Rarely do you see a player redeem himself from a major mistake the very next game. I will give Russell the benefit of the doubt and look at him with a clean slate next game.
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Rarely do you see a player redeem himself from a major mistake the very next game. I will give Russell the benefit of the doubt and look at him with a clean slate next game.
My props go to the supporters section today....I was about to leave with seven minutes left and you guys began to jump around and never gave up.....so I stayed and........
I watched the game from American feed (read Dallas) and the announcer kept mentioning TFC's lack of offence and the many "hopeful long balls" directed a Robert Earnshaw. TFC didn't seem to have many shots in that game.
Kudos to the supporters. You were coming in loud and clear. Just wish that the damn score bar that North American TV likes to use didn't keep blocking out my view of the 75MB crew up there atop 110 :rolleyes:
From TV it looked like the crowd was a bit sparse. Was it so?? Or were you all just jammed into the supporters section for warmth?
Thanks for a great game all, yes, it was my son at Joe's capoing...
I don't think you can ever judge a player fully on a debut. Nerves, playing with a new team, new league, and even a new country for Russel. Even without the goal, Russel looked a much more accomplished player today. I'm glad for him that he goal the winner today.
Had this exact conversation topic with my father during the game, how Boss & Henry were being groomed for the 'future XI' and we agreed in this league the future isn't in ten years when the guy ahead of you retires, its basically under two years. Henry is 19, he's still a young guy while Agbossoumonde is 21. They've got a hell of a long career ahead of both of them.
When O'dea's contract expires do you see Kevin Payne renewing him on $330,000? Hell no. So whenever O'Dea's contract is up for negotiation Henry will be ready to step in.
In the world of centre backs, Henry is still extremely young! A lot of CB's don't mature until 27 years old plus, so he's got a way to go. He's still very much a guy for the future. Same as Boss, but Boss seems to be a bit more physical, which will suit the MLS.
Undeserved? Maybe if we only had less SOGs and they had the majority of the possession then possibly. O'Dea's flick could have tied it up, O'Dea's foul should have been a penalty in the end, the result was fair.
The biggest issue today is we spent no time in the box.
The Goal was nice, but Russell needs to sit.
Bostock was likely responsible in part for both goals, the first one he stopped marking, and the second we let the ball get stripped from him.
We need a Midfielder, and a decent winger... I'd almost like to see Bostock in the Am and Ephriam on the Wing.
Glad we have a tie, should have been a win. We need full points from the next few games.
At half they had 0 attempts on net. By end of game it said 9 attempts 6 on target. I think most of those came in the last 10 mins. Some of those shots also were a very weak attempt that had no chance of actually going in.
Last week I was at the LA game and it looked pretty full except for the 2nd deck on the Main Stand was sparse. And when i saw the replays of that game on TV behind the net it looked packed. They announced 18k+ that game. When I watched today on TSN2 I could see lots of empty seats even behind the net. The East stand looked half empty or more.
They announced 16k+ today. But if that is ticket sold or number of people at the game I don't know, but my guess is it looked like less then 16k on TV. Maybe more like 13-14k. But on TV you can't see the main stand.
People are saying it is undeserved because they did nothing all game till the very end. It is true they were not creating any chances all game, it was painful to watch. The first goal was also a fluke, you also can not just count on penalties to score goals as Toronto has done twice already, they need to create real chances. The O'Dea's flick would of been nice if he tied it but he didn't.
All in all Toronto can not keep getting points by playing this way, they need to play a solid 90 mins.
We didn't create chances for 80 minutes of the game, and then Dallas' defence fell apart and it was free reign after that. The goals were based on the constant pressure applied by throwing people into the box and Dallas' capitulation. If Dallas can't hold a two goal lead, then they shouldn't deserve the 3 points.
Seems like I actually missed something tonight and feel bad for it. Good on them!!! :scarf: I see lots potential and there is good reason to be happy considering what we have been dragged through.
Looks like the team ate the Osari-o's but not its namesakes:D.
Before the season began, I made the comment that this would be a building year for TFC, and that I didn't expect much from the team, but that I did expect them to keep on fighting. On this day Dallas was clearly a better team. Their passing was crisper, as it should be from a team whose spine has been together for a number of years. They were less tentative on the ball, and they took better advantage of their chances throughout much of the game. For our part, there were far too many long balls over the top that Earnshaw never had a hope of getting. While there were flashes of individual skill on our side, all too often passes just didn't jell and good starts on attack just broke down through poor communication.
Nevertheless, even at the point it looked to end 2 - nil, the boys didn't look to give up, and they were still TRYING, and they never stopped! Effort made up for skill and cohesion, and I give them full marks for creating something out of what should have objectively been nothing. The reality is that we have not had a team that has shown this kind of heart for some time, and that just plain encourages the hell out me! Congratulations to the team, and to the coaching staff on a point well earned. I received full value for my ticket today.
I'm just gonna say it; TFC plays better with Dunfield on the pitch. That is all.
