If TFC Wins And There's No One There To See It, Did It Really Happen?

Mood: Stunned happiness
State of Mind: That happened right? You're not messing with me?
Location: My happy place - which last night was BMO


A decisive win, FIVE goals, a beautiful night and Ryan Johnson got a rest! I swear I'm not making this stuff up - I understand why you wouldn't believe me as no one actually went to the game last night - but the 5,324 of us that were there will swear on a stack of TFC scarves that this did indeed occur.


I got to BMO insanely early - I was perhaps a little bit excited for the game - and was a bit worried as I saw an awful lot of orange CD Aguila kits as well as El Salvadoran kits and flags.  And while I did see lots of TFC gear by the time I got to my seat in the South Stands (yes, I abandoned my West Stand seats again) I wasn't worried about which kits I saw; I was worried about the sea of empty seats.

The East Stands about 5 minutes before kickoff - everyone dressed up as a seat tonight!

I wish I could say that everyone was fashionably late but it seems as though the TFC faithful chose last night of all nights to stay away.  I don't get it; if there was ever a match to come to this season, this was it. The weather was pretty much perfect, it was an 8pm start (everyone has been clamoring for a later start time for the midweek games), if you bought the package for your tix it was actually quite inexpensive and this was a chance to see our Reds compete in the tournament outside of the Voyageurs Cup that could actually mean something.  Not to mention it was against the weakest side in our group so the chance of a victory was pretty damn solid. So it is disheartening to see that so many TFC fans stayed away last evening - the announced attendance of 5,324 comprised of at least 1,000 CDA/El Salvador fans which means that at best around 4,000 TFC fans came out to cheer on our Reds. I know that this has been a difficult season and that supporter apathy has been growing and I knew it would be a smaller crowd last night but I had mentally ball-parked 10,000 people - disappointed and mildly flummoxed is what I am.

But for those of us that did make it down to BMO we were treated to something that's never been seen before - FIVE goals and RJ getting a rest! It was a rout plain and simple and not even learning that the Aguila team had to spend the night in the Miami airport and only got to town this afternoon could take away from the very good game our Reds played.

The game started off with TFC looking energetic and much more awake than they did on Saturday - I took this as a good sign. And they came out firing; what we thought was the first goal was waved off as offside but that didn't matter as only minutes later Luis Silva unleashed a textbook header from a Frings corner kick into the left corner of the net - this was a seriously gorgeous goal - early happiness!  But they didn't let up - in what was his finest performance as a red Luis Silva (MOTM by a landslide) had a lovely little give and take with Reggie Lambe who easily slotted a perfect pass from Silva past the Salvadoran keeper - 2-0! Jubilation!


But our Reds sometimes just can't let go of old habits; in one of the evening's few miscues Milos misplayed - and by misplayed I mean completely failed - on a CDA free kick when he didn't control the initial kick allowing Yaikel Perez to easily put the rebound into the net. Much looking around and groaning amongst everyone; was this where the rails were going to fall off? Was TFC going to revert to their old tricks and fall to pieces?  Not on this night - mere minutes later Terry Dunfield (really, not making this up) used his knee to deflect a ball from Ashtone Morgan past the keeper. Game on! Celebrations everywhere as you could just feel that this was going to go well - Have I mentioned how much I love CCL games? - and after a minute of added time, it was time for a break.


Half time was spent discussing, OK more like thoroughly enjoying what had happened on the pitch.  We tried for some serious analysis which resulted in more talk of how we were dumbfounded by the lack of butts in the seats; getting a first hand account of the Milos miss from @wakingthered and @redwineroz who decided to come join us (abandoning the six people in their section) in the south stands for some silly fun and my thoughts on Wiedeman - has some speed, obviously wants to do well but he's trying to do too much. It was kind of like watching a puppy; he's not quite sure what to do with his feet at all times - this is where my ire at Avi's non-inclusion in the lineup begins to rise again...I don't understand why Mariner will not play him; surely he could have been one of the second half subs? 


Second half! We were all giddily predicting some crazy final scores at this point (I was hoping for 7-1) and almost immediately our Reds added to our glee.  As they continued to run around the hapless Salvadoran team Ashtone Morgan sent a long ball into the box that Lambe deftly sent just inside the left post - 4-1!  When was the last time you saw four goals at BMO; from the home team that is?  And then it happened - no, the heavens didn't open up; no one fell to injury - no, Ryan Johnson scored!  Seriously. And he did by keeping control of the ball and dancing around the fallen keeper and coolly slotting it into the right hand corner - have to admit that we all thought it was going to go wide but no, he kept his head and score! 5-1!!  FIVE goals; five. .a feat that has never been accomplished by our Reds at BMO. Just fantastic.


