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Toronto FC 2 Los Angeles Galaxy 1
The Prelude to Battle
Toronto FC went into the second leg of their Quarterfinal matchup against the Los Angeles Galaxy as clear underdogs. With the Galaxy playing at home with an advantage of two away goals to their credit, Toronto was going to need to win against a team that rarely loses at the Home Depot Centre in Carson, California. Los Angeles would also once again take to the pitch with three top big game players in David Beckham, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan.
However, Toronto also had several things going their way heading into this game. While the Reds had a week off to rest and prepare for this fixture, the Galaxy played an MLS match on Saturday against Real Salt Lake. Secondly, due to a rule in place at the Home Depot Centre, only 7500 fans would be allowed to attend this weeknight game, somewhat negating the type of 12th man energy that the Reds enjoyed at the Rogers Centre last week. Thirdly, Toronto flew in on Sunday and had several days to get used to climate and time zone ahead of the match.
Most importantly, the Toronto FC players themselves came into this match with a genuine sense of confidence and belief.
TFC Head Coach Aron Winter made three changes to his lineup from the previous match. Julian de Guzman replaced Terry Dunfield, Nick Soolsma replaced Luis Silva and Milos Kocic got the call between the sticks in place of Stefan Frei.
The Opening Forty-Five
The first half was characterized mainly by two things: TFC pushing forward from the back in search of a goal and the Galaxy trying to beat Toronto’s high line by continually lobbing high ball forward to try and beat the high line. This resulted in a number of close calls for the Red and more off side calls against Los Angeles than Beckham has tattoos.
It also meant that Milos Kocic was going to have come up big when Los Angeles timed their runs perfectly or the officials missed an offside call. The TFC keeper did just that in the 18th minute when Galaxy forward Mike Magee broke in alone, but was prevented from scoring by Kocic.
In the 26th minute, it was Beckham that had a golden scoring chance, but the former Manchester United star shot high over the TFC net.
Once again it was Ryan Johnson who would come up big for Toronto FC in a crucial game, as he opened the scoring with a fantastic header that redirected a Nick Soolsma cross into the back of the Galaxy next in the 34th minute.
Toronto had the lead they needed and Soolsma had made an immediate impact in his return to the lineup.
The Second Half
For the second game in a row, Aron Winter chose to sub off Joao Plata early, with Terry Dunfield coming on to give TFC more of a defensive presence following the half-time break.
Kocic came up big for Toronto in the 51st minute when he made an excellent save to keep the Galaxy off the scoresheet.
Disaster appeared to strike for Toronto in the 55th minute when a Galaxy counter attack lead to an own goal by Ty Harden. With the goal Los Angeles once again took the lead on aggregate and TFC fans were probably left wondering about the wisdom of taking off Plata and resorting to a defensive approach so early in the game.
Toronto regained the lead in the 67th minute when Johnson delivered a fine cross that Nick Soolsma confidently deposited into the Los Angeles net, stunning the small but engaged audience at the Home Depot Centre.
The Red almost made it 3-1 in the 70th minute when rookie Luis Silva shot just wide of the far post.
Four minutes later it was Robbie Keane who broke in alone on the Toronto goal, but once again Kocic came up big and stonewalled the Irish striker.
The Final Word: TFC make history
With the victory Toronto have become the first Canadian team to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-finals. Outside of making that little bit of history, this was the type of result that could propel TFC to the most successful season in their short existence. With almost no one outside of Toronto giving the Reds a genuine chance of defeating the MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy over two legs, the Reds delivered the message that they can play with and defeat any team in the MLS or CONCACAF.
While many (this writer included) figured that Toronto would be facing an uphill battle playing the second leg in Los Angeles with their opponents holding an advantage of two away goals, Toronto FC displayed exceptional confidence and professionalism in getting the job done on Wednesday night.
Once again, this was a true team effort in which all of the 14 players that played for Toronto played vital roles in the win. That said, there were a few players that stood out and deserve to be mentioned for their efforts and execution. Keeper Milos Kocic was top notch and was Toronto’s Man of the Match. Ryan Johnson once again showed his qualities as a big game player, scoring one goal and setting up another. While many might have questioned replacing Luis Silva with Nick Soolsma in the starting XI, the Dutch winger delivered the type of performance that showed that while there may by quicker players, he simply delivers results and thrives in Winter’s system. Ashtone Morgan was strong all night, as his pace down the left side kept the Galaxy on their toes and lessened the pressure on the TFC defence when his club was working to protect a lead. Torsten Frings, as usual, showed excellent leadership and defensive prowess throughout the game.
Aron Winter and his staff also deserve a lot of credit following this fantastic result. The Dutchman has gone up against two of the top coaches in the MLS (Bruce Arena and Schellas Hyndman) over the last two rounds and bested them both in crucial away fixtures.
TFC Line-up
30 Kocic
5 Morgan
3 Aceval
20 Harden
27 Eckersley
6 De Guzman
22 Frings
18 Soolsma
9 Johnson
14 Koevermans
7 Plata
Substitutions: (46) Dunfield in for Plata; (63) Silva in for De Guzman; (69) Maund in for Koevermans.
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