Crazy game, last 10 minutes was a ton of fun. All those that left the stadium...oh ye, of little faith! Some interesting comments a little more negative then I would have expected. Here are my impressions of the game.
- The league now knows who Robert Earnshaw is and Dallas blanketed him.
- Overall from a defensive view the team played well in the first half and did not deserve to be down a goal
- Bostock did not have a good game. He caused the first goal be letting his mark go. Russell was giving him crap.
- Bostock did not have a good game. Did I already say that? Turnover in the midfield contributed to 2nd goal
- New centre back Gale was very solid. Contributed to second goal by not pushing out quick enough and kept Dallas on side.However he will learn and get better. Him and O'Dea looked strong together
- Regardless of the goal, Russell played much better this game. Needs to work on his positioning and less ball watching.
- Russell's winning goal priceless, this has to be goal of the week. A wonderful strike.
- Orosio looked more like rookie today. No worries he has skill, he will develop over time
- Great performances by O'Dea, Erkersly
- When Braun came on the field the game changed.
Overall what I took from this game is that this team will not give up, they worked hard to the last second. The whole team must be commended for their effort. The team was great for the first 25 minutes, Dallas hardly touched the ball. Well organized and good pressure on the ball. Our passing and attack in the last 25 yards was not good at all. We still need to improve the midfield. However, we knew that last week and nothing changed this week. Payne knows that and will be bringing in some creativity on the attack side and a DM to distributed the ball better in about 4 weeks.
yes i see your point and it makes sense. But people think we were very lucky to get that tie and they played better then us. It is not really a game to be proud of the way the team played (other then the fact the players didn't stop playing). They can not continue to play games like that if they want to be a competitive team in this league. That's the point I think many people are thinking.
Same thing happened with Joao Plata. Took teams some time to figure out that, hey, we need to cover this guy.
However, unlike Plata, I think this was more the case of Dallas having very athletic defenders. All of them are runners, all of them are big and fit. There's less running space for Earnshaw because the defenders can track him.
Against slower defenders, Earnshaw is still quite capable, but the longball option was covered completely. Take a look at some of the runs - every time the ball came in overhead, Earnshaw had two defenders around him. It's why Justin Braun caused headaches, too - defenders' priorities were split.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Earnshaw and Koevermans together.
A good comeback for the main team, a 2-nil win for the reserve squad against the Dallas reserves, and Academy lad Jordan Hamilton scored for Canada in the 2-nil win v. T&T. All in all, a good day to be TFC.
:deadhorse:
I honestly hate Duncefield but I rather have him than Hall playing midfield, but he must be paired with Silva or even Osario.
I would like to see Silva and Becker together at Mid though.
I can't wait to find out who the new Argentinian Mid is and what he brings to the table: AM or DM:confused:
I scored a goal like that once, for the Scarborough Saints at Clairlea arena. It were more than 15 years ago, now.
I agree with much of what was said. TFC clearly was lacking for large portions of the game. Real difficulties building up play and creating quality chances most of the time. Ecks said it himself -- not good enough for about 80 minutes of the game.
However, I'm surprised more people aren't freaking about the ref. Most of the controversial calls are not shown on the highlights. I might scan the replay on MLS Live once it's available -- I realize it's hard to be impartial as a fan in the stadium. But when O'Dea was pulled down from behind in the box near the end -- too obvious. Dallas defender had both arms wrapped, and was still gripping one of O'Dea's arms tightly after both were on the ground.
Didn't Dallas also have a hand ball in their box?
At one point, Osorio got run over from behind in midfield, no call, Dallas got the ball and almost scored. There's no way the Dallas player touched the ball before the tackle, and it was clearly straight from behind. But then a marginal tackle from the side/behind gets called against TFC, and Dallas scored. (With a VERY delayed advantage called BTW -- problematic when you let the team control the ball for so long and then bring it back for a foul.) Many really random and inconsistent calls -- admittedly also a few in favour of TFC. Similarly, the decisions about when to give a yellow & when not -- really bizarre.
When 80% of the 50/50 calls go against you, you really gotta wonder. You could tell Dallas was adjusting and taking advantage, more & more very physical play especially in midfield. The problem is, when we have Osorio or Silva in midfield, they're technical and have some finesse, but not good at the rough stuff in the middle when the ref isn't calling it cleanly. A bunch of times the ref just didn't seem to have things under control.
Osorio & Silva need to toughen up & expect the tackles -- but the officiating also HAS to be better. Oh and Bostock is good, but sometimes he NEEDS to know when to pass earlier when we've got guys in great positions. I'm worried about his attitude.
Yes Russell again had some major problems. However, take a look at the first goal. They have to know Russell is a bit weak, how can you let him try to handle two guys alone at the back post? (Kind of like the LA goal, where Russell was sandwiched alone between two LA players & ended up heading it back in front.) Nelsen or O'Dea need to organize that better, see that Russell gets more support especially on set pieces. There were a couple of other times where Russell looked really overmatched on his side, not enough support.
Great fight at the end, really happy with that part of the game!