : Bendik 6, Creavalle 6, Caldwell 6.5, Hagglund 6, Morrow 5.5 [DeRo N/A], Osorio 6, Bekker 6 [Warner N/A], Bradley 6.5, Lovitz 6 [Defoe N/A], Moore 6.5, Oduro 7 (just for playing defense)

@ignirtoq is well rested from his vacation. He tried many ciders, and some were super "earthy" and gross. The only stout he had easy access to in pubs was Guinness and he's OK with that.