The Mourning After

By: Colman O'Meara | July 13th, 2008

Though I’m still feeling hollow and depressed following last night’s game in the Windy City, it’s time to offer up my opinions. While most of the sentiment I’ve been hearing from other supporters has been all doom and gloom, I don’t think we had a very weak performance. In fact, if MLS refereeing had not committed daylight robbery on us AGAIN, I daresay we would have won the match. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Formation
In my pregame post yesterday, I showed that at the tender age of 18 I am already going a little senile, by completely forgetting to include Amado Guevara in my proposed starting lineup. Luckily, Mr. Carver is not as forgetful. However, I doubt any TFC fans could have predicted the formation that started out in front of 15118 supporters (about 300 of them from Toronto) at Toyota Park. Instead of his usual 4-4-2, Carver sent out a 3-5-2, a formation which he had previously tested against Pachuca. The backline was made up of three usually central defenders in Tyrone Marshall, Marco Velez, and Julius James. Jimmy Brennan was pushed up to the left wing from his usual left fullback position, as was Marvell Wynne on the right. While Wynne has blinding speed, this experiment (attempted several times last season as well) has not brought the desired effects so far. Yesterday however, he was quite dangerous on the attack, setting up several chances, as well as almost scoring himself on a shot from the top of the box. In the middle of the field, all stayed the same, with Edu and Robinson playing behind Guevara. Up top, Mr. Carver made a statement which I am sure many fans (this one included) will have been happy to see. He elected to go with Jarrod Smith and Laurent Robert over Jeff Cunningham. Sending out a completely unproven player (at the forward position) instead of Cunningham ought to show Jeffrey that we’ve really had enough of his useless, hands-on-hips lazing about.

This notion was enforced at the half, when we needed fresh legs up top to replace Smith. Instead of Cunningham, the obvious choice, Carver brought on 16-year old Abdus Ibrahim for his MLS debut. You know you’re low on the depth chart when. Also, Carver brought on Ricketts instead of Julius James. From midway through the first half, TFC had dropped into a formation that approximated a 4-5-1, with first Smith, and then Ibrahim up top. Brennan moved back to defense, as did Wynne after the half when Ricketts came on.

First Half
We could barely get a touch for the first five minutes, and soon found ourselves down 1-0 as Tyrone Marshall was not close enough to Chris Rolfe, who took a nice shot from outside the box into the far corner. Some would argue that Greg Sutton may have been able to push it wide had he reacted faster (he got his fingertips to the shot), but overall Marshall has to take the blame for it. However, TFC did not look shocked, and actually started to play some attractive football. In the 12th minute, a beautiful throughball sent Maurice Edu clear of the defense and bearing down on Jon Busch in the Fire goal. Edu rounded the keeper, and could only be stopped by a clear foul, as Busch grabbed his ankles. The referees whistle sounded, and I was jumping up and down in my living room screaming PENALTY!!!!!!…only to see Edu shown a yellow card for diving. Replays from various angles confirmed what I was already telling my TV - Referee Jorge Gonzales is blind as a bat. Instead of giving us a penalty to tie the score and sending off Mr. Busch (denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity), he instead suspends Edu from our game against San Jose by giving him his fifth booking of the season. However, TFC was not discouraged. We kept pressing, and again came close to tying the score. Edu hit the post after some shoddy Fire defending. Marvell Wynne’s shot a couple minutes later was barely high. Meanwhile, Chicago kept threatening also. Mr. White, who I already expressed my outrage at in yesterday’s pregame post, was a pest for TFC’s backline throughout the first half, taking several dangerous shots. He also continued to show us that he is an insolent little bitch, when he refused to let Robbo help him up after a foul (similar to Cunningham in Vancouver). We also have to thank Greg Sutton for saving a breakaway after Robert made an amateur mistake after a corner to start a Fire counterattack. Greg paid for his heroics by taking a boot to his face (hard to tell which player it belonged to), but was able to stay in the game. Overall, the Fire had more chances than TFC in the first half. Thorrington managed to chip the ball over the net from five metres out. In frustration at that miss, he inexplicably jumped up to smash the ball (volleyball-style) when Sutton was throwing it downfield. His antics rightly earned him a booking. Similarly to the game against the Whitecaps, we finished the very offensive first half down 1-0.

Second Half
Carver made two switches at the half, as mentioned above. The 16-year-old Abdus Ibraham came on for Jarrod Smith, and RR came in for JJ. The game, meanwhile, stayed the same. Many chances on both sides, but a few more for Chicago. Blanco, 10 minutes into the second half, hit the crossbar. Another 10 minutes later Guevara threaded a beautiful throughball to Ibrahim, who, like Edu, confidently stepped around Jon Busch. Busch did not pull down Ibrahim, who took the opportunity to slot the ball home into the empty net from a sharp angle. It was a great moment, made even better by the team gathering in the corner to celebrate with the (very vocal) travelling support that had followed TFC to Illinois. With 20 minutes to go, the game was ripe for the taking. Ibrahim was not done. Coming off TFC’s left side, he beat a defender towards the middle, then took a blistering shot which seemed destined for the far corner until Busch was able to push it wide for a corner. However, TFC’s strength began to wane in the dying minutes of the contest. There was one sequence with time running out in particular during which the Reds’ defense could not clear the ball, resulting in a mad scramble in the box which had me writhing in fear on the couch. When the fourth official announced a surprising four minutes of added time, it could not be good news for our boys, who are in the midst of a 24 day stretch of 8 games. Sure enough, we once again could not clear the ball in the 93rd minute, and Thorrington struck for his fourth of the year. Marco Velez, who has been very reliable following a rough start, has to shoulder the blame for the goal, which ultimately cost us the game.

