Toronto FC | Global Football Today

Montreal Impact vs Toronto FC – 03162013

Posted by Carlos Santos on March 16, 2013 at 7:21 am Canada, MLS, Montreal Impact, Toronto FC

Mar 162013

Venue: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, ON, Canada

When: Saturday March 16th, 2013 4:00 PM Eastern

TV Coverage: TSN

Competition: League Match (MLS)

Comments: Twitter Stream

Game Day Travel: Red Patch Boys

Predictions:

Although there will be some players that I can see starting this game to give other guys a break a lot of them are coming off injury and may be used as subs. Also, we seem to be getting a settled back four and starting XI so there is a lot to be said for consistency. This will be a very important game for us, for the longest time we have had Montreal’s number in CL qualification and the local Canadian championship but now they are quite a gifted team with tons of talent as well as coming off an away win. If we can get something out of this game it would be huge for us. However, I’m going to say that this will be a draw.

Injuries:

(Last update: Mar. 14)

Toronto FC:

Danny Koevermans (L ACL repair)
D. Henry (R Hamstring strain)
Luis Silva (R Hamstring strain) **Questionable**
Julio Cesar (L Calf strain)
T. Morgan (R ankle sprain)
Matt Stinson (L Hamstring strain) **Questionable**
Justin Braun (Concussion)

Montreal Impact:

Nelson Rivas (L knee surgery)
Sinisa Ubiparipovic (R calf strain)

Predicted Starting XI:

Sources:

Post:

Pre:

MLS Injury Report

Reds Face Impact at Big O

Sporting KC falls 2-1 at Toronto FC

Posted by Matthew Martin on March 9, 2013 at 8:03 pm Global Football Today, MLS, Sporting KC, Toronto FC

Mar 092013

Sporting Kansas City fell 2-1 to Toronto FC on Saturday at the Rogers Centre, suffering the team’s first defeat in 14 MLS regular season games dating back to last August. Designated Player Claudio Bieler scored his second goal in as many games for the club off of a volley in the 77th minute, but a pair of first half goals from Toronto FC forward Robert Earnshaw earned the full three points for Toronto FC in their first home match of 2013.

Toronto FC started the match strong, notching a goal in the third minute of play when Earnshaw intercepted a pass in the defensive third and capitalized on the chance with a well-taken shot from the right side of the penalty area for his first MLS goal. Check out our friends over at Gambling.com for the best sports betting and online casino bonuses, site reviews and much more.

Sporting KC responded four minutes later when Chance Myers made an overlapping run and cut the ball to Benny Feilhaber, who chipped it just wide of the goal.

Earnshaw doubled Toronto’s lead in the 20th minute from the penalty mark after Paulo Nagamura was judged to have fouled newly-acquired midfielder John Bostock inside the box. With Nielsen guessing to his left, Earnshaw slotted his shot to the opposite side for the eventual match-winner.

Toronto FC nearly claimed a third goal in the 31st minute when Reggie Lambe sent in a swinging shot from the top of the box that was just wide of the far post. Sporting KC got in one last look at goal before the end of the half when Collin was on the receiving end of a free kick, but his glancing header was just wide of the near post.

Myers gave Sporting KC their first scoring opportunity of the second half in the 52nd minute when his glancing header was just wide of the left post. Nine minutes later, halftime substitute C.J. Sapong nearly netted a goal for Sporting Kansas City when he won a header from a Graham Zusi free kick only to see it rattle off the crossbar.

Claudio Bieler provided a much-needed lifeline to Sporting Kansas City with under 15 minutes remaining. Sapong flicked on a long service from Jimmy Nielsen and the Argentinian striker took a shot from distance that blazed past Joseph Bendik.

The 89th minute nearly saw an equalizer for Sporting Kansas City when a long throw-in from Besler bounced around the box and fell to Bieler at top the top of the area, but his right-footed volley was punched out by Bendik.

Six minutes into stoppage time, Sporting KC came close again when Zusi sent in a free kick that Collin headed just wide of the goal on a last gasp attempt at salvaging a road result.

Sporting Kansas City will return to KC for their first home match of the year at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 16 at Sporting Park against the Chicago Fire. The match will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports.

QUOTES

Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes

Thoughts on today’s game…
I thought Toronto came out flying. It was their home opener, the crowd was good for them. They pushed the game and they made the most of their opportunities. We made a big mistake early on to get them into the game that gave them some confidence. Getting the second goal early on put us behind the eight ball pretty early. Two goals is a big deficit to come back from. I thought they closed the half out well, they slowed the game down and didn’t give us much to get into the rhythm or anything. The second half I thought our guys did a very good job of changing the pace of the game and pushing the tempo a little bit. We created quite a few opportunities, maybe a little unlucky here or there, but at the end of the day they did well in the first half we did well in the second half, they got two and we got one. It was a good one.

