Good evening folks. I’m at the CONCACAF Champions League qualifier between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact. I was thinking of heading down to the stands and watching the game from there but I’ve decided to do a running commentary.
If you are interested in following tonight’s match let me know. I will definitely do a running commentary for the first half, but may sneak down and watch the second half in the stands if things are slow here.
If you will be watching the match tonight, or if you just want to keep track of things in this game, please follow the commentary here. Also, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the match below.
Enjoy the match.
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FINAL- That’s all from here. Montreal moves on and Toronto FC continues to mire in a funk that isn’t going to get any better with Marvell Wynne and Maurice Edu slated to go to the Olympics. TFC needs to find a reliable forward quickly.
Thanks for following along here tonight.
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FINAL- Here is what I will say about Toronto FC. They need to stop feeding their wingers and get the ball to Guevara. Ricketts and Robert either lose the ball trying to beat someone off the dribble or they send bad crosses on. Guevara needs to get more of the ball and with a d-mid combo of Carl Robinson and Maurice Edu there is no way they shouldn’t dominate Montreal.
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FINAL- Montreal players storm the field to celebrate. They deserve to celebrate. It was a solid performance.
Toronto FC wasted chances and possession and have nobody else to blame.
Matt Jordan is tonight’s man of the match. The guy can still play.
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FINAL- Montreal 1, Toronto FC 1. And Montreal is going to the CONCACAF Champions League.
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92nd minute- I almost spoke to soon. Edu broke in after a turnover but sent his long shot wide.
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92nd minute- Guevara makes a great move and sends a ball in but the header is a waste and this one looks over.
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91st minute- Toronto with one last chance but Cunningham can’t make anything happen and Jordan smothers it.
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90th minute- Can Toronto generate one more chance? They just turned it over so the answer is looking like a no.
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89th minute- WOW. Toronto FC came SOO Close to scoring there. Guevera’s free kick is headed at goal but Jordan makes a diving one-handed save and nobody gets to the loose ball. WOW
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88th minute- Okay, Rohan Ricketts needs to learn that sometimes the simple pass out of pressure is better than turning the ball over trying to make a move. I’ve lost track of how many turnovers he’s had today.
TFC with a long free kick.
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86th minute- The corner was wasted and Julius James is coming in for Marco Velez.
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83rd minute- TFC corner.
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82nd minute- Toronto FC running out of time. Eight minutes left and Guevara is dropping back to the other side of the field to collect the ball. You know, with a team playing a 4-5-1 they shouldn’t have this much trouble keeping the ball and feeding Guevara with passes
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80th minute- I have to say that Matt Jordan has had a good game today. Good to see another MLS alum doing well.
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79th minute- The Montreal forward, Sita-Taty Matondo is FAST. Not sure if he’s actually any good, but the Congolese striker is speedy. Looks like Montreal is just going to pump balls to him and let him run.
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77th minute- Toronto is a bit lost right now. Too many long balls in and not enough passes to Guevara, who could break down Montreal with one good pass. Time is running out.
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73rd minute- The injured defender happened to be Braz, who is coming out of the match. He was pelted with streamers (and some drinks) his entire walk back to the bench.
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71st minute- The Montreal defender decided he didn’t need the stretcher, but then changed his mind. Not sure what’s going on here. He’s on the stretcher now, getting carried off to a chorus of boos.
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69th minute- A Montreal defender is down so we’re stopped while the stretcher comes out.
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68th minute- Montreal isn’t exactly bunkering here but they’re putting good pressure on Toronto.
And here comes Jeff Cunningham. He’s coming in for Ibrahim. I would have liked to see those two play together, but this is Carver’s system.
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64th minute- Montreal is making a sub and the TFC crowd is getting loud. They are into this one. Can TFC’s players respond?
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63rd minute- I can’t put into words how bad that miss was by Brown.
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62nd minute- And here comes Toronto. A corner leads to a free kick from the top left side outside the box. We’re about 30 yards away. Guevara territory.
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60th minute- WOW. Roberto Brown just missed an absolute sitter. The ball came in on a platter from Stefano Pesoli but Brown shanked the shot from seven yards out. WOW.
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59th minute- Montreal is bunkered in pretty well and TFC is going to have to be a little sharper with its passing if its going to find a winner in the run of play.
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56th minute- Montreal with a corner but it looks like that corner was out of streamers.
Wow, TFC got really lucky. Sutton completely lost a corner in but nobody from Montreal could pounce on the loose ball.
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54th minute- Montreal defender Adam Braz treated to a rendition of "B-MO RE-JECT." Nice.
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51st minute- Ibrahim is seeing more of the ball this half. He’s a handful for Montreal right now. The TFC midfield is playing with more purpose this half.
