South Couch Report : Columbus v Toronto

Columbus Crew as the Cleveland Stokers

I want to make a pun of “Toronto will be missing the heart of the defense with Moor being out”, but that would be tacky. Thought of it, but won’t put it.

Moor is out and now the mystery of how will they handle the lack of back line leadership will be addressed tonight. The lineup looks to be a 4-4-2

Bold Predictions :

  1. Altidore will score
  2. Defense will have a nightmare
  3. Toronto wins 3-2

Onto The Match : 

9’ – Giovinco free kick into the wall. Duncan takes a shot.

20’ – Altidore did a great move to take apart Naess in the right corner, and his shot results in a corner.

21’ – GOAL – corner delivered by Vazquez finds the leaping head of Altidore and pots it into the far corner. Pretty stuff.
CREWSC 0, ROBINS 1

23’ – Columbus counter attack where the ball is popped over the top finds Kamara and gets his foot on it but not a shit, easily stopped by Bono.

25’ – Giovinco gets a shot off from 15 yards out forcing a diving palm save to push the ball around the far post.

37’ – GOAL – Wow that’s a pass. Higuain passes to Hansen and he threads a perfect ball through the defense, finding Kamara to redirect it past Bono.
CREWSC 1, ROBINS 1

44’ – GOAL – Corner finds the head of Hansen and Meram near the goal line does this leaping side foot thing in traffic. Ugh. Six Toronto defenders in the box and no one picked up Meram…
CREWSC 2, ROBINS 1

Halftime Mood : Well that turned south quickly.

50’ – Hansen breaks into the box and though there was appeals for a penalty for being brought down in the box, Hagglund manages to tackle the ball away.

54’ – SUB – Osorio on for Cooper

65’ – Giovinco free kick flies over the bar. Somewhere Duncan is yelling for Vazquez.

74’ – Giovinco over the bar from 16 yards out. Approximately.

76’ – Beitashour on the counterattack has Giovinco on his left, curls it in late but gets cleared out for a corner. Ensuing corner finds a leaping Hagglund but is saved at the line by the keeper.

79’ – YELLOW – Bradley for a tackle from behind on Meram.

81’ – Edwards runs into a ball and tries to play a low cross into the path of Altidore but it feels more like a shot and rolls right into the keeper.

82’ – SUB – Edwards comes off for Ricketts #Altitts

86’ – SUB – Vazquez off for Cheyrou

88’ – Josh Williams is coming on. Let’s see if he makes tonight worse…

3 mins of extra time

Full Time : Columbus 2, Toronto 1

Dream of a perfect season is dead.

Man of the Match : I liked Hagglund’s game, but Morrow had two critical clearances in the box.

Goat of the Game : Nobody was particularly terrible, as everyone was fairly flat.

Ref Rating : 4 out of 5.  Didn’t impede the game.

I Am Not the Gaffer, But… : I’d have made the late changes earlier.

Bold Predictions Results :

  1. Nailed it. Altidore scored.
  2. Nailed it. I feel like some of the non-scoring situations could’ve been snuffed out earlier.
  3. Failed it. Well, the scoreline and everything…

Poor Zavaleta got burned on that first goal. Looked like he gave up to play Kamara offside right when he needed to take another step or two… Nico Hansen for Columbus, who made his first start in his career, was the engine for them. The one guy I don’t think I’ve ever heard of on a team of notable players. How do you prepare for that?.. I’m ready for someone Vazquez else to start taking free kicks Vazquez. Anyone Vazquez. Just to change it up Vazquez… Why can’t we have a player that gets injured from a chicken-related culinary incident?

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

Unused Substitutes : Pais, Chapman, Endoh, Delgado

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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4 Comments

  1. Well at least it wasn’t a tie. The invincibles this team will be, not.

    Vasquez is definitely a passer, not a dribbler and not a defender. His ball management is all about setting up the pass, he doesn’t actively beat people on a dribble and he he doesn’t get involved when the other team has the ball.

    I agree with your choice of Hagglund on TFC’s side. And yes, poor old Zaveleta and he could have kept the “the invincibles” going with one or two more steps.

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    • BTW – Referee Nima Saghafi and his crew had one of the best performances I have seen anywhere. It was measured, authoritative and balanced.

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  2. That 3-5-2 still feels like the wrong choice formation wise to me – but Morrow did better than I expected (though he was almost always WAY forward and had to track back like crazy).

    My concern with that game – and most of their games this season – is the lack of confidence, urgency, and sharpness in this team. They see so flat, so uncertain and just meh throughout most games. Something’s missing from this team – not sure what but they better figure it out soon.

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    • And very formulated as all the TV broadcasters were saying.

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