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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
October 26, 2014 |
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Steve Bottjer
On Twitter:
@BottjerRNO
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With Toronto FC eliminated from contention for the postseason and New England unable to move up or down in the Eastern Conference standings, Saturday’s fixture at Gillette Stadium between the Revolution and Toronto FC was essentially a meaningless game.
However, prior to the match, TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney had been vocal in his desire to see Toronto end their 2014 campaign on a positive note. With DP striker Jermain Defoe ruled out of this game due to injury, the TFC gaffer elected to switch things up and go with a 4-3-3 formation, with Dan Lovitz and Dominic Oduro starting in the wide forward positions.
The Opening 45
Both team started slowly in this one, with neither side able to generate a scoring chance or even a first down in the opening minutes of the match.
The Reds came within in inches of an opening goal in the 9th minute when Dominic Oduro delivered a cross into the Revolution box and Gilberto showed some excellent technical skill to blast a fantastic shot off the crossbar.
Toronto came close again in the 17th minute when Gilberto delivered a fine pass to send Dan Lovitz in for a scoring opportunity, with Revs keeper Bobby Shuttleworth ultimately perfectly positioned to make the save.
As has been the case all too often for Toronto FC this season, their opponent took advantage of some amateur quality officiating from the so called PRO referee. New England stud midfielder Lee Nguyen opened the scoring in the 35th minute on a play in which the linesman had raised his flag for off side, but with referee Ricardo Salazar deciding to ignore the call and allow the goal.
The Second Half
While Toronto would make a couple of substitutions and switch from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 in the second half, it was pretty much all New England in the final forty-five minutes.
New England Designated Player Jermaine Jones took advantage of a TFC giveaway in the 66th minute and a made a nice run before blasting a shot just inches wide of the post.
Salazar continued his own inept performance in the 68th minute when he missed a crystal clear handball in the penalty area by TFC defender Steven Caldwell.
The Revolution had an excellent chance to double their lead in the 71st minute when Kelyn Rowe tried to chip Bendik and saw his effort go high over the crossbar.
New England missed another glorious chance in the 84th minute when Diego Fagúndez finished off a dazzling individual effort by shooting wide on what was essentially an open net.
Man of the Match
Doneil Henry
If this was his last game as a member of Toronto FC, homegrown defender Doneil Henry went out with a solid game, as he delivered a fine effort against one of the most high-powered offenses in the MLS.
Honourable mention
Joe Bendik had another solid game and delivered the requisite big saves to keep his team in the game in another losing effort.
While the Reds offense shot blanks most of the night, Gilberto came within inches of scoring and delivered a couple of decent efforts as a facilitator for his teammates.
Toronto FC Line-up
12 Joe Bendik
28 Mark Bloom
15 Doneil Henry
13 Steven Caldwell
2 Justin Morrow
8 Kyle Bekker
4 Michael Bradley
26 Collen Warner
35 Daniel Lovitz
23 Dominic Oduro
9 Gilberto
Substitutions: Luke Moore for Daniel Lovitz (63); Warren Creavalle for Collen Warner (71); Andrew Wiedeman for Dominic Oduro (90).
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