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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
August 29, 2015 |
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Steve Bottjer
On Twitter:
@BottjerRNO
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Fresh off of a 5-0 win over Orlando City last weekend, Toronto FC were back in action on Saturday afternoon and looking to put some more space in the Eastern Conference standings between themselves and Canadian rivals the Montreal Impact.
TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney made only one change to his starting eleven, with Daniel Lovitz replacing Jackson on the back line. Vanney also elected to have Designated Player Jozy Altidore start the game on the bench for the second week in a row.
Montreal were shorthanded for this game, as their two star players – Didier Drogba and Ignacio Piatti – were unavailable due to injury.
As something of symbol of the plight of Canadian players in Major League Soccer, each of these Canadian sides only started a single Canadian player for this so called Canadian rivalry match.
Listen to ESSU:
Bradley and Oso see it through for the Reds,
Toronto vs Montreal Impact
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The Opening 45
Montreal came close to taking an early lead in the 7th minute when some characteristically poor defending by the TFC back line allowed Dominic Oduro to break in 1v1 on Reds keeper Chris Konopka, with the Impact striker beating the keeper and then inexplicably shooting wide of the target on an open net.
Toronto’s first significant chance of the game came in the 17th minute when Giovinco delivered a near perfect pass to send Jonathan Osorio in on Impact keeper Eric Kronberg, with the Montreal shot stopper ultimately getting off his line quickly and doing well to snuff out the danger.
TFC midfielder Benoit Cheyrou pulled up lame in the first half and Jozy Altidore was subbed on in place of the French midfielder.
The Reds opened the scoring in the 35th minute when Osorio delivered a top class pass in traffic inside the Impact box to Michael Bradley, who deftly side-footed his shot into the back of the Montreal net.
The Impact came with inches of an equalizer in the 40th minute when Canadian International Maxim Tissot delivered a perfect cross that Johan Venegas made a mess of on a play in which he should have had a simple tap in.
The Second Half
The injuries continued to pile up for Toronto as Greg Vanney had made all of his substitutions by the 51st minute, with Ashtone Morgan replacing Dan Lovitz to start the half and Robbie Findley coming on in place of an injured Giovinco soon after the beginning of the second half.
Toronto doubled their lead in the 55th minute when Bradley made a powerful run and dished off to Osorio, with the Canadian hammering a shot off the cross bar. Fortunately for Toronto, Jozy Altidore was able to pick up the rebound and tap the ball into the back of the Impact net.
Bradley came close to his second goal of the game in the 62nd minute when he delivered a shot that was blocked by a fine diving save by Kronberg.
Not to be outdone, Konopka made a fine save of his own four minutes later, stoning Oduro after Justin Mapp had sent the Ghanian striker in 1v1 with the TFC keeper.
Montreal finally got on the scoreboard in the 74th minute when Andres Romero cut a pass in the box back to Oduro, with the former TFC forward showing some nice touch in putting the ball past Konopka into the back of the net.
However, any momentum that Montreal had gained from the goal appeared to be lost when defender Laurent Ciman was sent off with his second yellow card of the match in the 77th minute.
Despite being down to ten men, Montreal battled to the end, with men in blue coming close to an equalizer during injury time when Ahmed Kantari blocked a shot by Oduro, with the Impact striker pleading for a hand ball on the player. The referee ultimately decided against a call and Toronto earned a win over the Canadian rivals.
Overall, neither side was particularly impressive in this match. Montreal’s inability to finish their chances sealed the defeat and Toronto looked less than stellar after defeating Orlando by a 5-0 score line the previous week.
Man of the Match
Jonathan Osorio
Canadian International Jonathan Osorio had another fine game for Toronto FC, with the 23 year old midfielder playing a key role in both of Toronto’s goals. With this game coming directly after Canadian National Team Head Coach left Osorio off the squad for Canada’s next two World Cup qualifying matches against Belize, Osorio’s performance highlighted his character in being able to shake off that disappointment and play a key role in his club team earning a vital win.
Michael Bradley also had another strong for TFC, with the Toronto captain scoring the opening goal and playing a key role in setting up what turned out to be the game winner.
Eric Kronberg
The Montreal Impact’s regular backup keeper had a solid performance between the sticks on an afternoon in which his side was generally subpar and shorthanded for a portion of the match. Kronberg made a number of big saves to keep the final scoreline close.
Toronto FC Line-up
1 Chris Konopka
2 Justin Morrow
23 Josh Williams
41 Ahmed Kantari
19 Daniel Lovitz
4 Michael Bradley
21 Benoit Cheyrou
26 Collen Warner
18 Marky Delgado
21 Jonathan Osorio
10 Sebastian Giovinco
Substitutions: Jozy Altidore for Benoit Cheyrou (33’); Ashtone Morgan for Daniel Lovitz (46’); Robbie Findley for Sebastian Giovinco (51’).
Montreal Impact Line-up
22 Eric Kronberg
2 Ambroise Oyongo
23 Laurent Ciman
36 Victor Cabrera
25 Donny Toia
33 Marco Donadel
16 Callum Mallace
51 Maxim Tissot
27 Johan Venegas
15 Andres Romero
7 Dominic Oduro
Substitutions: Justin Mapp for Maxim Tissot (58’); Anthony Jackson-Hamel for Johan Venegas (58’); Eric Miller for Andres Romero (80’).
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