Did you say anything to your team at half?
Quite a few things. The biggest thing was that our movement off the ball wasn’t good enough. We were letting them dictate the tempo. They guys did a good job in the second half so that was a good thing.

Was the substitution made at the half intended to give your team more size and speed up front?
We definitely needed to change something, I don’t know if whether it was a change for a different mentality or it was the difference in the way everyone was playing, but it wasn’t just one guy. C.J. (Sapong) was a good spark for us at half, kind of changed a lot of the game for us so it was good to see.

Is it difficult to scout a team with players that you haven’t seen before?
Yeah, you don’t really know what their tendencies were as a group so you don’t know coming into the game who is going to play where. I would say that regardless of that you still have to be able to play your game and you should still have good fight and intensity in you and I think in the first half they had it a little more than we did.

Sporting KC captain Jimmy Nielsen

Thoughts on today’s game…
I thought we didn’t play very well in the first 45 minutes. We lost it in the first 45. I think we played a very good second half. I hope that will be a lesson for us, everybody would have that in their minds, what to do and what not to do. It’s definitely not what to do what we did in the first half. Absolutely a great performance by our side in the second half but unfortunately not enough, we gave it away in the first half with a very, very unacceptable and sloppy 45 minutes. It’s very disappointing.

Did coach say anything during the half to get the team going in the second half?
It was not a question about tactical, about the quality of what we did, it was our attitude on the field that was wrong. We were not ready to battle; we were not ready to fight. That surprised me a lot because that is what we talked about just before we went on the field. We should be ready right from the first whistle but it took us 45 minutes to get ready.

What is the difference in the Toronto team from last year to this year?
We got to give them some credit too. It’s not just bad stuff from us in the first half. It was their home opener, coming out full of energy and we gave them a lot more energy. They were all over us at one point and we didn’t have any response to that.

Was it something that Toronto’s defense or the lack of finish from your players that kept the team to one goal?
It was a mix. I think the second half we created a lot of good chances, we created enough opportunities to get a point, unfortunately we didn’t get that equalizer. But again, this should be a lesson for us.

Toronto FC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen

Thoughts on the game?
We’re still a long way away from where we want to be. More importantly it was a step forward. I think there was improvement in Vancouver, there is improvement today and we got to take baby step to become a very good team. This will help in a lot of ways but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We need to improve the team. We need to improve everything and we will still be working very hard to do it.

Did the team press as much as you wanted after the first twenty minutes?
It’s something that naturally happens when you are up two nil sometimes you kind of sit back on it. They weren’t really breaking us down in open play. Corners and set pieces were obviously a major factor, but they weren’t really breaking us down. It’s a very good Kansas City team, Peter (Vermes) has done a fantastic job with them and they’ll be there about the top this season. You can’t get too greedy.

What vibe did you get from the fans?
It was an amazing turn out. Considering what has happened in the past for them to come out in those number the whole team can’t thank them enough. I think it really helped to see them over the finish line. I know a lot of the guys were saying at half time and afterwards how much they wanted to do it for the fans because they have been with them through thick and thin. I’m pleased in that they can have a good night on the town with a win behind them.

Toronto FC defender Danny Califf

On the second-half pressure from Sporting KC…
I would have rather had a clean sheet and not had the stress at the end. I think that says a lot about the character of the group of the guys. We talked about culture change and the first step in that process is not to lose and I think we’ve shown through preseason and especially tonight that we took a step in the right direction. The quality of the group and the personalities of the group are such that we just need a few of these and build up the confidence and feel that we can go anywhere and win.

On the physical nature of the game…
Yes a little bit, they were whining a little bit which is standard when things aren’t going your way. I think we did a good job standing up for ourselves and not feeling intimidated.

Toronto FC forward Robert Earnshaw

On the victory…
We needed to step it up. We said before the game to forget about last weekend, we worked hard did well and lost so we just needed to step it up today.

On the penalty kick…
I was very happy about it because I changed my mind right at the last minute because I just saw the goalie take a step and it was nice because I was thinking of going to that side and I just changes my mind the last minutes. Overall I think it’s just a day I think we can all celebrate because there was a lot of hard work there, a full team effort.

Sporting KC takes on Toronto FC on Saturday

Posted by Matthew Martin on March 8, 2013 at 11:10 am Global Football Today, MLS, Sporting KC, Toronto FC, United States

Mar 082013

Sporting Kansas City will play on the road for the second consecutive match of the 2013 MLS regular season when the club takes on Toronto FC at 12:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at the Rogers Centre.