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50th minute- Ibrahim with a nice move to beat one defender, but can’t beat the second defender. Still amazing to see that he’s only 16.
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49th minute- By the way, I’m sitting next to the PR guy for the Montreal Impact and to say he’s a little intense is an
understatement. I thought he was going to have a heart attack when Montreal equalized.
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48th minute- No halftime changes for either team.
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47th minute- I decided to stick around. And we’re off.
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HALFTIME- The crowd isn’t restless yet, but once we get past the 60th minute, things could get real interesting here.
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HALFTIME- What will John Carver do at halftime? He doesn’t need any changed yet, though putting in Jeff Cunningham wouldn’t hurt, and I’m not sure about the 4-5-1 against a team clearly playing for the tie.
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HALFTIME- Okay folks. Who here is following along on the commentary? Let me get a show of comments. If nobody is around then I’ll go wach the secnd half in the stands. If some of you are following here, then I’ll stick around.
Let me know folks and thanks to all of you who are following.
HALFTIME- Toronto FC can’t be happy. It controlled the game early, but didn’t make the most of that control. Knocking the ball around is all well and good, but not testing the goalkeeper a few more times is weak. Also, having three or four free kicks from inside 30 yards, and not being able to create one good chance, is unacceptable. Credit Montreal for bending but not breaking.
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45th minute- Guevara’s kick is headed clear by the wall for a corner. The ball winds up at Guevara about 25 yards out but his volley goes high.
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45th minute- I spoke too soon. Rickets draws a foul left of the arc, about 27 yards out. Guevara better take this one.
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44th minute- Not much going on here.
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41st minute- Robert blasts a kick into the wall. A wasted chance there.
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40th minute- Another foul, but on the left side of the field. Guevara territory.
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39th minute- Robert’s free kick hits the wall.
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38th minute- Wynne gets taken down, setting up a pretty good free kick chance for TFC about 28 yards away on the right side of goal.
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37th minute- This game has evened out a bit. TFC still has more possession but not in control as much as in the first 20 minutes.
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31st minute- Joey Gjertsen with a shot that misses just wide. He was also the taker of the corner on the Montreal goal. Not a bad little player.
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28th minute- Brown looked pretty good on that and Montreal is pressing for another one.
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26th minute- GOAL MONTREAL. Roberto Brown with the header off a corner from about eight yards out. The streamers didn’t work that time. TFC 1, Montreal 1.
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25th minute- TFC knocking it around now. I hate to say it but I see some flshes of Jozy Altidore when I see Abdus Ibrahim on the ball. The kid could be something special.
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22nd minute- TFC fans have broken out their French chant, Montreal fans must be thinking "huh?, but in French".
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21st minute- Sutton gets undercut by Brown after snatching a cross high in the air.
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19th minute- Interesting to see Roberto Brown with Montreal. He looked so good in the 2005 Gold Cup for Panama. He hasn’t done much yet tonight.
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18th minute- Montreal with its first real attacking threat so far, but a cross goes wide.
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17th minute- Montreal can’t hold onto the ball and keeps turning it over. TFC’s midfield is too good to just give the ball to in the attacking third.
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15th minute- GOAL TORONTO FC!!! Rohan Ricketts with a header on the doorstep off a nice ball in from Brennan, who picked him out with a chip to the back post from the opposite side of the box. TFC 1, Montreal 0
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14th minute- Tough to say whether Montreal is playing for the tie or if the Impact are just this bad.
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12th minute- Toronto FC is knocking on the door. Seems like a matter of time.
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9th minute- Toronto has had more of the ball, but no really dangerous chances yet.
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5th minute- The streamers are out as Montreal attempts a corner kick. TFC heads the corner clear.
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3rd minute- Here is Montreal’s lineup:
Matt Jordan, Nevio Pizzolitto, David Testo, Rocc Placentino, Roberto Brown, Patrick Leduc, Stefano Pesoli, Joey Gjertsen, Leonardo Di Lorenzo, Simon Gath, Adam Braz.
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2nd minute- We’re under way and the crowd is very loud. The stadium is probably 65 percent full, but filling up.
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PRE-GAME- There are about 75 Montreal fans tucked in a corner here. They get props for making the six-hour drive here.
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PRE-GAME- The "This is our house" chant is roaring. I think this may be the first time it’s been said with opposing fans in the stadium in any real numbers.
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PRE-GAME– It’s a late arriving crowd here for what is being billed as the biggest game in Canadian soccer history (okay, so maybe it’s the biggest game in TFC history. Canada has been around a while.)
HALFTIME– Okay folks. Who here is following along on the commentary? Let me get a show of comments. If nobody is around then I’ll go wach the secnd half in the stands. If some of you are following here, then I’ll stick around.
Let me know folks and thanks to all of you who are following.
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