LA's defense were focused on marking Koov out of the game, which helped open some space along the wings for us. It'll happen occasionally.
I'm not worried about Danny K yet. He'll get his goals.
- Scott
Soolsma
Koevermans
Plata
Silva
Johnson
Kocic
Winter (irregular I know but I think it deserves noting)
Other
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LA's defense were focused on marking Koov out of the game, which helped open some space along the wings for us. It'll happen occasionally.
I'm not worried about Danny K yet. He'll get his goals.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
DK will be fine. His role is to be a targetman striker against rough and tumble teams. Galaxy have more of a finesse squad so that's why he seemed so out of place. I expect him to be more of a presence against SJ and Columbus in the coming weeks.
This is true, all day and not that our DP's were useless; obviously, JDG struggled, at times.. but was certainly a factor in few good plays. Frings was Frings; general, pulling the strings for us and Koevermans was being so tightly marked that he opened up space for our wide guys to exploit.Originally Posted by Roogsy
Pays to have the team really in sync with each other, this way and to have goal threats from all over the pitch (no one player for our opposition to focus on).
That said, I will have to agree with Johnson as MOTM. It was tough, because I think Soolsma was outstanding, on the night and goodness me -- Kocic was huge.. literally.
Last edited by JuliquE; 03-15-2012 at 11:06 AM. Reason: Quoted EastYork, accidentally
Do excuse the double-post, but I wholeheartedly agree; can't leave him out in special mentions -- Winter, as a few have already noted, also deserves much credit for his tactical reactions to the game, as it unfolded.
It's definitely not Koev's fault. The roll he plays at TFC is a very isolated one - he's going to get into the game sometimes, and will complete vanish in some games. He doesn't have a strike partner to lay off the ball too, or feed from, so he's got to feed off the balls into him, whenever they come in. It's a frustrating roll he has to play, but he does it well.
Koev's is our version of Darren Bent - will do very little during most games overall, but is in the right place at the right time to score the goals. I don't expect any more than that from him. so, as long as he takes the portion of his chances at goal, I'm satisfied.
The Big Johnson is going to tear up this league!
There were a few good performaces last night - Kocic save and command of the area was great. Johnson was great.
But my pick last night for MOTM was Morgan - he was outstanding, lots of energy, and really did well when asked to push forward. He's going to have a huge season if he keeps up his development!
I went with Soolsma, since I look at him as a TFC success story. AW did not get my consideration cause I did not like his inserting of Dunfield so soon, if Plata needed to be changed, there was Silva available at the time -- bunkering down with a half to go was a dumb move.
i think Frings deserved to be in that poll more so than Plata did ... but for me Kocic was the MOTM last night. He came up big several times, especially first half early against Magee, then the one that got me jumping off my bar stool against Keane in 2nd half.
Frings was uber solid, and really influenced our attack from CM after LA drew even. Johnson and Soolsma, wow! Morgan was quietly all business. And I think honourable mention should also go to JDG who, along with Soolsma in CM, made Beckham invisible in the first half. Eckersley was alright, when he wasn't running people over from behind lol. Aceval played with more confidence it seemed.
It was a beautiful game to watch, great flow, loved our methodical build ups and possession game. Off the ball, I thought we pressured well, and (OMG!) marked very well. I had a lot of confidence until the last 20 minutes when i didn't know how we would handle the inevitable LA pressure. We were poised, calm, and confident, and in the end LA didn't really get a lot of quality chances. We clearly out hustled and out worked LA. We deserved the win.
He also does a lot away from the ball that doesn't get noticed.
Watch Koev on Soolsma's goal. He raises pure bloody hell in the box, distracting Saunders and the defenders, allowing Soolsma to run in completely unmarked.
Not only that - when johnson made his pass, Koev had given himself some separation and was in a position to receive it, but Soolsma got there first.
^^^
Agreed. I can see some supporters not noticing a lot of the things that Koev's does, and probably not liking him/complaining about him. But he's a classy striker who does a lot for the team. He's being asked to do a difficult roll at TFC. Not everybody will like it, but others will really apprciate what he does, like you obvious do.
I thought he was quite active and lively in the second half of the first game.
3 breakaway saves makes Cock Itch MOM.
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
Yeah without Kocic we'd be in big trouble...they beat our trap a number of times and Kocic bailed out T.O.
Kocic pure class in goal
What is Johnson's record in the league and in the CCL.
I wonder if he's that kind of player who is middling during league play, but steps up for big matches.
And a great post game interview... actually seemed to be genuinely giddy about the whole experience.
Kocic was a straight gangster in the box, and made the sickest 1 on 1 save I've seen in a long time on Keane to save TFC's lead.
last year for TFC 12 games, 3 goals, 2 assists in MLS
Last edited by Yohan; 03-15-2012 at 02:11 PM.
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
Among our forwards, I would have to say that Johnson has had the greatest impact during this unexpected CCL run. During his brief tenure with TFC thus far, he has already scored several clutch goals in crucial matches.
In retrospect, San Jose got reamed without the lube on that trade.
San Jose was the one screwing themselves.
They played Ryan Johnson out of position for large stretches at a time, looking to plug gaps in their roster that they didn't have. When he didn't perform, he was seen as excess to requirements. When Toronto offered three players for one, San Jose saw it as a stop-gap measure.
Now, comfortable, Ryan Johnson has every chance of being a key figure in this team, especially if Danny Koevermans keeps this poor run of form going...
oh ffs. DK didn't score in 2 competitive games. we'll start worrying when it's like 4-5
Now, comfortable, Ryan Johnson has every chance of being a key figure in this team, especially if Danny Koevermans keeps this poor run of form going...
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
That's honestly one of the most rediculous things I've ever read on this forum!Now, comfortable, Ryan Johnson has every chance of being a key figure in this team, especially if Danny Koevermans keeps this poor run of form going...
you try playing alone up front marked by 4 defenders?! See how succesful you are at scoring goals! haha!
Yeah, we are so quick to panic. And in observing him I did not find him poor overall in either game. At times he showed a bit of lack of form, but this is early in the season, but for the most part, again particularly in the 2nd half of the first game he did well overall.
I'm going with Johnson for scoring 1.5 goals. That was a great dip in by Soolsma and a solid finish, but Johnson made the space and served it up on a platter. His header was sublime and he was good all night, not to mention in the first leg.
Toronto FC baby...best team everrrrrrrrrr -Jozy
that one-on-one save clinched it for me.
It's very tough to choose since without the save(s) we would have seen extra time and without the goals we wouldn't be having such lively conversations on this forum
I will go with Kocic since his most important save came under a great deal of pressure. One could argue that if Keane had scored in the 74th minute LA would have gained momentum and perhaps score a third but thanks to Milos their frustration grew exponentially
Not sure how Frings isn't in this list but he's my choice. Sure Johnson got the first goal but most of the gam beyond that he made a lot of errors that could have turned costly.
Itchy Cock FTW!
Also, just because Koevermans isn't scoring, doesn't mean he's off form. When TFC was resorting to long balls, especially in the first leg with Dunfield in, Koevermans was winning most of his headers, despite being double marked, and redirecting the ball into the paths of the other attackers.
Morgan did an excellent job at left wing when Maund came on for Koevermans. If I didn't know that he was a fullback I would have thought that left wing was his natural position. I actually wouldn't be surprised if he got moved there eventually at some point in his career (a la Gareth Bale, Royston Drenthe, Urby Emanuelson, etc). but for now I'm quite happy with him as a fullback
RJ FOR DESIGNATED PLayer!
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