Saturday marks the first of three meetings between the clubs during the 2013 MLS regular season. The teams last met during the preseason in both club’s final match of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic when Sporting Kansas City earned a 1-0 victory on a goal from Designated Player Claudio Bieler. Make sure to utilize this great information for football betting.

Sporting Kansas City and Toronto FC played three times during the 2012 season, twice at Sporting Park and once at BMO Field. Sporting Kansas City was victorious in all three meetings in 2012, including a 1-0 victory in the last match-up on Canadian soil, and currently has a seven-game unbeaten streak against Toronto FC that began in 2010.

Saturday’s match, the first match of Toronto FC’s 2013 home schedule, marks the first time that an MLS regular season match will be played at the Rogers Centre. The previous seven contests in Toronto were held at BMO Field, where Sporting Kansas City holds a 2-2-3 record including a victory in the first ever MLS match at the stadium.

Sporting Kansas City will return eight starters, to Toronto FC’s seven, from the last time the two teams met in 2012, including both goal scorers from the 2-1 victory at Sporting Park in Paulo Nagamura and Oriol Rosell.

Coming off a 3-1 victory in their season opener at Philadelphia, Sporting Kansas City is now undefeated in 13 straight MLS regular season matches dating back to the 2012 season, one shy of the all-time club record.

Toronto FC continues their 2013 campaign with head coach Ryan Nelsen making his home coaching debut on Saturday. Nelsen acquired former Sporting Kansas City midfielder Julio Cesar during an active offseason, though Cesar is one four players questionable for tomorrow’s contest due to injury along with Luis Silva, Stefan Frei and Taylor Morgan.

Nelsen also acquired MLS veteran defender Danny Califf in the Re-Entry Draft Stage 2 and midfielder Hogan Ephraim on loan from Queens Park Rangers. Joe Bendik, picked up in an offseason trade with the Portland Timbers, started in net for Toronto FC in their season-opening 1-0 loss at Vancouver last weekend.

>Sporting Kansas City supporters can follow the match online via @SKCGameday on Twitter and the MLSSoccer.com MatchCenter, or on mobile devices with the MLS MatchDay app. Additionally, fans outside the local viewing area can watch live on Direct Kick (free preview on March 9-10) and MLS LIVE.

Sep 032012

Portland vs. Colorado

The Portland Timbers won back-to-back matches for the first time this season and finally escaped the Western Conference basement in a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Read more about this match on the GFT Portland Timbers blog.

New England vs. Philadelphia

It was the second 0-0 draw in a row for the Union, who had more opportunities against the Revolution but couldn’t convert. The Union had the two best chances of the match when Amobi Okugo’s header hit the crossbar, and Andre Hoppenot’s breakaway opportunity was parried away by New England’s Matt Reis. With Saer Sene out for the rest of the season, Jay Heaps will have his work cut out for him trying to find someone on the Revolution to score goals.

Columbus Crew vs. Montreal Impact

The Columbus Crew won the battle between two of MLS’ hottest teams thanks to a late goal from Edgar Renteria to defeat the Montreal Impact 2-1. Here’s the recap from our Columbus Crew blogger.

Sporting KC vs. Toronto

It wasn’t the prettiest match, but Sporting KC came through with two second half goals from Paulo Nagamura and Oriol Rossell to defeat Toronto FC 2-1. Here’s more thoughts on this match from our Sporting KC blogger.

Real Salt Lake vs. DC United

There was a lightning start to this match in Sandy, Utah and I mean literally as two lightning strikes in the fourth minute of play led to a weather delay of 1 hour and 24 minutes. Real Salt Lake’s Will Johnson got the lone goal of the match early in the second half when Paulo Jr.’s cross was deflected and Johnson split two defenders and put the ball away past keeper Bill Hamid. Kwame Watson-Siriboe had a goal in the 61st minute but it was waved off when Watson-Siriboe was called for handling. Things got chippy between both sides in the second half and four yellow cards were handed out in the last twenty minutes. The win kept Real Salt Lake in 2nd position in the Western Conference with 46 points. The loss pushed DC United into 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 41 points. They trail the Columbus Crew by 1 point for the 5th and final playoff spot.

Los Angeles vs. Vancouver

Los Angeles got a spectacular goal from Juninho and yet another direct free kick goal from David Beckham to deal the Vancouver Whitecaps its 4th straight defeat. Here’s the full recap from our Los Angeles Galaxy blogger.

Chicago vs. Houston

The Chicago Fire used a first-minute goal from Patrick Nyarko to jumpstart themselves to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo were playing their 2nd match in 3 days and it showed. The Fire meanwhile were well rested after coming off a 10 day break. Daniel Paladini and Alex rounded out the scoring for the Fire while Brian Ching got the lone goal for the Dynamo. The victory lifted the Fire into 3rd place (44 points) in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Dynamo. The Dynamo, on the other hand, are struggling at the wrong time and are now winless in their last six matches.

