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Disallowed Gilberto goal forces TFC to settle for draw with Fire

BloomNyassi-TFCFire-USATodaySportsPhoto by Mike Dinovo/USA Today Sports

By RYAN TOLMICH

With time dwindling and the score tied at one, Toronto FC forward Gilberto saw his toe-poke effort roll past Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson and into the back of the net. However, celebrations would be short-lived, as referee David Gantar kept Gilberto off the board and spared the Fire defense.

The Brazilian’s 90th minute finish was disallowed due to a foul call, forcing TFC to settle for a single point with a 1-1 draw Saturday at Toyota Park.

As the game entered stoppage time, Gilberto found himself in the corner of the Fire box with a chance to score the go-ahead goal. After dribbling towards the middle of the field, the TFC forward battled with Fire centerback Bakary Soumare before poking a shot past Johnson and over the line. However, Gantar immediately whistled the Brazilian for a foul, denying TFC a late go-ahead goal.

Gilberto’s disallowed finish came just two minutes after Dwayne De Rosario tied the game at one following a set piece scramble.

The Canadian international netted an 89th minute equalizer to push the scoreline to 1-1 by finishing shortly after a Jackson corner kick. Jackson’s initial ball pinballed around the box before finding the head of Gilberto, who headed towards goal and into the path of De Rosario. The TFC midfielder tapped home from inside the six yard box in what would turn out to be the game’s final goal.

De Rosario’s equalizer canceled out an opener from Lovel Palmer, whose 11th minute header separated the sides for a majority of the contest.

After taking a short corner, winger Sanna Nyassi fired a ball towards the near post and into the path of Palmer. The Fire defender rose above the TFC defense to head past Joe Bendik to give his side a lead that would last until De Rosario’s equalizer 78 minutes later.

With the draw, TFC remain three points out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot with a game in hand, while the Fire sit seven points out while also possessing an extra game to be played.

TFC’s next contest comes Sept. 21st, when BMO Field will play host to a matchup with the lowly Chivas USA. Meanwhile, the Fire now turn towards a clash with Eastern Conference leading D.C. United Sept. 20 at Toyota Park.

Here are the match highlights:

Comments

  1. Didn’t see the foul at the game, didn’t see the foul in the replay. There was some contact so the ref’s angle *may* have contributed to the call…

    Also agree with the post that pointed out the article missed the turning point of the game. Jeff L. finishes the PK to take the Fire to 2-0 and I have to believe the Fire comes away with a deserved 3 points instead of deserving 0.

    And yes, I’m a dedicated Fire fan (through it all . . .)

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  2. I was at the game too. Didn’t see the penalty, and haven’t had a chance to look for video yet. But on another note – is it just me, or was Quincy phoning it in yesterday?

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    • I didn’t think so at all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him phone it in actually. I think, like the other poster said, he just wears himself out. I feel like I still saw him fighting a lot for the ball yesterday.

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  3. Did anyone hear MB90 rip MLS/PRO for their lack of quality of thier refs?

    Essentially, He let them know that the refs “are not good” that theyre over the heads and often dictate the outcomes of matches.

    I wonder how MLS will respond.

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    • He should have stayed in Italy rather then come here and complain non- stop. I hope Klinsmann stops calling him in. How quickly he’s regressed is kind of shocking. Give Kitchen, Hyndman and Trapp a chance.

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  4. That’s what your sideline and fourth official for I thought. you confer with them to back up your decision. Poor call. On a side note, errors like that help to perpetrate diving in the game… if you think you can fool the ref (and instances like this show they are far from perfect) you will continue to try to do so to gain any advantage you can in a very tough situation.

    Poor Michael Bradley looked like he was going to faint with rage…

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    • Y would the center ref ask for the 4th officials opinion? Especially bc the ref is right there and the 4th official over by the sidelines. One whistle

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  5. Did they purposely remove or exclude the disallowed goal from the highlights clip?? Seems like a pretty pivotal moment that should be part of the highlights (especially since these things are often like 8 minutes long and this one is only 6.)

    I was at the game, and I’m a Fire fan, but didn’t see a foul when I saw it live. Seemed like Soumare was expecting Johnson to come out for it, but he didn’t, and Gilberto sneaked past and poked it in. But I wanted to see it again.

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      • I agree I think its a goal. However I can also see where the ref might have thought it was a foul. The defender has the position and Gilberto looks to be grabbing his shoulder. Then they both go down, making it at difficult call.

      • I’m a Fire fan, I thought it was a terrible call. Toronto should have won.

        Not mentioned in the article, and key moment in the game, was the missed PK. The Fire’s season on PK’s has just been abysmal, which is reflected in their record and points total.

      • I was about to post this separately, but Jack’s first to post…

        As a neutral observer it is a bad call, that is not a foul, but I can understand why the ref made that call. If you look at the play at full speed the defender has the position, there’s some random arm contact by Gilberto that is a direct result of the defender being in the dominant position that looks worse than it is when you slow the play down, and the defender goes down. Problem with the defender going down is that it’s a result of contact with Gilberto’s leg AFTER the touch that scores the goal, and Gilberto got the ball cleanly, but good luck discerning that live at full speed. Especially when referees are trained to prevent players from trying to tackle from behind by going through the legs, which is dangerous and much more likely to lead to injury. You could argue that contact with the player from behind even after a clean touch is a foul.

        Wrong call, huge consequences, but not an incompetent call. If I was a TFC fan I’d definitely be asking “why always us?”.

      • Thanks Jack. After seeing it again, I’m further convinced that it was a bad call and should have been allowed. I don’t see any foul there.

        However, I’m glad it wasn’t, because as a Fire fan if the goal stood it wouldn’t have gotten us a step closer to our goal: shattering the record for the number of draws in one season.

    • I think the foul occurs just as Soumare takes position. Gilberto clips his leg, putting Soumare off balance. It’s tough call, but not egregious. Either way Johnson needs to come out and clean that up.

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