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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
October 18, 2014 |
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Steve Bottjer
On Twitter:
@BottjerRNO
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After stumbling badly last weekend in New York and seeing their chance of postseason berth fade to almost hopeless, Toronto FC were back in action at home on Saturday afternoon for a derby match against Canadian rivals the Montreal Impact.
With Montreal having suffered through a poor season in league play, Impact captain Patrice Bernier had been vocal in stating his club’s desire to the be the ones to official eliminate the Reds from the race for MLS Cup Playoff spot.
If Toronto were to avoid that indignity, they were going to have to do it without two key players in DPs Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley, who were out of action due to injury and suspension respectively. Gilberto and Collen Warner stepped into the TFC starting eleven in place of Defoe and Bradley and defender Doneil Henry also returned to starting action in place of Nick Hagglund, who was also suspended for the game.
The Opening 45
Both team started slowly in this one, with neither Montreal nor Toronto able to muster much of a well-oiled attack.
The Reds opened the scoring in the 20th minute on a fairly innocuous play, with the ball deflecting in the Impact box and falling to the foot of TFC midfielder Warren Creavalle, who delivered a beautiful one-time volley past a diving Evan Bush.
Montreal had a chance to even things up seven minutes later when forward Jack McInerney hammered a shot just wide of the far post.
The home team had a glorious chance to double their lead at the half hour mark when Creavalle delivered a dangerous ball through the Impact box but had nary a single TFC player in position for the tap in into an open net.
TFC came close again in the 36th minute when striker Luke Moore saw his header cleared off the line by Impact defender Matteo Ferrari.
Just when Toronto looked to be dominating the proceedings, Impact midfielder Felipe hammered one past Bendik in the 39th minute and then taunted TFC supporters in the south end by celebrating right in front of them.
The Second Half
Montreal had a fantastic chance to take the lead in the 54th minute when Felipe threaded through a beautiful pass to send in Jack McInerney alone on keeper Joe Bendik. However, the Impact striker shot high and hit the crossbar on a chance that he really should have done better on.
Felipe was at center of things again in the 68th minute when he delivered a powerful shot that required a diving save by Bendik. Following that play the Brazilian ran over to the corner in which the Impact supporters were sitting and implored them to get to their feet and make some noise for their team.
Toronto had glorious chance to take the lead in the 70th minute when Kyle Bekker delivered a corner kick to an unmarked Gilberto, who headed the ball wide of the net on a chance he really should have put in the back of the net.
The Reds came close again ten minutes later in the break when Gilberto delivered a dangerous cross to Dominic Oduro, with Impact keeper Evan Bush coming up big to keep the ball out of his net.
Toronto gained the man advantage in the 82nd minute on a peculiar play in which Impact defender Heath Pearce was sent off on a straight red for a tackle on Oduro that at worst looked like a yellow card infraction.
With their season on the line, Toronto continued to push men forward as the counted down. Second half substitute had a very good chance at a winner after a Montreal giveaway, but the experienced Canadian International shot high over the crossbar.
Bendik came up big again in the 91st minute when he made another excellent save to deny Felipe’s shot from distance.
Referee Baldomero Toledo once again showed his deficiencies as a referee in injury time as he lost control of the match and, as usual, made the game all about him. He sent off both Jonathan Osorio and Hassoun Camara as the match finished with Toronto fielding ten men to nine for Montreal.
Man of the Match
Joe Bendik
The TFC keeper did his job admirably once again, keeping his team in the game right to the end with a number of key saves. Once again, he was let down by a TFC offense that did not finish a multitude of chances.
Felipe
The Brazilian midfielder was Montreal’s best player in this match, showing heart, passion and desire in a match that was meaningless for Impact but not for the Montreal supporters that travelled to Toronto to be part of the derby game. He was in on all of Montreal’s scoring chances and scored the Impact’s lone goal of the game.
Honourable mention
Young TFC central defender Doneil Henry delivered an excellent performance in his return to the starting eleven. He defender stoutly, won everything that came his way in the air and made a number of key clearances.
Veteran Impact central defender Matteo Ferrari had a strong game for the visiting team in the heart of the Montreal defense. He made a number of key defensive plays when Toronto was desperately pushing forward in search of a winning goal.
Toronto FC Line-up
12 Joe Bendik
28 Mark Bloom
15 Doneil Henry
13 Steven Caldwell
2 Justin Morrow
3 Warren Creavalle
21 Jonathan Osorio
26 Collen Warner
11 Jackson
27 Luke Moore
9 Gilberto
Substitutions: Dwayne De Rosario for Warren Creavalle(57); Kyle Bekker for Collen Warner (68); Dominic Oduro for Mark Bloom (80).
Montreal Impact Line-up
30 Evan Bush
6 Hassoun Camara
3 Eric Miller
44 Heath Pearce
13 Matteo Ferrari
7 Felipe Martins
11 Dilly Duka
8 Patrice Bernier
16 Callum Mallace
15 Andres Romero
99 Jack McInerney
Substitutions: Issey Nakajima-Farran for Dilly Duka (73); Marco Di Vaio for Jack McInerney (79); Maxim Tissot for Andres Romero.
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