The rest of the half had us all hoping for a Reggie Lambe hat trick (and coming up with many, many sheep puns - see The Yorkies post-game in the links), getting into the Ole spirit of things as TFC strung together several (more than three is several) passes in a row and just being silly and giddy. Did I mention that RJ actually got subbed off?  RJ got a rest - must be one of the signs of the apocalypse.  I've said it many times; CCL play is just different - the vibe and the crowd (tiny but enthusiastic) make for an unforgettable experience.  The team played some very nice football and did not fall into old habits. And then there's Luis Silva; what a game he had. Just fantastic throughout the entire night - great movement, perfect passes, his influence was everywhere - Man Of The Match with no exception.  


This game should be a huge confidence builder for our Reds going into Chicago this weekend. They need to take their uncanny ability to do well in CCL play and translate it to MLS. It will be a sterner challenge but if Silva and Co. can come close to replicating the intelligent play that they showed last night then the Fire should be worried.  One final note from last night:

               Managed to get pretty much the entire song - we're enthusiastic if nothing else


You'll see in the video that a few more fans did trickle in but it does illustrate what 5000 people at BMO look like...sigh.  Oh and here's a few pictures too!

Link It Up Baby: The Yorkies, Waking The Red and Red Nation Online

Sixth Verse, Same As The First (And Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth), Little Bit Louder, Little Bit Worse

Mood: Meh with a side of Disappointed

State of Mind: Round and round

Location: On the TFC Rollercoaster like everyone else

Another beautiful day at BMO; another disappointing, uninspired performance from our Reds. Stop me if you've heard this before. Actually as you have heard it before (oh so many times this season) stopping me would leave me with nothing left to write, but as that's not my way I'll continue.


It would seem that over the course of their 10 days off that instead of continuing to come together and build upon some flashes of solid play over their previous three games, they all took a collective step back to become the TFC that we all sadly love (or hate) but mostly are resigned over.  This was one of the least inspired efforts put forth by our Reds this season; made to look all the more so as they were playing a good team as opposed to one of the basement dwellers or teams in free fall.  It's, well not really all that astonishing how poor they look stacked up against a team with quality - wouldn't it be nice if they played up to an opponent? Remember when they used to do that? Sigh.


I took to my seats in the West Stands for the first half in hopes of seeing some decent play and some incremental signs of progress. My first thought - other than my exasperation at the again row upon row of empty seats at kickoff - was surprise at the starting XI.  Instead of keeping what seemed to have been the beginning of a potentially successful partnership between RJ and Silva; new signing (Dr.) Quincy Amarikwa was slotted up top and Silva was shifted to the midfield.  The only reason I can think of for this is that he was being rewarded for scoring a goal in that game against that English team; otherwise I don't get it. Amarikwa doesn't yet have a proven track record and while I'd gladly see him on the bench to be brought in as a sub to inject some energy when needed; I don't get why in such an important game he'd get the start. Colour me completely baffled. Mariner said after the game that RJ and Quincy had played together before hence the pairing; but I didn't see any signs of familiarity in their performance on the field. Not to mention that Dr. Q's inclusion in the lineup meant that Avila was relegated to the bench. This was a game that begged for creativity and ball movement through the midfield in order to help the forwards; especially as they were playing a very good Houston team.


The first half was pretty much a snoozefest as neither team did much to acquit themselves. Yes, the Dynamo had a few shots and Ecks did some nice work to snuff out a couple of attacks. And TFC did get up the field but the best chance - a header from Doneil off a ball from Frings - went straight to the keeper. The lack of energy and focus was apparent in our Reds and they showed a frustrating lack of creativity. The highlight of the first half actually came before the game even started when during the player introductions the crowd (OK, all 337 of us) saw Nick Soolsma's face and name flashed onto the screen when Amarikwa was being introduced - I suspect Suarez had snuck into the control room. The other "highlight" of sorts was the poorly timed and attempted bicycle kick from Dr. Quincy - it was not even close to being on net - but hey, kudos for the attempt?  And in true TFC fashion they closed out the half by poorly defending a set piece (shocking, I know) and leaving Calen Carr completely unmarked to head the ball past Kocic. Fun!  