FC Dallas vs. Seattle

Steve Zakuani made his first MLS start since breaking his leg 500 days ago and got an assist to help the Seattle Sounders remain undefeated at FC Dallas with a 1-1 draw. Zakuani blew past FC Dallas fullback Zach Loyd and sent a cross to the back post which connected with Mauro Rosales for the match’s opening goal. FC Dallas equalized in the 32nd minute when Loyd redeemed himself with a cross in front of goal which Blas Perez controlled and sent to Jackson who knocked it in the back of the net. The draw wasn’t good enough for a FC Dallas club (33 points) trying to gain ground on the struggling Vancouver Whitecaps (37 points) for the 5th Western Conference playoff spot. The draw also kept Seattle in the 3rd playoff spot with 44 points, trailing only Real Salt Lake (46 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (53 points).

San Jose vs. Chivas USA

The San Jose Earthquakes continued their stellar play at Buck Shaw Stadium scoring 3 of their 4 goals on direct free kicks to crush Chivas USA 4-0. Victor Bernardez’s free kick got things started for the Earthquakes and Simon Dawkins added a goal in the run of play to give his team a 2-0 lead going into the half. Chivas USA were in decent attacking form throughout the match but just couldn’t make good when it counted. The Earthquakes Ramiro Corrales capped off his team’s rout with two free kick goals in the 2nd half. The victory puts San Jose in sole possession of first place in the race for the Supporter’s Shield. The loss continued a trend of bad form for Chivas USA, who have given up 18 goals over the last 5 matches.

UPCOMING MLS ACTION:

Aug 272012

Philadelphia v Real Salt Lake

Poor NBC Sports. This match was a stinker. Real Salt Lake was pretty tired from playing in the CONCACF Champions League earlier in the week and the Philadelphia Union are never a guarantee to play any form of attractive soccer. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. Man of the Match went to the MLS video crew who somehow were able to fill up a highlight video over 4 minutes long.

Montreal v DC United

The Montreal Impact continue to be one of the hottest teams in MLS right now after registering their 5th win in a row, defeating DC United 3-0. Troy Perkins registered his second shutout in his third game with the team and Marco Di Vaio gave the Impact the lead for good in the 24th minute, getting his 3rd goal of the season. Patrice Bernier continued his fantastic season scoring two second half goals to seal the victory. DC United coach Ben Olson received a bit of criticism after the match after deciding to sub out star players, Dwayne DeRosario and Chris Pontius in the first half. The Impact are now only 1 point out of the 5th Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Columbus v New England

This was an absolute goalfest with Columbus defeating New England 4-3. Read the entire match recap from GFT Columbus Crew blogger, Adam Uthe.

Houston v Toronto FC

Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear could not have been happy on Saturday night after seeing his team dominate a good portion of the match only to allow Toronto FC to equalize in the 85th minute. The Dynamo took the lead in the 21st minute when Will Bruin chipped the ball over a charging Freddy Hall. After a stellar first half, the Dynamo couldn’t maintain the same level of energy. Toronto finally took advantage of some sluggish play from the Houston backline after Terry Dunfield made a run through box and connected with a Darren O’Dea cross to steal a point for his team.

San Jose v Colorado

The Earthquakes got two goals each from Simon Dawkins and Alan Gordon to demolish the Colorado Rapids 4-1 and extend their home winning streak to 14 games. Gordon continued his stellar play which resulted in a call up to the United States National Team earlier this month. He now has a career-high 11 goals. San Jose remains the top team in MLS with a 15-6-5 (50 points) record. For the Rapids, at least they were able to pad on more air miles to their account. It was a truly dismal effort, even with it being on the road, for the Rapids.

Vancouver v Portland

The Portland Timbers finally got their first win under Gavin Wilkinson (0-5-2 in the previous 7 matches) and also went to the top of the Cascadia Cup standings after beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Saturday night. Darlington Nagbe became the first Timbers player to get a goal in three games in a row and Franck Songo’o scored his first career MLS goal off a free kick to lead the Timbers. The Vancouver Whitecaps continued their struggles on the road this season and are now in the midst of a six match winless streak on the road. Read more about this match on the GFT Portland Timbers blog.

Seattle v Chivas USA

The Seattle Sounders put on a goal-scoring clinic and thoroughly embarrassed Chivas USA in a 6-2 drubbing at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Fredy Montero’s first MLS hat-trick propelled the Sounders to an easy victory and their fourth in five matches. The Sounders are now 2nd in the Western Conference standings and their recent form has put the rest of the league on notice as one of the teams to beat in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Despite some promising trades and signings this summer (Danny Califf, Juan Agudelo, Shalrie Joseph) and having one of the top goalkeepers in MLS, Chivas USA can’t seem to right the ship and there’s no doubt that Robin Fraser is on the hot seat.

