We feel your painsh
In a season bereft of feel-good moments, the 86th minute of last Saturday's match against Union was welcome respite for a few of the Toronto FC faithful. After a 10-month lay-off, the club's potent striker and fan favourite Danny Koevermans entered the match to much fanfare and good tidings. But why?While the return of the burly Dutchman has been anticipated for ages in these parts, with his reappearance being regarded in some circles at a Messianic level, this was simply a poor footballing decision. With about 10 minutes to hang on to a slim lead with only 10 men on the pitch, introducing a lumbering striker fresh off an ACL rehab was extremely questionable. And that is being kind.
So why the rush? While there is no doubt that Koef needed a run out in first team action, this was not the time. Yes, he has a lethal touch when the ball is at his feet but Koevermans will never be accused of having pace. However long Koef's tenure remains with TFC it will only be successful if he is played as part of a striking tandem where he plays the role of poaching target man. At his age and with the residual ring-rust of nearly a year away from play, using him as anything more than a fairly lethal tank is useless.
With TFC's regularly scheduled late-match collapses now an accepted fact of life, bringing in a player of his skill-set in the 86th minute put the club even further behind the 8-ball - virtually playing with 9 1/2 men on the defensive side. When Jack McInerney grabbed the inevitable equalizer in stoppage time, Koef was indeed one of the ball-watchers on the play, although in fairness it was your usual "All For One" collapse.
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