The South Stand Report : Toronto v Chicago

Chicago Fire as the Sting

The Part I Write Before The Match :

“They need to light a fire under their asses.”
“Once they can come together, there will be no stopping them.”
[save this space for overused cliché regarding chemistry]

The reality is that the match against Columbus was for naught. They looked unimaginative for large chunks of the game aaaaaaand Columbus’ counter-attack was spot on. What do you want from them? (the answer lies somewhere in ‘a better performance’ but it’s intended to be rhetorical)

Chicago is on Fire, and not in the typical ‘disaster’ style, but rather the ‘playing beyond anyone’s expectations’ kind. It’s unnerving. I would like to think that if you’re the perma-optimist of Toronto, then you’re going to have a bad time tonight. As for the rest of us who are expecting the same from this side, hope for a draw, expect a battering.

Bold Predictions :

  1. Vazquez will take a free kick, regardless of Giovinco being on the pitch or not
  2. Manchester United legend Bastian Schweinsteiger will bag a goal
  3. Toronto loses

On to the Match :

2’ – Ahhhh Chicago free kick and Nikolic taps it past Bono… Offside

3’ – Ahhh Altidore fires hits the post… Offside

8’ – Vazquez pops a ball over the Chicago back line but just out of reach of Giovinco

18’ – Giovinco makes a run through the middle of the pitch taking on a defender, fires a low shot forcing a lunging palm save from Bava.

25’ – Giovinco free kick on goal. It looked like Vazquez and Bradley were having an animated discussion which we imagined was about him “having a turn”. #speculation

28’ – GOAL Giovinco gets the ball on the left, pulls his shot through the legs of his marker and caught the Bava cheating to his left when he should’ve been going right.
ROBINS 1, TIRE FIRE 0

32’ – Giovinco free kick over the left bar. Vazquez gets waived off by Giovinco.

33’ – GOAL – Morrow beautifully curled a ball into the box and Zavaleta totally Hagglund’d it (leaping header) and beat the geezer Chicago keeper.
ROBINS 2, TIRE FIRE 0

35’ – Chicago free kick taken by Schweinsteiger. Vazquez also gets waived off. Guy can’t get a break. #speculation

39’ – Giovinco fires a shot low and just wide of the post. He could have three by now…

Half-Time Mood : Hooray!  It appears our “Stella” has “got her groove back”.  Can only imagine how…

48’ – the pedal is still on the floor as Vazquez floats a ball over to Edwards, who tries to settle it, loses his angle and fires it into the side netting.

51’ – oh Delgado, more mustard on that pass to Altidore…

56’ – Vazquez with a beautiful pass to the wing and Delgado was nowhere to be found chasing it on the counter.

66’ – SUB – Vazquez off for Chapman?!? Nice going Greg, now we have to do Vanney tactics…

70’ – Giovinco should’ve got a foul called but the linesman watched the whole episode, didn’t raise his flag and Seba got mad. Like Seba mad.

77’ – holy hell… Giovinco gets the ball on a counter attack, low bouncing cross across the face of goal beats the defenders, finds Altidore but his first touch flies over the bar. Fabulous stuff

79’ – Marky Delgado is hurt and is walked off… Osorio readies.

81’ – SUB – Osorio on for Delgado

83’ – GOAL – daaaaaaamn… Giovinco free kick finds the top right corner, just tucked under the bar… Shit.
ROBINS 3, TIRE FIRE 0

84’ – SUB – Seba off for Cheyrou. Then Seba mad and took out a stanchion straight into the tunnel.

86’ – YELLOW – Osorio for something

88’ – GOAL – Accam does a bit of a 1-2 with Solignac, lays it off, then takes a quick cut back ball from Solignac from 8 yards out and beats Bono easily
ROBINS 3, TIRE FIRE 1

3 mins of extra time

90+౩’ – Jozy nearly makes something out of nothing, beats one marker outside of the box, runs into the box and beats a second, then firing a low shot forcing a desperate save from the keeper​

Full Time : Toronto 3, Chicago 1

Wow, I had got this ALL wrong.  Like, all of it.  Top to bottom.  Well played Toronto FC.  Well played, Mr. Vanney.

Man of the Match : Seba for goals and entertainment and petulance

Goat of the Game : Delgado looked not ready for prime time

Ref Rating : 3 out of 5. Started very strong but quality eroded as the game progressed.

I Am Not The Gaffer, But… : felt like he got the subs wrong but likely didn’t factor in the outcome, thankfully.

In Case You PVR’d It : first half was a cracker, then skip to 75th minute and let it run

Kit Spotting : German kits. German kits everywhere.

Bold Predictions Results :

  1. Failed it. VickyVaz (not a thing) did not get his free kick, nor did we get him taking a free kick.
  2. Failed it. Basti totally didn’t score
  3. Failed it. Not even close. Shocking performance really

OK, what the actual fuck was this match.

