The South Stand Report : Toronto v Columbus
Columbus Crew as the Cleveland Stokers
Did you get your season’s ticket renewal notice? You should have. It was sent out before the ink dried on the newspapers.
Sorry, newspapers are those things that old people read because they don’t believe in the internet and throw it out at the end of the day.
Where was I?
Playoffs! Isn’t it magical? Sure, we have no clue where Toronto will finish. High as 2nd and low as 6th. If you want at least one more home date, you’re hoping for at least 4th.
Anyways, why not load the end of the season with teams in a playoff battle? Columbus sits 2 points below Toronto and the beloved Robins are currently in 2nd. That’s right, SECOND.
Onto the match :
The first 20 minutes were good. Nothing remarkable, but were largely in control.
20′ – Giovinco dances around his defender but curls it around the post.
21′ – Goalmouth scramble and Findley hits the post. The post. #oneJob
39′ – GOAL – Higuain corner, a bit of pinball and it lands at Ethan Finlay‘s foot and slots it in
ROBINS 0, CRUE 1
41′ – Toronto on the counter, long low cross that’s just out of the reach of Giovinco
42′ – YELLOW – Bradley gets booked for taking down Higuain
65′ – SUB – Findley comes off for Gomez
65′ – SUB – Warner off for Moore
73′ – YELLOW – Cheyrou gets booked for taking down Higuain
76′ – SUB – Delgado comes on Zavaleta
4 mins of extra time
90+1′ – GOAL – Higuain takes a touch from the right side of the box and deftly chips Bendik. Damn.
ROBINS 0, CRUE 2
Full Time : Toronto 0, Columbus 2
Man of the Match : I’m gonna go with Benny BallsTM Cheyrou. He had some good times out there. Jackson also had a strong game.
Goat of the Game : Guess. Just guess.
Ref Ratings : 1 out of 5. I know you don’t have to listen to your linesmen, but every time you ignored them, something crap happened against Toronto.
Kit Spotting : It was nearly winter coat time, but I’ve realized that I want to collect scarves of the local soccer clubs. If you’re reading this, and you know that your local club has scarves on offer, let me know. Speaking of scarves, I saw these gorgeous Ukranian scarves that had a ribbon/sash below the badge that said “Toronto” on them. Sky blue (almost electric) and gold. Hook a blogger up, please?
I Am Not The Gaffer, But… : Mr. Vanney, I thought we agreed that Gomez was good. He poached a goal. A goal. You know, those things forwards are supposed to get. What is it going to take to get Gomez a starting job, specifically, Findley’s? Two goals? Three goals? Absolutely baffled sometimes.
In Case You PVR’d It : It’s tough. There wasn’t much to see. The Higuain goal was special, so props to that.
If it hasn’t been written here before, here it is : I hate Higuain because he’s so good. He can make something out of nothing and he did it to kill off the game in injury time. I don’t blame him getting hacked down, but it didn’t work… Giovinco was marked very well most of the game. Something no one has done to him for most of the season… Remember Nick Hagglund? Yeah, I do too. He warms up very well it appears… Bendik starting sounds like a shock to everyone including Joe himself. Good to see him get a game in. Easier to sell trade him if other teams see him play (sorry Joe)… As of writing this (and I’m tired and it’s taking forever), Toronto is in 3rd. To make matters worse, the only secure spot is Red Bulls in first. All other positions are up for grabs and the shuffle could be crazy come time for Montreal, who’ve eked into the post season.
Player Ratings : Bendik 6, Morrow 6.5, Kantari 6, Williams 6.5, Jackson 6.5, Cheyrou 7, Warner 6 (Moore N/A), Findley 5.5 (Gomez N/A), Bradley 6.5, Delgado 6 (Zavaleta N/A), Giovinco 6.5.
