-------------------Because honestly, my logo is better than theirs-------------------------------------and that's the mockery
A lovely humid, yet cool night at New Fort York. The precipitation has held off and there is
For those that don't know, this is the most important game this club has ever played, which will eventually be overshadowed by the second leg rematch next week. CONCACAF Champions League qualifier has the mighty Reds up against the mighty Oranges of Puerto Rico. The Islanders, much like all other USL clubs, are not as crap as you may think. Last season, the Islanders took Cruz Azul to penalties in the SEMI-FINALS of the tournament. Still think they're sh*te? After finishing first in the USL, they had to play the final on the road due to ground unavailability and lost to Vancouver on the other side of the continent.
TFC are fresh off the all-too-familiar 'final five minutes collapse' against our faux arch rivals Columbus. But Puerto Rico should be a walk, no?
Serioux, Guevara and Attakora are out with varying injuries and Velez is on the bench. Oh well.
Predictions are 2-0, 2-1, 3-0 pro TFC and what can only be described as a pro-Islanders 2-2. Onto the match...
1st minute - Steele just fires wide in a highly ambitious start. The one kid in front of us gasses a ripe one... Warned to take a sh*t before game time.
5 - Arrieta heads the ball across the goal and just over the bar unmarked. Oh dear.
6 - Cronin fires his first shot just left of the net.
10 - Vitti undresses defenders and passes off to Cronin. Someone needs to inform Vitti that his role as a forward is to shoot. I can't imagine Vitti's contract has a no-shooting clause. Actually, that would explain alot...
13 - Garcia stops a PR attack without concern. Seriously, ice through his veins sometimes. I wonder how he reacts when he's under pressure.
20 - Vitti undresses a defender twice, loses the ball and a counter filled with pretty passing results in Kendall Jagdeosingh firing just left of the net. Vitti must have an undressing defenders clause too...
26 - The Chad with a flawless cross on to the head of DeRo and just puts it wide.
35 - Defender loses his shoe which results in a Toronto attack, Gerba's first shot doesn't miss by much.
HALF TIME : Antsy.
Note : It must be said that at this point, we've had nothing but praise for the Puerto Rico back four. Their discipline is surreal. Think Greece from Euro 2004.
47 - Gerba. Missile. Wide. Two supporters injured... probably.
52 - The Chad shoots forcing the keeper to make a glove deflection for a corner.
54 - DeRo throw, Cronin half-volley in, Gerba header, off the bar. Gargan and another defender start a pushing and shouting match. I think "oh, this is the end of the Islander defensive trap"...
Ro : "The Chad is a better midfielder than he is a forward" after a pretty run that causes some confusion in the defence.
61 - Cronin curls a ball just wide of the opposite post. Best touch he's had all game, but to be honest, the wrong guy is taking all the shots.
Dom announces that he has got to get some eggs after the game and encourages me to write it in. Either he's lacking Omega-3s or he's desperate for some blog time. There you go Dom. Now the world knows you have an egg fetish.
65 - TFC Corner. Dom feels that "this is it!".
66 - Another corner. Dom still feels that "this is it!".
67 - GOAL - Frei comes off his line, gets caught out and Jagdeosingh rifles a rocket into the net at a difficult angle. It was the kind of mistake that every goalie makes now and again so it's forgiveable. The goal came off a free kick against the run of play that, for all intents and purposes, was a great strike.
I guess that was it, huh?
71 - Build up has Gerba laying the ball off for Cronin who skies the ball.
74 - SUB - Barrett off, O'Brien White on. This was agreed as the wrong substitution to make as Barrett was playing really well. Should've been Vitti for Dichio and it should've been 15 minutes ago.
77 - Gerba gets called back offside after believing he beat the trap and embarasses the PR keeper. So close, but the right call.
78 - DeRo and the PR goalie clash. Goalie embellishes for too long, then has the audacity to take too long in his kick. Ref finally books him after three verbal warnings.
85 - YELLOW - Robinson does, um, something.
85 - SUB - Robinson off, Dichio on. 30 minutes too late.
89 - Dichio boxes out his marker to set a clear shot for a Brennan laser beam -PR goalie makes a lunging save.
90 - DeRo cross sends a diving Dichio header and an even BETTER diving save from the PR goalie. If it wasn't for the unsportsmanlike bullsh*t, I'd not only consider naming him Man of the Match, but I'd consider putting his name in... but I won't.
90+? Gerba pops up a strange shot that ends up almost chipping the keeper but allows Dichio to hammer into him. If the only justice we get tonight is the poetic kind, then so be it.
FULL-TIME TFC 0 : Puerto Rico 1
Man of the Match : DeRo. Gomez with an honourable mention.
Goat : No member of the TFC side was particularly bad. In fact they were good, if not, very good. However, Chris Cummins, beloved manager and the genius behind the 4-3-3, gets the nod tonight if only for waiting too long to bring on Dichio.
We understand that with any substitutions there's the whole "what if" scenario and second guessing. Given that the Puerto Rico back four were all 10s (if we were so anal to rate all the players, but we're not so just take our brilliant words for it), playing the flattest perfect deep trap I've ever witnessed, it was too long before Dichio came on and do what he does best : be big, strong, immovable and create much needed space up front.
Also note, we are not sycophants who believe that Dichio is the modern day answer to greatness (like Winston Churchill, Richard Simmons, James Brown to name a few). However, we do acknowledge what his role is and what he's good at : being the classic English-style number 10. I firmly believe that Dichio is the answer to solving the Puerto Rico riddle. But what do I know.
Ro would like to point out a giant WTF at the 4th official and the tannoy announcer for no mention of time remaining in the match. Puerto Rico made a substitution, but no sign indicating time added on returned. Boo discount refs. Boo.
Otherwise...
Ref meter : 3 out of 5. Didn't really screw up any calls and would've got a 4 had he booked the delaying keeper the second time he took the goal kick. Solid crew. Thanks for coming.
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