FC Dallas v Los Angeles

Galaxy take sole possession of the Western Conference’s fourth position by punishing FC Dallas mistakes to win 2-0. Read more about this game from our LA Galaxy blogger, Vincent LaRosa.

Sporting KC v New York

As if Sporting KC’s 1-1 draw to the New York Red Bulls wasn’t disappointing enough, Coach Peter Vermes also had to deal with the news that Teal Bunbury would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL injury. Read more about this match from Sporting KC blogger, Brian Sanders.

UPCOMING MLS ACTION:

Toronto FC vs Columbus Crew (Today)

Posted by GFT Editor on March 31, 2012 at 12:47 pm MLS, Toronto FC

Mar 312012

Venue: BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

When: Saturday March 31st, 2012 2:00 PM Eastern

Goals:

Attendance:

TV Coverage:

Competition: Major League Soccer Regular Season

Live Blog: Tentative For Today’s Game

Pre-Game Predictions:

I see Aceval as questionable with hamstring tightness on the injury list but am thinking Winter does not have many solid options back there so he’ll likely start. I also think Avila will start as he has not been able to play Champion’s League and could add fire to the attack. I’m also thinking that Johnson will sit out as he has played a lot of minutes and Winter is thinking of the 2nd leg against Santos coming up. Plata should also see some minutes. I’ll go with a 2-1 win to break our losing streak in the league. Although against a team like Columbus and TFC missing Frings getting any points at all is going to be a huge mountain to climb but you never know.

abCn7NGadV Toronto FC vs Columbus Crew (Today)

Injuries:

COLORADO RAPIDS — OUT: MF Jamie Smith (R ACL tear); DF Anthony Wallace (L Achilles tear); MF Pablo Mastroeni (headaches); DOUBTFUL: FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear)

TORONTO FC — OUT: FW Nicholas Lindsay (L knee surgery recovery); DF Dicoy Williams (R knee surgery recovery); DF Jeremy Hall (sports hernia surgery recovery); MF Torsten Frings (R hamstring strain); GK Stefan Frei (L lower leg); QUESTIONABLE: DF Adrian Cann (R knee surgery recovery); DF Miguel Aceval (R hamstring tightness)

Sources:
MLS Site (Injury Report)

Toronto FC vs Santos Laguna 03282012 (Draw 1 – 1)

Posted by GFT Editor on March 28, 2012 at 10:34 pm CONCACF Champions League, Toronto FC

Mar 282012

Venue: BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

When: Wednesday March 28th, 2012 8:00 PM Eastern

Goals: ’30 SAN H. Gomez, ’37 TOR Aceval

Red Cards: ’77 SAN O. Mares, ’90+6 SAN C. Quintero
Attendance:

TV Coverage: Rogers SportsNet

Competition: CONCACAF Champion’s League Semi Finals (Leg 1)

Live Blog: http://torontofc.globalfootballtoday.com/

Interesting to see Soolsma in for Plata. Winter must be hoping he’ll be an impact off the bench. Lambe is also on for Silva. I can’t wait to see how they will line up.First Half:

Santos looked to be feeling Toronto out and giving us lots of space. We had some great pressure early on and seemed to be very organized.

’11: It didn’t take long for a close call. A bad clearance by Aceval very nearly resulted in a goal but Kocic saved our bacon.

’17: By this point 2 Mexican players had gone down feigning injuries with the BMO faithful booing aggressively. I wonder if they were used to getting those kinds of calls in Mexico.

’18: Kocic almost had the ball chipped over his head but made the extra stretch to slap it away.

’28: A very credible display so far, a little shaky at the back but overall not bad, we even came close to scoring on a couple occasions.

’29: Eventually Santos beat the offside trap and Hercules Gomez rolled one past Gomez putting Santos up 1-0.

’34: Koevermans almost scored one of the goals of the tournament when he spun on his defender in the box, was one on one with the keeper but at the last moment was prevented from heading it into the net.

’36: A bit of drama when Koevermans was carded for taking a free kick early, he was breathing fire. It actually worked out in our favor as Aceval scored through the wall on his attempt. Seeing the goal and explosion of confetti I could not believe it.

The goal was exactly what we needed as TFC seemed to play with more urgency and belief. The bad thing is the fact that Koevermans will miss the next leg.

Second Half:

Winter replaced Aceval with Maund 3 minutes into the second half which was strange. I’m guessing he must have had a knock.

