Kansas City Here We Come… TFC Goes On The Road To The Wizards

[bgnewf]

http://viewfromthesouthstands.com/2010/07/kcaway2010/

Today I crunch the numbers for the Kansas City v TFC match tomorrow, wonder why Toronto is so poor in securing and in conceding corner kicks, I show a picture of the Preki commemorative keepsake being given away tomorrow and also hopes that Preki will “…Plays Mista For Me!...”. Comments always welcome.

[canucklefan]

Nice to see Bunbury score

[nolando]

It makes me want to punch Forrest (amongst others) through my TV when he says that Bunbury still has a lot of work to do before he even will have to make a decision regarding playing for Canada or US? God,

I can only hope that Hart isn't as moronic as to agree with this line of not-thinking. Hasn't Forrest been following the MNT anytime since he left? Why keep making comments that sound belittling towards a guy that shows the potential to be a real game-breaker, someone who must be generating interest from scouts in Europe given his youth and rapid rise? What, does he need to score in the premiership or something for him to be MNT quality? Newsflash, if anything we need to court a kid like this.

I've said it before, let's not be naive enough to think that the USSF is as stupid as we are by judging a 20 year old by what he is doing this very minute and not by what it looks very likely he will do in the next few years.

[powerof11]

Hard Luck TFC Fall to Kansas City:

Toronto 0 Kansas City 1

The Prelude to Battle

Toronto FC went into this road match at Community America Ballpark looking to hit one out of the park and hoping to get all three points. With TFC’s recent run of draws somewhat dampening the glow that surrounded the team going into the World Cup break, Toronto were looking to deliver another performance like the one that saw them defeat Motagua in their recent CONCACAF Champions League Qualifier. Against a quality opponent, the Reds delivered one of their best performances of the season in a very entertaining back and forth match against their Honduran opponents. Solid in defence and relentless in pushing the forward, TFC generated countless chances but ultimately scored only one goal. With Kansas City coming off recent successful performances against Columbus and FC Dallas and a win in a friendly against Manchester United, the Wizards came into this match brimming with confidence. With Julian de Guzman having one of his best performances as a member of TFC against Motagua and Dwayne De Rosario starting one this one the bench, the Reds would need another MVP caliber performance from their first ever designated player. Their second designated player, Mista, got his first league start up front, partnering with Maicon Santos.

The Opening Forty-Five

On a humid evening with the sun affecting the visibility of both teams in the early going, this match started off slowly with neither team generating anything resembling a scoring chance through the first thirty-five minutes of play. In the 40th minute, the Wizards put a ball into the Toronto net off of a set play, but Kei Kamara was called offside. In the 43rd minute, Mista showed some Spanish flair and some fantastic skill to control a cross from Santos on a play that required a world class save from KC keeper Jimmy Nielsen to keep this one scoreless.

Overall, this was a mundane first half from both teams and likely the least exciting half of play that viewers would have seen since the recent 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands. Playing on the road, this was also a fairly successful half for TFC and put them in good position to try and steal a win with a timely goal in the second half.

The Second Half

The second half kicked off with both teams looking more lively and interested. In the 56th minute, it looked TFC had caught something of a break when Wizards playmaker Ryan Smith had to leave the match with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Instead, it would be Kansas City who would convert their first real chance of the game when an errant header by Adrian Cann went right to Wizards striker Teal Bunbury, who headed it off the hand of an outstretched Stefan Frei into the back of the Toronto net.

Toronto pushed forward looking for a tying goal for the remainder of the match, but Kansas City was able to play this one out, with the home team content to sit back and defend a one goal lead.

The Final Word: Not Exactly a Field of Dreams

Overall, this match was as bland as a Michael Bolton album. While Toronto did not play a very good game, they actually deserved to gain at least a point with this road performance. The Reds were a little bit unlucky to lose this one when a mistake by arguably their most consistent and reliable defender lead to a goal by an opposing team that had shown nothing to suggest they were capable of generating any real scoring chances. With a little bit of luck of their own, TFC could have just easily come away with three points of their own, as Kansas City simply looked timid and ineffective. At the end of the day, this one was there for the taking and TFC simply did not get the job done. Whether it was because they were tired from a very busy recent schedule or due to the fact that they were trying to conserve their energy for their away match against Motagua on Tuesday, the Reds did not appear up to delivering a winning performance on this day. They now have a couple of days to get things together for what is expected to be a very difficult match in Tegucigalpa when they most definitely won’t be in Kansas anymore.

TFC Line-up
24 Frei
8 Gargan
12 Cann
3 Attakora
4 Garcia
21 LaBrocca
6 De Guzman
15 Nane
10 Mista
29 Santos
23 Peterson

Substitutions: (58) Barrett in for Mista; De Rosario in for Peterson; (73) Gala in for Nane.

http://www.rednationonline.ca/Hard_L..._10_news.shtml

[TFCRegina]

We suck.

[Free kick]

Newsflash, if anything we need to court a kid like this.

Did anyone notice at the very end of the game when the players and coaches were mingling, Dasovic was seen chatting and laughing it up with Bunbury and at the same time a couple of preseumably KC staffers seeming came over and almost interjected and it looked like they were pulling Bunbury away from Dasovic. Dunno, likely this is case of readin to much into things but hey, you never know....

[Free kick]

We suck.

Dont forget that this was an away game. Over the past couple of years, we have seen far worst in some away games. The draw at home against Dallas was far more dissapointing.

[mserson]

Tough luck for the Reds. Unlucky bit of scheduling. It would have been great to come away with a point. I understand the idea that it's a road game and that some how makes it okay but KC sucks. This was a winnable game if TFC played the way they did against Motagua. Not having De Ro in the lineup really hurt (my hatred for All Star games continues). What I didn't understand was bringing De Ro in and having him play the right side? Why not push Nane out to the flank and have De Ro run in the middle with JDG. I know he's played wing in the past but he didn't seem nearly affective than when he plays a more central role. Mistas doesn't look like he's in game shape. He's been here for almost three weeks and should be more available across the pitch. He wasn't moving side to side and coming back into the play to create more.

[brownbear]

Did anyone notice at the very end of the game when the players and coaches were mingling, Dasovic was seen chatting and laughing it up with Bunbury and at the same time a couple of preseumably KC staffers seeming came over and almost interjected and it looked like they were pulling Bunbury away from Dasovic. Dunno, likely this is case of readin to much into things but hey, you never know....

What is it that you read into that? Remember that Dasovic played a whole bunch of games with Teal's dad--Alex--for the MNT. He's known Teal since Teal was a baby.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Kei Kamara has been posting some controversial postgame comments on twitter:

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/...calls-toronto-

http://twitter.com/keikamara