For the second half I once again relocated to the South Stands to hang with my friends from The Yorkies; @ignirtoq and @rohankoomar and the rest of our sarcastically merry crew.  The half progressed much in the same way as the first. Not much happening on the attack from our Reds and the Dynamo controlling most of the run of play.  Andrew Wiedeman came on for Amarikwa in hopes of creating some scoring chances but he never really clicked. I kept waiting for Eric Avila to come on but instead late in the half two basically defensive subs were made when Aaron Maund and Jeremy Hall were brought on for Doneil Henry and Logan Emory. At that point I remarked that we were basically playing for the loss.  There was still time to get back a goal and get a draw at the time of the first sub - why not bring on Avi? - instead another defensive miscue led to the killer goal by who else but Brian Ching. Awesome.  


What was apparent throughout the entire match - other than the lack of energy by the Reds - is that regardless of the strong work from Ecks (MOTM easily) he is not a backline general. This team needs a veteran CB to organize the defense if they are to pull themselves out of this basement abyss they seem destined to occupy. A cobbled together defense with two players playing out of their natural position is just not going to withstand the pressure for much longer.  While I appreciate that the FO wants to 'find the right fit' and that the Mellberg situation is wreathed in smoke and half truths it doesn't change the fact that this team has been lacking a proper backline anchor pretty much since it's inception.  Instead we get converted leftbacks and barely able substitutes (although Ty hasn't played in ages so hey, a positive!) and we sign a striker or two to try and replace Danny. Even ones that still aren't able to play and won't play until this coming weekend at the earliest. Of course I'm talking about Hassli (sorry Quincy, not much left to say) - time will tell if this is a good move for TFC - but at the moment all I see is his propensity for red cards and the fact that he's well, injured. If he can get healthy fairly quickly, keep a level head and score more than the occasional goal then I'll consider this a positive and let the chips fall where they may next year. But I'd still rather have a proper CB (sorry Eric!). And with the only rumoured help coming being Irish international Darren O'Dea (nicknamed O'Dear) not filling anyone with confidence we can only wait and hope.


Really the only highlight of the second half (and the highlight of the game) was the again epic rendition of the soon to be classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" (it is ridiculous how much fun we have singing it! Seriously, join in!) that is now being requested at each match.  It spread throughout most of 113 and 112 and not only could it be heard over at the other end of BMO, (as per @wakingthered) but could also be heard on the Gol TV broadcast. I look forward to hearing the entire South Stands and beyond belting it out - start learning those lyrics folks! Coming soon the dubstep version!  And the adaption of the YSA chant to YSG (You Suck Garber) as a response to MLS Commissioner Don Garber taking supporter groups to task for vulgarity at matches. Please read The Yorkies post-match for @ignirtoq's fantastic letter to Don in response to this latest bit of anti-fan rhetoric.  


Not an easy day at BMO Field for anyone - chin up folks it's not going to get any easier - although those of you that left when Ching scored that goal; what the hell? As much as it was a shite performance this is still your team is it not? There was four minutes of added time in which anything could have (although likely wasn't) happened. Be ticked off, voice your opinion but stay until the bloody end would you? Even at my angriest I've not left early - besides, staying gives me more time to vent with the other members of the blogger cartel - seriously, it's post-game therapy! Regardless of my issues with the team (and as you know, I have a few) they're still my team and I'll stay until the bitter end. Anyway, on to the next one right? CCL match and on a Wednesday? Guaranteed win? Here's hoping.


Link It Up: Waking The Red, Duncan at Sportsnet, Michael Gardner and Red Nation Online.

TFC = Trolling For 'Caps

Mood: Tired but happy
State of Mind: Wow, we needed that!
Location: Sunny supporter's couch
Voice: About 40%


Whee!! Tempted to make that my entire post; just lines of "whee!!!" but then you'd all think I'd lost my mind  (Hush peanut gallery). OK, one more time - WHEE!!!!  And may I add to the Van City team - HAHAHAHAHA! - Petty you say? In this case I am more than willing to accept that.  If only to refute all of the conspiracy theories from the 'Caps - no excuses this time guys - our Reds beat you fair and square.


It's been hours and I'm still smiling and giggling and just so happy from last night. If you weren't there then I'm oh so sorry that you missed it; I do hope that you at least watched so that you could share in the utter madness that was the last 30-40 minutes of that game!  And if not then at the very least I hope you've watched the Game in 6 (I could watch that all day) over and over again like the rest of us. 