  • First off, firing on all cylinders from kickoff – haven’t seen that this season.
  • A comprehensive 45 minutes – a new feature.
  • Opposition failing to mug Giovinco for 80 minutes in a game – is that Chicago’s fault or Greg’s tactical mastery.
  • Delgado getting the start over Osorio or Cooper – was his family in the crowd?
  • Chicago snuffed out after a hot start without Moor – there’s an autopsy to be performed.
  • Toronto not looking “lucky” for parts leading to scoring chances – the mighty robins looked deliberate and creative for at least 80% of the match.

Sorry, I’ve been conditioned to expect something completely else from this match.

And let’s talk about these substitutions. Did you think that Vazquez needed to come off (a) before Delgado and (b) 15 minutes before him? I am clearly not the gaffer, however that was puzzling as Vazquez was having a nice match and Delgado attacking was absent at best. And for your encore, you took off Giovinco with 10 minutes to go, who was hot as the sun, playing the best game of the season by a significant margin aaaaaand on a hat trick?! I am superconfused by this.

Mr. designated players, let Vazquez take a free kick. I’m not entirely sure what the concern is with letting him take one or is he going to put on a clinic when the V-Cup happens and half the B team starts… I was saddened by the release of Mo Babouli. Just wait a year son, and the #CanSocFanboys of the CPL will praise your skills… I hear Vazquez was about to get in the showers to clean up, but Bradley said no and waved him off… Apparently Bastian Schweinsteiger played tonight. Good for him… I hear Vazquez tried to order a latte at Starbucks, but Giovinco showed up, said no, and ordered something else… All in all, the whole side played a very good game for 90 minutes, and was pleased to see that Chicago’s near goal at the second minute wasn’t a pace setter for the rest of the match… I hear Vazquez placed an order on Amazon for a book, but it was refused after Bradley contacted the website, and ordered a Bluetooth speaker instead… For the record, the linesman working the west side of the pitch was our man of the match by the end of the first half… I hear Vazquez wanted his son to clean his room, but Giovinco showed up and took him to the movies instead…

Player Ratings : Bono 6, Zavaleta 7, Hagglund 6.5, Morrow 6.5, Beitashour 6.5, Edwards 6.5, Bradley 6, Vazquez 6.5 (Chapman N/A), Delgado 5.5 (Osorio N/A), Altidore 6.5, Giovinco 9 (Cheyrou N/A)

Unused Substitutions : Pais, Endoh, Ricketts, Cooper

Author: Mark Hinkley

Mark is a full-time graphic designer, full-time smart ass and full-time logo, stadium and kit nerd. When he isn't writing ridiculous match reports or redesigning logos for his own amusement, he's salivating over the day that promotion and relegation occurs in MLS. You can follow him @kitnerdmark on the twitterz.

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3 Comments

  1. This win is overshadowed by the real news story of the week. TFC waived Mo Babouli!!!

    I can’t believe Vocal Minority would quietly leave this tragedy unmentioned!?!

    What happened to the old Vocal Minority? The hard hitting, table pounding, tell it like it is gang. Have they gotten to you to? Sold out to the man? …Bill Manning that is. You should of been yelling at Manning, demanding Mo, Mo, more Babouli!

    Congratulations, I hope your happy dining on cavier and champagne in the Tunnel Club. Unfortunately you now have tunnel vision!

    Its bad enough that they cut Quillan Roberts for Bono. What a disgrace! Bono, more like bonehead, since you get that kind of mistake in each game he plays in! What a waste of a top 10 draft pick. Why Vanney has a hard-on for him mistifies me.

    But the real tragedy is TFC has cut Mo. I have been closely stalking…I mean closely watching Mo Babouli since he was tearing it up in league 1 Ontario. His future is still bright. Mark my words, Mo Babouli will be CPL’s first MVP. Then who knows maybe Manchester City will come knocking at his door.

    The real Duane Rollins
    Founder, President and head cheerleader of the Mo Babouli fan club.

    Post a Reply
    • SIgn me up to the fan club, even though Mo look like he was fast, but pounded his forefeet into the ground and never seem to have the speed. Still, I have been wondering when the dump of Canadian talent was going come after the recent relaxing of the domestic rule to be inclusive of young Canadians (including the Gen-A ruling)

      This is analogous to the shutting out of Canadian Music on US radio stations, way back when our government of the day introduced Can-Con.

      Post a Reply
  2. Biggest surprise was not Seba’s departure from the pitch, it was the performance of the defense last night. It helped that the Fire did not test Petrescu’s patience by the weekly molestation of Giovinco, that is for-sure. The Reds offense kicked-it-up a notch too.

    Bradley is not going to let Vasquez take a ‘kick” until he plays defense.

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