Toronto FC Starting XI:

Kocic; Eckersley, Harden, Aceval (’49 A. Maund), Morgan; Lambe, de Guzman, Dunfield; Soolsma (’72 J. Plata), Koevermans, Johnson

Substitutes: Rowe; Cann, Maund, Silva, Burgos, Plata

Santos Laguna Starting XI:

O. Sánchez (GK), A. Galindo, S. Hoyos, J. Estrada (’46 C. Ibáñez), O. Mares, R. Salinas, Marc Crosas, H. Gómez (’69 C. Ramírez), C. Ochoa (’61 O. Peralta), C. Quintero, C. Suárez

Sources:
CONCACAF Site

Pre-Game Predictions:

This will be a Jeckyll and Hyde of a game with all that’s happened lately. Knocking last years MLS champions out of the competition then losing two straight league games with injuries to Frings and Frei to boot. By all rights this looks to be like a blood letting is coming similar to the one Santos laid on Seattle. However, TFC has always pulled something out of the bag in this competition and by all accounts has over achieved in CONCACAF compared to MLS. I hope this is another one of those nights. I’m going to go half way and say a 2-2 draw which would not benefit us but would not be a spanking either.

I’ve heard rumours that TFC will try to be more defensive minded for this game considering Santos’s quality. However, I think we should go balls to the wall and take the game to them. Soaking up pressure for long periods of the game has never served us in the past and will not work against Santos.

abCnby7ajO Toronto FC vs Santos Laguna 03282012 (Draw 1 1)

Toronto FC vs San Jose Earthquakes 03242012 (Loss 0 – 3)

Posted by GFT Editor on March 24, 2012 at 1:15 pm MLS, Toronto FC

Mar 242012

Venue: BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

When: Saturday March 24th, 2012 1:00 PM Eastern

Goals: ’9 SJ Wondolowski, ’56 SJ Salinas, ’67 SJ Wondolowski

Attendance:

TV Coverage:

Competition: Major League Soccer Regular Season

Live Blog: Tentative For Today’s Game

I was traveling on this particular weekend and was not able to watch the game. In some ways I’m glad I didn’t see the 3-0 loss to San Jose. A team which I consider to be of less quality than some of the other MLS teams. Things seem to be going from bad to worse as Frings was injured in the Seattle game, Frei injuring himself during training and the available squad not being able to cut it on their own. I certainly hope there is a ray of light in the Santos game.

Toronto FC:

Milos Kocic; Richard Eckersley, Ty Harden (Aaron Maund 64′), Miguel Aceval, Ashtone Morgan; Julian de Guzman, Terry Dunfield (Danny Koevermans 46′), Luis Silva; Reggie Lambe, Ryan Johnson, Joao Plata (Nick Soolsma 85′)

Substitutes not used: Brian Rowe; Logan Emory, Eric Avila, Efrain Burgos Jr.

San Jose Earthquakes:

Jon Busch; Steven Beitashour, Victor Bernardez, Justin Morrow, Ramiro Corrales; Sam Cronin, Shea Salinas (Simon Dawkins 85′), Tressor Moreno (Rafael Baca 57′), Marvin Chavez (Khari Stephenson 72′); Steven Lenhart, Chris Wondolowski

Substitutes not used: David Bingham; Brad Ring, Jason Hernandez, Sercan Guvenisik.

Pre-Game Predictions:

abClAR9ajg Toronto FC vs San Jose Earthquakes 03242012 (Loss 0 3)

With Frings out with a hamstring tear i’m guessing Winter will deploy De Guzman at point back just in front of the defenders. Silva and Dunfield to me with fill in the rest of the triangle in midfield with the usual suspects as full backs. I’m sure Winter will keep playing Koevermans and Johnson but wasn’t %100 sure about Plata. He tends to rest him for some games as he expends lots of energy and is not effective against some opponents. This game however i think he will be effective and will enjoy playing in front of the fans. I’ll say 3-2 win for us, let’s go reds!!

Seattle Sounders vs Toronto FC 03172012 (Loss 3 – 1)

Posted by GFT Editor on March 18, 2012 at 1:17 am MLS, Toronto FC

Mar 182012

Venue: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA, United States

When: Saturday March 17th, 2012 10:00 PM Eastern

Away On International Duty: CAN Doneil Henry, CAN Matt Stinson
Goals: ’17 SEA Estrada, ’51 SEA Estrada, ’62 TOR Johnson, ’63 SEA Estrada

Attendance: 38,709

TV Coverage: Rogers SportsNet

Competition: Major League Soccer Regular Season

Live Blog: http://torontofc.globalfootballtoday.com/

Looks like Winter rested Koevermans, De Guzman and Plata. TFC fans are feeling up beat with our depth this year. We have a dynamic bench to go to.

First Half:

Green streamers and Saint Patty’s day favors to start the match!

