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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
July 12, 2012
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Email Steve Bottjer
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@bottjerRNO
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Toronto FC 3 – 2 Vancouver Whitecaps
The Prelude to Battle
The Vancouver Whitecaps likely went into this match looking for some revenge given the fact that the last time they were at BMO Field Toronto FC had been able to claim a victory in the Canadian Championship and deny the Whitecaps a trophy that had been described as one of the team’s main goals in 2012. However, with the Whitecaps sporting a much superior record in the league compared to Toronto, they were likely also aiming to the boot to an inferior opponent that has struggled for much of this season.
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As for Toronto FC, they likely went into this match just hoping to get their legs back after a truly lacklustre performance in their defeat to the Philadelphia Union on Sunday.
Vancouver has done excellent job of earning points on the road this year, while Toronto has struggled to achieve both wins and draws regardless of whether they have been playing at home or on the road.
Both teams were a little shorthanded for this game. On Vancouver’s side of the equation, TFC killer and Designated Player Eric Hassli was forced to miss the match due to a suspension. Furthermore, the Whitecaps also announced just prior to the game that attacking midfielder Davide Chiumiento had been transferred to FC Zurich.
Toronto FC announced prior to the game that forward Nick Soolsma and the club had agreed to part ways by mutual consent. Winger Reggie Lambe was unable due to family reasons.
The Opening Forty-Five
Whether it was due to the relatively early 7pm start time or not, this one kicked off with a lot of empty seats at BMO Field. And the play on the field from both teams seemed to reflect the lack of energy in the stadium, as this match was a very sleepy affair in the early going.
From Vancouver’s standpoint, Barry Robson looked very energetic and inspired right from the opening whistle and his powerful shot just wide in the 13th minute was the first scoring chance of the game.
After a very tired looking performance in Philadelphia on Sunday, TFC striker Ryan Johnson looked to be back on form as put in a good shift and tested the Whitecaps back line throughout the half.
The intensity of the game seemed to pick up as more and more people arrived at BMO Field and brought their own energy to the affair. Toronto and Vancouver traded off some a few chances, with some nice passing by TFC in the 21st minute ending off with a Torsten Frings shot from several yards outside the box going a few feet wide.
Vancouver countered that chance in the 30th minute with Camilo sending a very dangerous ball through the TFC box, but without any teammates in position to redirect it into the back of the net.
Toronto’s second best scoring chance of the half came in the 41st minute when Johnson showed excellent pace to break in one on one with Whitecaps keeper Joe Cannon, but with the veteran MLS shotstopper making an excellent save.
TFC’s best chance of the half came in stoppage time, when Johnson again worked his past the Vancouver back line and in alone on Cannon. On this second chance, he beat Cannon, but could not beat the goal post.
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That was as wild a finish as I have ever seen at BMO Field. #weownthecaps #TFClive
- @Roogsy |
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The Second Half
The Whitecaps opened the scoring early in the second half when Barry Robson delivered a perfect ball to send Darren Mattocks in alone on Milos Kocic. The TFC keeper stopped the initial shot, but Mattocks was able to pick up the rebound and put in the net from a very sharp angle. Vancouver had scored on their first shot on net of the evening.
Toronto evened things up in the 68th minute when left back Ashtone Morgan deliver one of his now patented excellent crosses and Luis Silva redirected the ball past Joe Cannon on a genuinely beautiful back heel.
After Cannon had denied him with a diving save less than a minute earlier, Toronto team captain Torsten Frings gave his side the lead with a world class shot from distance.
In the 85th minute, Vancouver fullback Young Pyo-Lee came within inches of the goal when he professionally made his way around Kocic in the TFC box, but then had his shot go off the post, as Toronto looked like they had dodged a bullet.
To their credit, the Whitecaps kept coming at TFC and they were rewarded in the first minute of injury time when Mattocks jumped extremely high to beat Kocic and head the ball into the back of the TFC net. With a miraculous goal by the Vancouver rookie it looked like TFC were going to again drop points due to conceding a goal in the final minutes of the match.
However, instead of that outcome, this one would finish in a truly dramatic fashion, with former Whitecap Terry Dunfield heading in the winner off a Torsten Frings corner kick in the final seconds of play, giving Toronto the victory.
Post Match Reaction
Following the match, TFC Head Coach Paul Mariner was asked if he was happy to see a stunning last minute go in for Toronto’s benefit instead of the opposition.
“To be honest it wasn’t stunning, it was pleasing and the reason it is pleasing is for the players. The players have worked so hard for the club, they have done absolutely everything that I have asked them and obviously when Darren scored the equalizer, and the time he scored, you thought ‘the boys are going to be disappointed again’. But how many times have we seen an ex player score against his old club? So I’m very pleased for everybody but I’m pleased for Terry because it meant a lot to him,” said Mariner.
Mariner lauded his players after the match and talked about the importance of showing pride as a club and playing with heart and character in front of the home fans.
“The one thing we wanted to do when we embarked on this journey, we wanted to put some pride back into the shirt and for our fans to go away with a good feeling. I think they were intelligent enough to realize we were running out of fumes a bit, but the effort, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th effort was heartwarming if you’re a non football fan, but if you’re a Toronto Football Club supporter, a TFC supporter, I would think the train home today or the ride home will be pretty decent,” said Mariner.
