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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
July 21, 2012
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Toronto FC 1 – 1 Liverpool
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The Prelude to Battle
With Toronto FC in the midst of a brutal schedule with a shorthanded squad, most hardcore Toronto FC supporters had not been looking forward to Saturday’s fixture between TFC and English heavyweights Liverpool FC. Toronto Head Coach Paul Mariner had attempted to allay the concerns of the TFC faithful on Friday by stating that he would be resting his starters for much of the game and that Toronto would feature a squad made up of young players on the TFC roster along with a number of TFC Academy players. His modus operandi was clear when the roster for the game was announced. Trialist Freddy Hall got the start at keeper in place of Ironman Milos Kocic and and five Academy players (Sergio Camargo, Roberto Galle, Ryan Sciacchitano, Josh Janniere and Tyler Pasher) were called up for the game. In addition to those new faces, young TFC players such as Matt Stinson, Oscar Cordon, Keith Makubuya, Quillan Roberts and Aaron Maund were expected to log heavy minutes.
Liverpool were in town as part of the 2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge, which is the North American component of their preseason preparations for the 2012-2013 English Premier League campaign. While notable International players such as Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Martin Kelly, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll, Pepe Reina and Fabio Borini did not make the trip to Toronto due to the fact that they had recently played in the 2012 European Championship tournament, Reds stalwarts such Jamie Carragher, Charlie Adam, Martin Skrtel and Joe Cole were scheduled to feature in the game.
The Opening Forty-Five
Liverpool came out of the gate looking to be in decent form, but also very much looking like a top side that was still in its preseason. They moved the ball effectively and with class throughout the first half, but did not engineer much in the way of legitimate scoring chances.
The best scoring chance of the half actually belonged to Toronto and came in only the 7th minute when Ryan Johnson unleashed a shot that required a diving fingertip save by Liverpool keeper Brad Jones. On the Liverpool side of the offensive equation, forwards Jordan Ibe and Nathan Eccelston looked the most dangerous and likely to put one past TFC keeper Freddy Hall in the first half.
Toronto made the first substitution of the game in the 28th minute when Tyler Pasher came on for Ashton Morgan, with the speedy TFC Academy player acquitting himself quite well and bringing some much needed energy to the proceedings.
Liverpool’s best scoring chance of the opening forty-five came in the 44th minute when Daniel Pacheco unleashed a dangerous shot that was ultimately blocked by a well positioned Richard Eckersley.
The Second Half
Both teams changed their lineups completely to start the second half, with Liverpool bringing on eleven new players and with only Tyler Pasher remaining for TFC from the first half. Quillan Roberts came on as keeper behind a back four of Pasher, Ty Harden, Dicoy Williams and Robert Galle. Aaron Maund, Matt Stinson, Josh Janniere, Sergio Camargo, Andrew Wiedeman, Quincy Amarikwa came in on the midfield and at the forward positions.
Toronto FC keeper Quillan Roberts discusses his performance against Liverpool FC on July 21st, 2012.
TFC opened the scoring in the 58th minute when Sergio Camargo made a great run and delivered a dangerous shot that required a big save from Liverpool keeper Peter Gulacsi. Recently signed TFC striker Quincy Amarikwa was perfectly positioned to receive the rebound and made no mistake in finding the back of the net, scoring a goal in his first appearance as a member of Toronto FC.
Liverpool equalized in the 69th minute when some nice penetration in the TFC box by Raheem Sterling ended with Adam Morgan knocking the ball into an open net.
Keeper Quillan Roberts made a nice save on a shot by Liverpool forward Suso just before the final whistle to preserve the draw.
The Final Word: The TFC Kids are all right
This match pretty much played out exactly as many people would have expected. The first half was not a very exciting affair as both the Liverpool and Toronto’s FC first teams played a reserved game in which it looked like they were primarily concerned with avoiding injury. Given the nature of this fixture, it is hard to fault either side for that approach.
The insertion of Tyler Pasher early in the game at left back brought a bit of energy to the proceedings in the first half, as the impressive TFC Academy player was clearly a little bit more motivated to make an impression. Pasher got up and down the field well, tackled with gusto, showed nice touch on the ball and used his pace to supplement the Toronto attack. While a regular performer in TFC Academy and in TFC reserve league fixtures, this was probably the first time that many people have seen Pasher play and he certainly made a good impression this time out.
Toronto FC forward Quincy Amarikwa discusses scoring a goal in his first appearance for his new club.
The second half was a much more interesting and exciting affair than the first, as both sides essentially brought all new players onto the pitch. From Liverpool’s standpoint, their second half life consisted of reserve players who were much more motivated to make a mark than the more established players who played in the opening forty-five minutes and who had mainly been concerned with using the match as an opportunity to build up their match fitness.
Similarly, Toronto brought on a lineup that consisted mostly of TFC Academy players and TFC Academy graduates such as Quillan Roberts, Oscar Cordon, Matt Stinson and Keith Makubuya and these players brought a particular enthusiasm and energy to the game as well. These players all performed quite well and left a mark on the match. In addition to Pasher, the most impressive TFC Academy player was probably midfielder Sergio Camargo, who engineered TFC’s goal and looks to be a player with some real potential as an attacking mid. Josh Janniere, Roberto Galle and Ryan Sciacchitano also had moments of their own and acquitted themselves well, as did Roberts who is currently the backup keeper on the senior team behind Milos Kocic.
In addition to the performances of the young TFC players, there were a couple of other positives from Toronto’s standpoint. Three injured central defenders – Adrian Cann, Ty Harden and Dicoy Williams – all made appearances and their returns to match fitness will bolster TFC’s defense and depth going forward. Furthermore, newly acquired forward Quincy Amarikwa made his first appearance for the Reds and scored in his debut. The fact that both Amarikwa and Andrew Weideman – another recently acquired forward – had an opportunity to put in some minutes against a quality opponent and to get their feet wet playing under Paul Mariner can only be a positive for future matches.
Overall, it was a good day for Toronto FC. They tied one of the top clubs in the world, made it through the match without suffering any injuries, saw some of their young players suggest that there are good things to come from them in the future and continued to blood a couple of newcomers to the team.
TFC Line-up First Half
41 Hall
4 Henry
27 Eckersley
2 Emory
5 Morgan
22 Frings
9 Lambe
8 Avila
23 Dunfield
9 Johnson
11 Silva
TFC Line-up Second Half
40 Roberts
38 Pasher
20 Harden
31 Williams
34 Galle
21 Maund
15 Stinson
33 Camargo
36 Janniere
32 Wiedeman
18 Amarikwa
Substitutions: (28) Pasher in for Morgan; (70) Cann in for Harden; (77) Makubuya in for Janniere, (79) Cordon in for Camargo; (84) Sciacchitano in for Amarikwa.
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