Eckersley is being really aggressive tonight, in the first 10 minutes he got called for multiple fouls. If this continues he won finish the game.

’17 Seattle’s persistence pays off a they got behind our defense and Estrada slotted it past Kocic after a scramble in the box. Not a good sign to go behind early in the game.

’22: Frings comes off after a goal saving tackle against Estrada, Maund comes on to replace him…This is not good news, we need De Guzman out there the replace him…we’re down a man

’27: Wow, Johnson’s header hits the woodwork, great effort!

Seattle looked to be overrunning us but both sides equal on the break. So much energy being expended by both sides.

’40: Toronto made a great run into the box, Avila worked his way in and passed to Johnson who was tackled before thinking about a shot.

Gareth Wheeler made a good point about field turf and injuries. With Frings being affected by this I’m thinking MLS should start to force every team to do away with field turf.

Second Half:

Winter really wants to win this game. Frings is out and yet he pulls out a defender (Harden) for a forward (Koevermans).

You could already see TFC’s attack more concentrated after Koevermans comes on.

’50: Estrada scores for Seattle as he beats the offside trap, crap. Looks like the same old TFC. Hopefully we at least score some goals.

’56: Winter added more attacking options by bringing Plata on for Avila. So far it’s looking like playing Seattle at their own game has not been working.

’61: My spirits were raised when Johnson Weaved through the Seattle defense and slotted one top shelf past the keeper.

’62: A minute later i was deflated when Estrada completes his hat trick after slotting one past Kocic. This is one hell of a roller coaster ride.

I friggen hate listening to these U.S. announcers who are not impartial in the slightest.

’70: Koevermans has such great strikers instincts. He received the ball back to goal, turned away from his man and struck one on goal but was denied by the keeper.

’73: After a great Seattle cross into the box Maund makes a Frings type tackle by getting stuck in on Rosales and saves TFC some additional blushes.

’78: None of the changes seemed to have worked, sitting here watching this game I’m thinking we may have improved but are still a class below Seattle who have many talented players who have played under Schmidt for quite a while now.

Terrible way to start the season, hopefully we take positives out of this and build on it. My biggest worry is Frings potential injury.

Toronto FC Starting XI:

Milos Kocic; Richard Eckersley, Ty Harden (Danny Koevermans 46′), Miguel Aceval, Logan Emory; Torsten Frings (Aaron Maund 25′), Terry Dunfield, Luis Silva; Nick Soolsma, Ryan Johnson, Eric Avila (Joao Plata 57′) …

Substitutes not used: Stefan Frei, Ashtone Morgan, Julian de Guzman, Reggie Lambe.

Seattle Sounders Starting XI:

Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, March Burch, Patrick Ianni; Alvaro Fernandez (Christian Sivebaek 65′), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Mauro Rosales (Roger Levesque 79′); David Estrada (Servando Carrasco 87′), Fredy Montero …

Substitutes not used: Andrew Weber, Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Samuel Ochoa.

C7A76677 3408 4249 A252 4B583E8DCF40 Seattle Sounders vs Toronto FC 03172012 (Loss 3 1)

10BD800D 95CB 43AB 8E52 08B3CE054DAA Seattle Sounders vs Toronto FC 03172012 (Loss 3 1)

Pre-Match Predictions:

I’m thinking Seattle will be like a wounded animal after losing 6-1 to Santos in the CONCACAF Champion’s League over the weekend. This could either be an advantage for us or a determent. I’m feeling optimistic after what i have seen so far this year though.

In keeping with Winter’s policy of playing well earns you more playing time Kocic to me will play in place of Frei. Kocic had a monster of a game against LA and is the key reason we were able to beat them. I also don’t see many changes from the team that started the game against LA. Most people would say Winter would rest some players but with a team like Seattle we need all hands on deck and i’ve seen Winter keep playing his preferred lineup no matter what. Hopefully if this is the case it doesn’t backfire on Winter like it did with Arena.

For the first time looking at the attacking midfield position I was truly confused as to who should start with Avila, Silva and De Guzman as options in that position i’m starting to think we have an embarassment of riches. In the end I opted on going with the experiment that worked for Winter over the weekend with Soolsma playing that position.

The attacking approach we have been taking recently seems to have worked against Seattle in terms of Santos so who knows. I predict some goals this game and that it will be a tie, i’ll say 2 – 2.

abCi2RXanu Seattle Sounders vs Toronto FC 03172012 (Loss 3 1)

LA Galaxy vs Toronto FC 03142012 (Win 1 – 2) 3 – 4 Aggr.