TFC’s Head Coach was also very positive in describing the play of Toronto rookie Luis Silva.
“Well, we’ve had some ups and downs to say the least and I have known Luis for a long long time since he was at UCSB. He comes from a wonderful family, he is a wonderful man, tremendous talent and went very high on him in the draft. I don’t want to dig old stuff up but he was hurt by what happened, and he really wants to do well and playing on the right hand side of midfield is hard, he has never really played there. He has always played underneath or as a centre midfielder and tonight I thought he was excellent,” said Mariner.
To say that Terry Dunfield was happy after the match would be a major understatement, as he was clearly relishing a dramatic goal scored against his former team.
“Probably the biggest goal of my soccer career, it really felt incredible. It has been a really hard season for us at the bottom there and the guys showed a lot of character to come back twice today,” said Dunfield.
Whitecaps Head Coach Martin Rennie admitted after the match that the game was a disappointing loss for his team.
“Obviously very disappointed in losing the match. It’s hard to lose any game and thankfully we haven’t lost too many this season but it always hurts when you do lose so late in the game after equalizing so late in the game. It is very frustrating and something we are not happy about, we are very disappointed in terms of not doing better defending, not only that set play (injury time game winner) but other set plays during the game,” said Rennie.
Not unexpectedly, Rennie expressed particular admiration for the performance of Whitecaps rookie Darren Mattocks.
“He is a fantastic young player and he can be a star if he keeps working hard. He has that finishing touch with that pace and movement. There are teams that fear playing against him and I think he is going to be an excellent player. We were all wide-eyed and amazed at just how high he got for his second goal,” said Rennie.
The Final Word: Mattocks looking like the real deal in a losing effort
For a match that started off with a very sparse crowd, those TFC fans that showed up for this one certainly got their money’s worth. At first this game looked like it was going to be a fairly muted affair, but both Toronto and Vancouver deserve credit for picking up their games and delivering a solid advertisement for the MLS and Canadian soccer.
While the star for the Whitecaps was a player who looks he will be a Jamaican International in the very near future, it was likely a positive for many of the fans in attendance that Toronto was at least in part spurred to victory by the fine play of three Canadian players – Ashtone Morgan, Doneil Henry and Terry Dunfield. While Morgan delivered the type of performance that has become standard for the young rising star, Henry delivered an excellent and key defensive job after coming on in place of the injured Jeremy Hall.
And what can you say about Terry Dunfield? The midfielder clearly has a huge heart and he leaves it all on the pitch after every game. His winning goal in the dying minutes of this game is now one of the main highlights of the season for Toronto FC. The dramatic moment could not have happened to a more deserving player and, while it could be very presumptuous on my part of say so, I think even most Whitecaps fans would be okay with Dunfield scoring the winner, at least if there had to be a winner against their team.
Torsten Frings bounced back from a poor outing against Philadelphia looking refreshed and he delivered an excellent goal and a solid two way performance. TFC rookie Luis Silva was another inspired performer for TFC, scoring a fabulous goal and almost setting Ryan Johnson up for a couple of goals.
It now remains to be seen whether or not Toronto will be able to build on this win and proactively use the confidence from coming back not once, but twice to earn a win in front of their hometown fans. It was certainly nice to see the TFC outfield players pick up keeper Milos Kocic after he has picked them up so many times this season in both victory and defeat.
Given the records of both teams heading into this fixture, it is somewhat perplexing to see Toronto getting the better of Whitecaps once again. Vancouver is clearly a deeper team and is very well coached by Martin Rennie. And the records of the two teams in the league certainly suggest that the Whitecaps are a much better team.
While a Whitecaps defense that has been very stingy all season long showed some cracks in this game, there were positives that Martin Rennie will be able to take from this game.
Obviously, first and foremost was the play of striker Darren Mattocks. The Whitecaps rookie was awesome in this game, scoring a couple of marvellous goals and looking very much like the rising star that he is. The Toronto defenders looked nervous about defending him from the opening whistle and his athleticism was a cut above everyone else this evening.
Fullback Young Pyo- Lee looked like the fittest and smartest player on the pitch and he was very unlucky not to score a goal that likely would have changed the complexion of the match.
New Designated Player Barry Robson also looked much more energetic and effective in this game and his play suggested that he is going to be a real leader and difference maker for Vancouver going forward.
While Jay DeMerit is the player going to the MLS All Star game, his central defense partner Martin Bonjour was the centre back that stood out on this day, as he did an excellent job of slowing down a very motivated Ryan Johnson for most the match.
Toronto FC came out on top in this game and TFC supporters can only hope that their team will continue to improve and earn more positive results throughout the remainder of the season. As for the Whitecaps, they only need to learn from their mistakes in this game and move on, as they look to be in an excellent position to become the first Canadian team to make the MLS Playoffs.
TFC Line-up
30 Kocic
25 Hall
27 Eckersley
2 Emory
5 Morgan
22 Frings
6 De Guzman
11 Silva
23 Dunfield
9 Johnson
14 Koevermans
Substitutions:
(29) Henry in for Hall; (60) Avila in for De Guzman.
Whitecaps Line-up
1 Cannon
12 Young-Pyo
15 Bonjour
6 DeMerit
3 Harvey
14 Robson
28 Koffie
7 Le Toux
4 Rochat
37 Camilo
22 Mattocks
Substitutions:
(82) Nanchoff in for Camilo.
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