AmWay or the Highway?

Mood: Hopeful
State of Mind: New month - time for a clean slate
Location: Sadly not in Montreal


Tonight is the first step for our boys on the road to the only silverware they're in contention for this season. Yes it's time for the Canadian Championships or the Voyageur's Cup (cannot call it the AmWay cup - just plain wrong) to begin. The boys in red are in Montreal to take on the Impact in the first of two legs - the home leg is next Wednesday here at BMO Field.  Tonight is only the second of a total of five meetings between the two clubs this year and historically TFC have always been the winning team between these two rivals.

We like trophies

Less than four weeks after losing to that team from Quebec our boys in Red are (still) looking for their first (non-CCL) win of the season. A win tonight does not give them an MLS win, but I think we can all agree that any win could be just the tonic this team needs to stave off the ills of the 2012 campaign thus far.  When (yes I said when) they win it will serve to assuage the growing ill will by some of the fans towards Winter and the team and help to turn the tide of apathy that is threatening to take over.  

Reasons they'll win: 1. TFC own this competition the past few years having won 3 straight Voyageurs Cups. 2. Our Reds always seem to up their game in Cup competitions 3. Eric Avila and Aron Winter say they're the better team - I choose to believe them.
Reasons they might lose: 1. They haven't won a game yet this year. 2. Montreal has already beat them. 3. Montreal has been on a decent run of form lately having only lost once in their past four games.

Also on the down side of things is the continuing absence of both Nick Soolsma and Danny Koevermans from the starting XI as they still work to recover from injury. And the likelihood that we won't see the same XI as this past Saturday makes me nervous - as I've said, consistency is key for any team and especially one trying to play a 4-3-3.  Will we see a quick goal against and watch the Impact sit back and absorb our often anemic attack? Or will our boys start the game alert and actually press upfield?  Because when they go forward and take it to the other team that is when they've been most successful (relatively speaking OK?).  And with recent goal scorers Avila and Lambe both itching to continue to prove they deserve to be on the pitch each week, anything can happen.


However I can feel the tide turning for our team. In interviews they appear to a man, to be fired up and determined to get points, not just for themselves but for us the fans (because it is all about us, right?).  This is a new month, a new competition and time for a new beginning.  Let's put the past 6 weeks behind us and watch our team get back to winning games and playing the  game the way we know that they can; with fire, attack and movement. Let's see what we saw in Dallas and have seen flashes of this season - this is the time folks, the time they turn it around.


ALLEZ LES ROUGES!!


Les Links: You know what to do - The Yorkies, Waking the Red (James, Duncan and Dave), Red Nation Online