Away goals don’t count for anything more in CCL. Fury can still tie it up if they win 2-1 at BMO. Unlikely, but still.
Last edited by flambe; 08-07-2019 at 11:11 PM.
Away goals still count, at least according to the press releases. They just removed extra time and it goes straight to penalties in the event of a draw after considering away goals.
If the Fury win 2-1 at BMO, TFC would still move on as the aggregate score would be 3-2 for TFC.
At the game last night, and I think the graphic on the MLS side is wrong. TFC didn't start the game in a 3-4-3, they played the first half in a flat 4-4-2 and played for the counter - not what I was expecting and probably why the possession metrics seemed off. At the half, Vanney took off Morgan and put on Shaffleberg and switched to a more attack-minded 4-3-3 with Fraser playing Bradley's role and Benezet playing Pozuelo's role and Shaff and Endoh on the wings. I didn't even notice when they changed Benezet for Gallardo. Moor was a great stabilizing influence on the backline and Zavaleta was lucky he only got a Yellow after cynically hauling down a Fury player on the way to the goal. They used a pretty solid B team. I think we'll see the same players trotted out next week as Vanney will probably keep his best players rested for the Finals.
Quick question for the local Fury fan: how much is the roster you guys fielded last night worth? How have the Fury looked this season overall?
I’m just wondering, because TFC looked pretty flat for much of the game despite fielding three TAM players and a few other starters, and really didn’t dominate the match like they should have. Could have been a lack of effort, not exerting themselves on turf, etc., but the score line really belies a pretty uninspiring performance overall.
Despite being a “B-team” there were no TFC2 players and this lineup could have pretty much been our starting lineup for half of this season anyway.
It’s a win, sure, but it wasn’t very inspiring.
One could say, TFC did what they needed to do... However top teams use games like this as a bit of training exercise, practicing & refining their normal strategies, bringing bench players into the mix etc.
I thought it looked like most TFC players didn't know each other well, and had difficulty stringing passes together even when there wasn't much pressure. (Give Ottawa credit, they did press quite a bit.) TFC had 74% overall passing accuracy, compared with 81% accuracy for the lower-league team. Benezet & Gallardo are green on the team, but the rest should know each other.
I think the bouncy unfamiliar pitch also played a role for TFC.
I'm happy with the results so far. Let's see how next week goes, hopefully a bit more consistency from TFC.
Last edited by Auzzy; 08-08-2019 at 10:32 AM.
I have no idea how much the Fury's roster salary is, but I estimate it between $1.2-0.8 million. That's somewhat higher than the rumoured CPL salary cap of around $750K. The Fury currently sit 6th in the Eastern Conference of the USL, the lowest placed of the 4 teams that left NASL before it folded but still well above the playoff line. It's one of the more entertaining teams they've fielded in the last 4 years, but I noticed that the Fury players were playing a a higher tempo than they usually do against USL/CPL opponents and they played pretty much their A-team.
The post game presser with Vanney had a few things of note
a) the field is a bouncy pitch the team isn't used to because of the quality outdoor surfaces they all train & play on
b) Morgan subbed because he isn't used to a lot of game time yet (he's playing Saturday is what I got out of that)
c) Benezet isn't used to working with people yet while Gallardo is getting to fitness
d) He said our crosses were just not good enough - stuff not connecting at all
On point d - if we are to go with a wide attack then into Jozy & others, the crossing has to get better - Shaffs is OK & Poz is Poz but Morrow & Laryea have to do better
Thanks!
Vanney’s post-game comments (thanks Og) pretty much confirm it, I guess.
I was hoping with the combination of poor performance and the loss to the Fury a couple years ago that we’d have seen them really try to give them a throttling, but I guess it wasn’t in the cards.
I can understand the pitch and getting guys acclimatized, but I guess I was hoping to see a little more, especially when Benezet, Gallardo, and Osorio all saw the pitch (though Gallardo looked good).
Not too many great moments in this one but job done.
The broadcast was spotty but glad we could get together for it.
Gareth is still improving each game for his calls but that matches atmo took a lot out of it. Audio mics were low. Prolly because of last year but oh well.
On to BMO
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