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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
July 25, 2015 |
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Steve Bottjer
On Twitter:
@BottjerRNO
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After delivering a dominant win against the Philadelphia Union last weekend, Toronto FC were back on the road for a Saturday evening fixture against Eastern Conference rivals the Columbus Crew.
Given that both Sebastian Giovinco and league leading scorer Kei Kamara, this match had all the ingredients to be an offensive firecracker. In an effort to pressure the Crew backline and stem their passing game, TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney elected to change his formation to a 3-5-2, with Giovinco and Jozy Altidore leading the attack and Jackson starting in place of Canadian International Jonathan Osorio.
With Michael Bradley still away at the Gold Cup, Marky Delgado started his sixth straight match for the Reds and Daniel Lovitz got a start in place of the injured Ashtone Morgan.
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The Opening 45
In an action packed first half with plenty of scoring chances for both sides, Columbus drew first blood in the 18th minute when TFC keeper Joe Bendik made a fantastic save on an effort by Ethan Finlay only to see an unmarked Kamara head in the second effort.
The Crew came close again just past the half hour mark when Kamara missed a wide open chance in the TFC box.
Toronto missed a glorious chance at an equalizer in the 33rd minute when Jackson whipped in a great cross from the right side that Marky Delgado headed wide of the net on an effort in which he really should have done better.
Columbus doubled their lead in the 36th minute on a rather fortuitous play in which Finley was unable to control a ball that then fell perfectly to midfielder Tony Tchani, who made no mistake in hammering a shot past a helpless Bendik.
The Reds came close to getting on the scoreboard in the 43rd minute when Delgado played a great ball to send in Giovinco, with the Italian superstar ultimately stoned by a great save from Columbus keeper Steve Clark.
Toronto came close again during first half injury time when Giovinco was unable to take advantage of some fine work by Altidore, with the Italian seeing his shot go wide of the mark just before the half-time whistle.
The Second Half
With Toronto continuing to struggle defensively, Columbus looked to have sealed the win when Ethan Finlay gave his team a seemingly insurmountable three goal advantage at home in the 48th minute.
However, Toronto kicked off a miraculous comeback two minutes later when Collen Warner delivered a fantastic ball to set up Giovinco inside the Crew box, with the Atomic Ant delivering a clinical finish to get the Reds back into the game.
Toronto pulled another goal back on the break in the 55th minute when Daniel Lovitz cut back a well placed pass that Warner got on the end of and made no mistake in hammering past Clark.
With Columbus putting numbers behind the ball and adopting a very rigid defensive line, TFC struggled to break down their opponents and it started look like their comeback would ultimately fall a goal short.
However, some smart play from Jozy Altidore earn a penalty kick in the 89th minute when the U.S. International used his body language to win a vital call from the referee. Altidore then stepped up and confidently slotted the resulting penalty kick past Clark to seal a very impressive comeback draw for Toronto.
Ultimately, this game was very much a match of two halves, as Toronto looked completely confused defensively playing in the 3-5-2 formation in the second half. Toronto put their offensive game into another gear in the second half and were once again very impressive in their ability to bounce back from their own defensive mistakes. Toronto FC supporters will now certainly be hoping that recently signed defender Ahmed Kantari can be the tonic the team needs to be as defensively solid as the squad is offensively potent.
Man of the Match
Collen Warner
Collen Warner was the General for Toronto in this match, as the central midfielder delivered a fine two-way performance and bossed the middle of the pitch in an authoritative fashion. With a goal and an assist to his credit, Warner made his presence felt on the scoreboard. Furthermore, he delivered a gutsy physical performance, with his chest bump on Ethan Finley while standing up for his goalkeeper saying a lot about his team spirit in a game in which TFC could have easily folded when down three goals.
Sebastian Giovinco also delivered the type of top class offensive performance that has become routine for him. He was ably supported by strong offensive games by Marky Delgado, Jackson and Daniel Lovitz, with all three playing key roles in Toronto’s second half comeback.
Toronto FC Line-up
12 Joe Bendik
19 Daniel Lovitz
24 Damien Perquis
15 Eriq Zavaleta
2 Justin Morrow
8 Benoit Cheyrou
26 Collen Warner
11 Jackson
18 Marky Delgado
17 Jozy Altidore
10 Sebastian Giovinco
Substitutions: Jonathan Osorio for Benoit Cheyrou (82’); Robbie Findley for Sebastian Giovinco (90+’), Jay Chapman for Marky Delgado (90+’).
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