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Toronto FC 1 – 1 New England Revolution
The Prelude to Battle
Toronto FC take on the New England Revolution on a hot, humid and rainy Friday evening and, once again, the Reds will be looking to take all three points from this one. A 1-1 draw against D.C. United was all Toronto FC could muster last week, but with Ex fever (quite literally, if you ate the Cronut Burger) taking over at the Exhibition grounds, BMO Field will be rocking!
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Andrew Wiedeman and Bobby Convey get the start once more for Toronto, who continue to play Alvaro Rey and Maximiliano Urruti off the bench. Ryan Nelsen has opted for the central midfield duo of Jeremy Hall and Jonathan Osorio, which didn’t exactly work in the club’s last game. New England starts Juan Agudelo, Diego Fagúndez, Kelyn Rowe and Chad Barrett in a similar line up to the one that thrashed the Philadelphia Union 5-1.
New England has never won a game at BMO Field, going 0-2-4. The last time these two teams met, Toronto managed to scrape out a 1-0 win away from home – New England will be hoping to right what they will perceive as a wrong result and return the favour at BMO Field. It’s Toronto FC vs. the New England Revolution, and it promises to be a good one.
The Opening 45
The last time these two teams met, Matias Laba scored within the first two minutes, and New England returned the favour with a goal at 1:37 in, Fagúndez scoring after Rowe’s shot rebounded off a defender. Minutes later, Joe Bendik made a huge save off a curling shot by Lee Nguyen. In the 13th minute, Lambe flicked the ball past a midfielder, turned and found Earnshaw, who snapped a shot past the fingers of Matt Reis but couldn’t get it on the right side of the post.
In the 23rd minute, Toronto FC won a corner, which they whipped in just couldn’t connect on, handing the ball over to Agudelo instead. Toronto won a corner again six minutes later, Convey standing over the ball. The cross was curled in but once again found a New England defender. Nguyen picked up a yellow card on the half hour mark. Earnshaw had another chance at net with a headed effort but it went well wide.
With 10 minutes to go in the first half, Toronto FC continued the positive pressure, controlling possession well and creating scoring chances. In the 43rd minute, Agudelo came off with concussion-like symptoms after colliding with Henry, but carried on with the game. Toronto FC took a series of shots on goal in added time, and in a late scramble, the ball eventually landed at the foot of Wiedeman, who turned around and put the ball past Reis; Toronto FC 1-1 New England Revolution. The referee blew the whistle soon after, sending the two teams to the dressing rooms level at one goal apiece.
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#TFC got robbed. No chance Goncalves was effected by Caldwell's arm. Screw job. Should have been a goal. #TFCLive
– @WheelerTSN |
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The Second Half
Toronto FC started the second half with the same intensity they ended the last with, pushing forward with confidence and passing the ball around with intent. New England, however, also regained their shape. In the 53rd minute, Earnshaw made a solo run passed a number of Revolution defenders before crossing the ball into Lambe, who won a corner. After bouncing around a bit, the ball was walked clear but intercepted once more by Toronto.
Fagúndez picked up a yellow card in the 54th minute after fouling an onrushing Morgan on the left flank. In the 59th minute, Dimitry Imbongo came in for Chad Barrett. In the 68th minute, Steven Caldwell picked up a yellow card for a foul in the opposite box. Nguyen got into a spot of trouble with the referee once more after fouling Osorio, but didn’t pick up a second yellow card despite Toronto’s complaints. A yellow card was shown to Scott Caldwell of New England in the 74th minute for fouling Convey in midfield. The game began to get a little scrappier, with Morgan getting carded seconds later.
Toronto FC made their first change of the game, with Maxi Urruti coming in for Earnshaw, making his home debut. Agudelo came off for Saer Sene, too. With four minutes to go in the game, Doneil Henry picked up a yellow card of his own, too. Imbongo was cautioned seconds later, as the yellow card count continued to rise.
With three minutes left in the match, Caldwell got a head on a Convey free kick and flicked the header back into the net, but the referee disallowed the goal for a non-existent foul. Toronto FC, robbed of a goal, pushed forward once more. In the 87th minute, Alvaro Rey came in for Reggie Lambe, and two minutes later, Charlie Davies came in for Fagúndez. The referee added four minutes to the game, and Toronto created a few chances, but couldn’t find the winning goal. The game ended 1-1, both teams splitting the points.
The Final Word: Result Robbed by Referee? Maybe.
A terrible last minute decision by the referee robbed Toronto FC of a perfectly good win. Never before has a hand on a shoulder yielded such a soft foul, and yet, on the night, Toronto FC’s second goal was disallowed for that very simple reason. There was no elbow to the face, no shove, any shirt pulling or troublemaking. Both Caldwell and the defender he was battling went up for the ball, Caldwell got his head on it first, and scored a goal.
That’s what Ryan Nelsen and the rest of Toronto FC will argue when asked to reflect on the game. It was, in truth, a strong Toronto FC showing, not without its flaws, but one deserving of a better result. The irony of a second-minute goal going against Toronto FC this time was quickly forgotten when Andrew Wiedeman, ever the opportunist, managed to fire home the Ping-Pong effort in the box.
For New England, another draw at BMO Field means their winless streak in Toronto continues, and also brings to an end their on-fire form, which saw the side defeat Philadelphia by a huge margin. Juan Agudelo, Diego Fagúndez, Kelyn Rowe and co. could not topple Toronto FC, though it was not for a lack of trying. The true measure of this game came down to the referee, who managed to lose control by the hour mark and handed out one too many yellow cards in the process. That no one was sent off is a testament to the rain gods who oversee Toronto FC on days such as these.
Toronto FC maintained a solid chunk of possession. That much can be pointed to as a definite improvement over last week’s performance. However, Osorio’s midfield performance did not improve much over last week’s encounter. He is an attacking asset but a few of his passes, needed in key opportunities (particularly near the end, when Urruti was making a run) were hit far too softly.
What to say, then, of Toronto FC’s performance on the day? It was an ordinary game on a not-so-ordinary night, and while the rain has been historically kind to the Reds, tonight, it was barely so this time around. A 1-1 draw is a 1-1 draw no matter who scored first, and, like the result against D.C. United before it, Toronto FC walk away with a missed opportunity for all three points.
Also worth noting? Andrew Wiedeman; He’s scoring goals semi regularly, more so than Earnshaw. He’s also only scoring in the rain. These next few weeks may just be Wiedeman’s time to shine, so to speak, for Toronto FC.
Toronto FC Lineup
12 Joe Bendik
27 Richard Eckersley
13 Steven Caldwell
4 Doneil Henry
5 Ashtone Morgan
15 Bobby Convey
21 Jonathan Osorio
25 Jeremy Hall
19 Reggie Lambe
32 Andrew Wiedeman
10 Robert Earnshaw
Substitutions: Maximiliano Urruti in for Robert Earnshaw (78’); Alvaro Rey in for Reggie Lambe (87’).
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