Posted by GFT Editor on March 15, 2012 at 1:27 am MLS, Toronto FC

Mar 152012

Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson, California, United States

When: Wednesday March 14th, 2012 10:00 PM Eastern

Goals: ’33 TOR Johnson (Soolsma), ’55 LA Dunfield (O.G.), TOR ’66 Soolsma (Johnson)

Attendance:

TV Coverage: Rogers SportsNet

Competition: CONCACAF Champion’s League Knock Out Round

Live Blog: http://torontofc.globalfootballtoday.com/

Interesting how Winter started Kocic for this game. He continues to put him in big games and show confidence in both his keepers. I’m very surprised that Silva was dropped for Soolsma in such a big game, maybe he is hoping for a big impact off the bench.

Crazy how the stadium has a rule for weeknights where no more than 7,500 fans can attend a game. That’s crap.

First Half:

LA looked sluggish from the start, potentially tired from their weekend game when most of the same starting XI played a consecutive game. Usually when they got forward there were no supporting players in sight.

You could see LA’s game plan, keeping numbers back and attacking on the counter. TFC looked composed and started making progress with their attack.

’17: Kocic did a great job when he found himself one on one with Magee. He managed to make himself big and stop the attempt.

The game needed a goal to bring it to life with both teams being cautious. I’m sure Silva will be coming off the bench by the second half.

’27: LA got robbed when Kocic came out for the ball and had it chipped over his head. The offside call saved him some blushes.

’33: TFC’s patience paid off as Soolsma served in a great ball that Johnson headed home past the keeper. Wooohoooo! Now LA had to chase the game.

As LA tried to get one back TFC viciously countered in numbers and very nearly scored a second. The LA crowd showed their displeasure on occasions where calls went against them.

Second Half:

Winter switched out Plata for Dunfield wanting extra coverage in midfield to protect the lead.

’50: It was odd to see Dunfield to get off the field to switch jerseys. At the same time Kocic came up big and prevented a goal. I tweeted it out as the #PlayOfTheDay.

’55: Eventually TFC’s luck ran out as Keane found himself open on goal, in an attempt to clear it away from Keane Dunfield puts in an own goal. I felt it was coming and my heart just dropped. This raised LA’s spirits and they started attacking with more confidence.

’62: With Plata off Winter had to bring in in Silva as an attacking option in place of De Guzman. At the same time Frings started to play very far upfield getting involved in the attack.

’66: The changes seem to have paid off as Johnson crossed the ball to Soolsma in the box who slotted it past the keeper.

’68: It looks like Koevermans was either tired or ineffective as he was switched off for Maund. TFC attacked viciously again and Silva very nearly scored as LA showed signs of fatique.

’70: We became short handed as Eckersley came off to tend to a bloody nose. Arena finally started to panic and made a double substitution.

’73: Keane broke through again but Kocic pulled another incredible save out of his hat to keep TFC in it.

’81: Geez, nail biting time for the last nine minutes. The amount of pressure TFC was absorbing was incredible. It was funny to see Barrett coming in to try and get the leveling goal against us.

’87: Soolsma fouled Donovan outside the box, lucky for us the resulting kick slammed against the wall.

’90+ Seeing 3 minutes of added time on the board made me start to believe that maybe we can do it. Then LA would get a free kick and my heart would sink again.

Eventually the whistle blew and we were through to the CONCACAF Semi Final, with LA pushed to the side!!! Wooohoooo!!!

TorontoFC Starting XI:

Milos Kocic; Richard Eckersley, Ty Harden, Miguel Aceval, Ashtone Morgan; Torsten Frings, Julian de Guzman (Luis Silva 63′), Ryan Johnson; Nick Soolsma, Danny Koevermans (Aaron Maund 69′), Joao Plata (Terry Dunfield 46′).

Substitutes not used: Stefan Frei, Doneil Henry, Matt Stinson, Reggie Lambe.

LA Galaxy Starting XI:

Josh Saunders, Todd Dunivan, Sean Franklin (Dan Keat 72′), A.J. DeLaGarza, Tommy Meyer (Chad Barrett 84′), Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Juninho, Mike Magee (Paolo Cardozo 73′), Robbie Keane, Edson Buddle.

Substitutes not used:Brian Perk, Hector Jimenez, Andrew Boyens, Michael Stephens.

Pre-Match Predictions:

abCg1lfajm LA Galaxy vs Toronto FC 03142012 (Win 1 2) 3 4 Aggr.

With a few slight changes I don’t think the lineup will change. Winter as well as the squad felt they did really well against LA. Since De Guzman served his suspension he will replace Dunfield in the center, to be honest i don’t think he did that well in the home leg. Even though Soolsma also served his suspension i simply don’t think there is any room for him. Based on Johnson and even Silva’s performances in the first leg I don’t see how you can keep them out. I’m looking forward to this game and feel it will be tight but we will prevail. Too bad the crowd will be limited to just over 7,000.

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