TFC makes a splash in Concacaf Champions League
By: Mark | August 18th, 2010
Martin Saric scored in the 3rd minute of last night’s game to set the tone against Cruz Azul. Who would have thought that would happen?
TFC went on to win 2-1 with Mista scoring his first goal in a Toronto uniform to secure the win. This was against the Mexican side that went to the Concacaf Champions League final the last 2 years (lost both times), and are currently in 3rd place in the Mexican Primera Division. They are probably one of the toughest teams in the tournament, but TFC won and have picked up 3 points to start the group stage. That could go a long way towards qualifying for the knockout round.
Not too much else to say really, except for a couple points from the match:
- Despite missing both Chad Barrett and Maicon Santos due to injury, arguably the teams 2 best strikers at the moment, the strike partnership of Mista and O’Brian White did a fine job. Mista got his first goal for TFC which was sorely needed, and White had some good moments as well. I think White is a quality player who just needs more time to develop. He should grab his chance to shine while the other guys are injured.
- When I saw that Stefan Frei would not be playing, I was worried that Preki had already decided either that Concacaf was not his priority, or that they probably wouldn’t beat Cruz Azul anyway, so better to rest Frei so he can face league competitors NY Red Bulls on Saturday. I still kind of think the latter was his mindset, but luckily Jon Conway is a pretty good keeper too! Apart from one shaky moment on the free kick where Cruz Azul scored, he looked good and made some great saves. Knowing that good talent could be tough to hang onto in the MLS, it’s some consolation that we have more than one capable goalkeeper if you catch my drift.
- There were a few sections in the stands last night that looked pretty empty (especially the new north end stands). I think because of the large percentage of season tickets, and that it has been tough to get tickets for non-season ticket holders in the past, maybe people aren’t trying to get them anymore. But it looks like there are seats available for these Concacaf games, and possibly MLS games as well. If you haven’t been to a TFC game, its worth it to check if there are tickets available because you can probably find some. I think they reserve some to release a couple weeks before each match (don’t quote me on that though), so you might find them last minute. The atmosphere at BMO Field is great, and its always a good time. I’ve had partial season ticket packs (6 games) the last 2 years and I hope to get the full season next year.
If you missed last night’s game, check out the hi-lights here.
Back to MLS action on Saturday, with New York coming to town. Let’s hope Toronto can show Henry and company a good time and get them back for the loss last week. Toronto are 5 points behind NY, so a win is crucial to catch up. Catch the game at 1:00 pm on Saturday on CBC.
Not sure if I will do a a live blog on Saturday yet – I’ll also be watching some soccer on Gol TV at 12:30 when the season gets underway for the German Bundesliga. I’ve been waiting all summer for that to return, so I might need to tape the TFC game this weekend. If anyone wants to host a live blog on the site though, email me at torontofc[at]theoffside[dot]com and I can post the live blog on the site for you.
Have a good week everyone!
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Comments
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Thanks for the liveblog yesterday. I tested it out, and the backend stuff is really easy, so I’m looking forward to using for an upcoming Vancouver game.
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Hey no prob. It took me awhile to figure out how to let people comment without having to login. Once I did that it was ok. Just be sure to set that all up before the game starts, so it doesn’t end up like mine did ha ha.
I guess it didn’t help that I was trying to run the blog from my phone so I could watch the game on the TV. I don’t have a laptop. The mobile version doesn’t let you see when you need to approve comments. You sort of need to have that all ready before you start if you plan to leave the computer. Anyway, have fun with it!
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What was so surprising is how good we looked, particularly in the first half. DeRo, Saric, Mista, Hscanovics, Usmanov, I mean I didn’t know some of them had it in them. Good team movement and understanding. Of course Preki went a bit into the turtle shell in the second. But man, we could have won 4 or 5 nil. But hey, I’ll take this. Did they underestimate us? Did they put out their reserves? Oh well I guess lesson learned for them!
Have to disagree with White. I think he had a terrible game. Didn’t seem to click with the others and had a few chances to bury a couple goals. His movement on and off the ball was awkward as well. Hope he gets a goal soon to improve his confidence.
Anyway I’ll end this by saying WE BEAT CRUZ AZUL OMG OMG! This is amazing!! We need to take advantage of this opportunity now. Am looking forward to see how we do now (some tough road games ahead!)
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Mark, I wanted to ask if tickets are available at the gate? Like can you show up matchday and get a ticket? (there seems to be so many empty seats at times) I’m assuming it would be pretty impossible this weekend with Henry coming. What would tickets generally cost because they seem a bit pricey? Don’t have a lot of spare cash these days but I’ve been wanting to go for a while now. I’m sure I can drag someone along with me lol Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance!
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Ohhhhh……how frustrating was that? I can’t believe we’re down 2-0, we had so many chances!
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I think I jinxed us. I don’t usually wear my TFC jersey on matchday for some reason and I did today and we lost bad. Robbo had to score didn’t he? I wish he was still with us, we could have used him. I hate NY Energy Drink. I hate them sooo much!
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