In an attempt to live up to the name of this blog I actually went to my seats in the West Stands for the first time in weeks; mostly to visit with some of my seatmates but much to my surprise none of them were at the game! Maybe they're avoiding me? Regardless, I decided to watch the first half from my usual perch and well all I can say is please for the love of Pele, someone teach RJ9 how to finish!  That breakaway on Joe Cannon (and his tiny shorts) should have been a goal! Never mind that whole hitting the post business (again).  I appreciate his work rate and the fact that he never (ever) gets a rest but c'mon man, your job is scoring goals. 


Anyway, the first half was pretty much a snooze; perhaps due to the empty seats (players can't get amped in front of 209 people),

The stands right before kickoff

or maybe they were trying  to lull the Whitecaps to sleep? Or perhaps it was in protest over losing Soolsma (I don't want to talk about it)? I'm not sure but either way - even though they made some noise right near the end of the half - the half ended with my thinking that perhaps not much good was going to come of this. This was the TFC that makes me sigh...


I also decided to relocate back to the South Stands with the Cynics Circle et al. for some second half silliness. 


The Reds looked a lot more lively after halftime - perhaps they got in a 12 minute nap? But of course it had to be the Whitecaps that struck first when rookie Darren Mattocks was able to ping a rebound from a Kocic save into the net - cue the "here we go again" groans from everyone. Great initial save by Milos but no one to clear and Mattocks had an easy one. Even still, I refused to believe that Van City would get the best of our Reds; it's not allowed, right?  Right. And then something fantastic happened - no our Reds didn't immediately get an equalizer - no, the always hilarious @ignirtoq of The Yorkies and his buddy Phil started singing "Bohemian Rhapsody"; shortly thereafter myself, @theyorkies1812 and our merry band of cynics joined in and well watch for yourself:

                                        We never claimed to be professional singers


This may seem like an odd song choice but if you listen to the lyrics they're oddly fitting for a TFC fan and well it just fit the mood.  As the half progressed the Reds continued to press and were having greater success getting forward and then our Nasty Leftback Ashtone Morgon put another of his (soon to be) patented crosses into the box and found Luis Silva who easily put it past Cannon!  Game on!  Then our boys just kept on coming - Das Kapitan Frings almost put TFC ahead if not for a wonder save by by Joe Cannon. But the Whitecaps couldn't keep our Reds at bay much longer when just minutes later Frings stepped up and delivered a gorgeous blast of a free kick into the left hand corner of the net!  Jubilation!!  Much yelling, jumping, shouting and hugging ensued - but could it last?

The 'Caps continued to fight back and with minutes left in the game YP Lee came within a whisker of tying the game when he was also stopped by the post...this is where I started holding my breath and looking to see how much added time; 4 minutes? And then the worst happened; Darren freaking Mattocks leapt what seemed four feet in the air to beat Kocic to the ball and headed it into the net - if that wasn't bad enough Mattocks then became the biggest douche at BMO by coming over to the South Stands and taunting the supporters. And not just for a few seconds but for well over a minute - what ticks me off more than the jerky taunting was the lack of any sort of sanction from the ref - that behaviour in any other league would earn a card and should have in this case. We'll wait and see if the league does anything about it but I certainly don't expect anything to happen.


So there we were, with added time ticking away, the score tied and it looked like our boys were going to toss away three points yet again. But wait in the dying seconds a corner! We didn't hold out a lot of hope knowing TFC's less than stellar record on set pieces when the most glorious thing happened; Terry Dunfield (yes that Terry Dunfield, former Whitecap Terry Dunfield,) headed the ball into the net!!  Total freaking pandemonium!!!!  Screaming, shouting, jumping - I don't remember when I've last hugged that many people - and then the whistle!!  I can't remember the last time I was that happy to hear three blasts of a whistle!  What a great night, what a fantastic finish, what a WIN!!  


Was it the best game they've ever played? No. Are there still plenty of issues with the team. Yes. Does that matter one bloody whit? Hell no. That was one of the finest nights I've ever spent at BMO watching the team I love.  I'll leave you with a few words from the hero of the night:

                                          
TFC TIL I DIE


Laughing Links: Here are your usual suspects with the recaps - The Yorkies, Waking The Red and Red Nation Online.