Analysis
OK, I have to start with a disclaimer. The way we see sports really comes down to perception. If Jeff Cunningham came on at the half yesterday, scored a goal on a breakaway, then took a shot from outside the box to earn a corner, and finally got booked for diving, we would take a very different view of it than if Mr. Ibrahim did the same (which he happened to do). We would say something along the lines of “About time fucking Cunningham didn’t miss a breakaway. Still a diving wanker though. Trade him.” Now that Abdus did it, we say “WHAT A BRILLIANT GOAL! HE DEKED BUSCH OUT OF HIS SHORTS! THE WANKER OF A REF IS BLIND…THAT WAS CLEARLY A FOUL!” See where I’m going with this? I don’t want to overhype the kid. He played a good half. But I think we’re in danger of getting too excited…he converted a very good chance. We would have been mad at any forward on our team, had they missed it. Essentially, we are surprised that he was able to make a difference, and therefore may think that he was much better than he in fact was. But keep it up, Ibee!

Time to address Mr. Jorge Gonzales and his supporting cast in yellow. A complete and utter joke. Keep in mind that I am a referee, and usually defend other refs when they blow close calls. I actually defended the refs after the Vancouver home game (Cunningham WAS offside, the PK…was still a joke). But there is nothing to defend after last night. I must dwell on the 12th minute. HOW can the MLS want us to take their league seriously if this is the standard we get week after week. The referee was in a good position (right behind Edu). The linesman was in a good position (to Edu’s right). They were not able to see what I could see with a crappy TV feed all the way from Burlington, ON. The keeper was the last man on the play - it would have had to be a red card. Therefore we get a penalty, and Chicago has to play with 10 men for the rest of the way. We would have been up 2-1 (if not more), and they would not have had the strength to score in the 93rd minute. The referee absolutely stole the game from our lads. The officiating in this league remains an absolute joke. Rob will post more on this topic tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Ratings
#1 Greg Sutton - Cannot say he was faultless on the first goal. It would have been a good save, but better positioning would have allowed him to make it. Otherwise, he kept us in the game. While Chicago often missed the net, it was usually him bearing down on their strikers that caused this. Overall, a strong performance from our keeper. 7.5/10
#3 Julius James - JJ was part of the unorganized defense which permitted not only the opening goal, but also the flurry of Chicago chances in the first half. Subbed out at halftime. 5/10
#4 Marco Velez - A little bit better than Julius for most of the game, making some strong tackles and passes, but to blame for the deciding goal. 5/10
#14 Tyrone Marshall - Same as Velez, except he was to blame on the first, not second goal. 6/10
#11 Jim Brennan (C) - Ineffective in left midfield. No dangerous crosses coming in, and did not link up with Monsieur Robert as well as he usually does. However, helped to solidify the defense after he moved back to his usual left fullback spot during the first half. 5/10
#33 Carl Robinson - Many errant passes, too many fouls. Not the vastly improved Carl we have seen lately. 5/10
#6 Maurice Edu - Time for me to have some humble pie after my article the other day. Mo played a great game, controlling the centre of the field, and ~~winning us a penalty~~ diving in the box. Also hit the post, and was part of the attack which led to our goal. Great performance by Mo. 8/10
#20 Amado Guevara - Played a good game. World class pass to set up the goal. Like Dichio, Guevara seems to bring a spark to the team when he is on the field. 7/10
#16 Marvell Wynne - Better than usual offensively, worse than usual defensively. While he usually has the speed to make up for it, his defensive positioning is atrocious. Played a strong first half, though not so great in the second. 6/10
#32 Laurent Robert - Not a great game. Was occasionally able to draw fouls, but none of the dangerous shots and crosses that we’ve become used to. Was able to start the attack that led to our goal with a great pass to Edu, but consider the forward experiment over. 5.5/10.
#23 Jarrod Smith - Didn’t really get involved. While he still runs around like a maniac, he doesn’t seem to know what to do once he actually gets to the ball. Subbed out at the half. 4/10.

#10 Rohan Ricketts - Not much from RR in this match. 5/10
#7 Abdus Ibrahim - Looked great out there. Very composed on the goal, and a cracker of a shot later in the half. Also put great pressure on the defense, forcing them to cough up the ball. Highlights of his night, including the goal, here. 8/10.

Outlook
TFC continues it’s habit of hosting meaningless friendlies in the middle of the season on Tuesday, when they face Argentinean side Independiente. Expect Nana Attakora-Gyan and the like on the pitch at 7:30 pm. Back on Monday with an allstar related post!