South Couch Report : NYC v Toronto

Undefeated, top of the table, highly unlikely.

These are all phrases used to describe Toronto FC.

Today the indomitable Robins take on the only team in New York at the tiny confines of Estadio del Yankees. After stealing all the points from the only team in New Jersey, you can’t help but be a wee bit optimistic.

Even I am. I know, right?

On to the match :

1’ – Endoh floats a ball over the NYC back four and just misses the boots of Giovinco.

6’ – Clint Irwin is wearing a midnight blue goalie kit. (#conspiracy #narrative #tooSoon #Argos) and it looks fantastic. Should’ve been an away kit…

12’ – Diskerud gets on the end of a low cross and heads it towards Irwin, forcing him to make a quick save.

15’ – Morrow takes a long pass on the left side and pulls it back to Osorio, who fires a low powered shot just wide of the post.

18’ – David Villa gets clear of Perquis then fires a line drive advancing a runner to third.

21’ – Giovinco free kick pops a ball over the wall and Saunders makes an easy save.

23’ – PENALTY – Marky Delgado takes down Mix Diskerud.

24’ – DINGER – David Villa drills it low and left
BRONXCHESTER 1, ROBINS 0

28’ – DINGER – After some penalty area pinball, David Villa controls a popped header with his arm to turn and fire it into the net.
BRONXCHESTER 2, ROBINS 0

31’ – Giovinco free kick curls beautifully over and left of the wall, but just flies past the far post.

35’ – Diskerud breaks in, Irwin manages to take the shot away from Mix but he takes an attempt that nutmegs Irwin and rolls past two defenders and somehow misses the net. Not sure who gets the error on the play.

41’ – Pirlo floats a beauty into the path of David Villa who chips Irwin but not enough to beat Moor from clearing it off the line for a 4-6-2 double play.

44’ – Endoh sends in another low cross that appears to be an inch too far for Giovinco’s right boot.

45’ – Johnson and Giovinco play a lovely 1-2 but Johnson can curl it around Saunders.

45+2’ – DINGER – free kick from 25 yards out has Giovinco loop a ball just over the wall and an army of Robins attack the ball hitting the ground and Perquis rounds third and scores.
BRONXCHESTER 2, ROBINS 1

Half Time Mood : not as bad as the scoreline reads. Largely due to both defences playing not very well.

Welcome to the NYC v Toronto match, those of you who forgot to set the clocks ahead. You only have a half to go.

48’ – Giovinco bullies Hernandez in his own end, bulldozing the defender and lucky not to earn a booking. #sarcasm

52’ – wasn’t sure if the ref was letting the bad tackling go or was waiting for the advantage to be lost but Bravo gets a booking and Toronto a free kick.

53’ – Giovinco free kick deflects off of a NYC defender and rolls out, so naturally it’s a goal kick. That’s two bad calls… I’m sure Vanney is going to have to come out of the dugout and speak to the umpire about this.

59’ – BULLPEN – Cheyrou comes on for Endoh

60’ – corner from Pirlo finds Brilliant’s header, stopped by Irwin.

74’ – a bit frenetic play from Toronto as Giovinco delivers a cross, trying to find Johnson but Saunders gets in the way of that.

76’ – DINGER – Giovinco collects a pass, strolls into the penalty area and slots a long shot past Saunders, clears the outfield fence.
BRONXCHESTER 2, ROBINS 2

81’ – Pirlo takes a slight nudge and goes down like he’s shot. Legend.

84’ – David Villa with a quick cross finds the head of Lopez from 6 yards out and redirects it wide.

87’ – C’mon Marky! Why all the touches? Shoot it!

88’ – BULLPEN – Osorio off for Morgan

90’ – YELLOW – Morgan for taking out someone.

3 minutes of extra time

90+1’ – Johnson off for Josh Williams

90+3’ – quick throw in from Beitashour finds Giovinco, beats a defender or two and nearly steals the match. Crazy.

Full Time : New York 2, Toronto 2

Man of the Match : baby Jesus himself, Sebastian Giovinco. He is the saviour.

Goat of the Game : ummm… Felt that those who made mistakes made up for them.

Ref Rating : 3 out of 5.  He didn’t blow many calls, but when he did, it was fantastically bad.

I Am Not The Gaffer But : I might have brought on Cheyrou earlier, but did well.

In Case You PVR’d It : watch the whole first half, and the last 20 minutes.

I feel I’m in the minority when I say this: use video replays or get more officials.  My logic is like this: we have the technology at our disposal, everyone gets upset when the call goes against them when it is clear that is the case to everyone at home, so why not help the refs?  It’s not about slowing down the game, but getting the correct calls at the correct times.  A violent elbow to the back of Beitashour’s head will likely be corrected by the Disciplinary Committee, and that’s great and fair, however an earned red card at the right time would’ve been no only fair, but correct.

Every supporter of their club can recite a blown call that turned the result and ruined a nice day out at the ground/pub.  And while moaning about officials is an acceptable part of supporters culture, it shouldn’t be necessary.  Yes, there are grey areas to be hammered out when to use video officials, but I don’t mind a delay if it means the right calls have been made.  Besides, half the time the 4th officials hold up the sign for 6 additional minutes, what’s another 1 or 2 more?  If that isn’t absurd enough.  My $0.02…

I know that Giovinco’s close calls can be exasperating after the 8th in a row.  But when he bags one on the 9th, all previous attempts are either forgotten, or glossed over believing they were closer than once initially thought. And that’s not a terrible thing… Proof that MLS doesn’t have the best interests of the sport is the opening shot of the kick off : bad sight lines and the left half of the stand is all advertising boarding, nearly no supporters close to the pitch. It’s as if they took the money then allowed for concessions while counting said money… I truly felt bad for Delgado.  He comes on last week, becomes a hero.  Puff pieces touting his pedigree start falling out of the sky, then he draws a penalty. Hopefully this doesn’t earn him the bench again… Patrick Vieira ‘fall down easy’ training is working wonders with the Sheikh’s American Playthings.  Does City has a nickname?  How about SAPs?…  Not that this game is a reason to cast doubt, but I really hope that the brain trust keeps at the Endoh/Giovinco thing.  There’s going to be a game where Captain Tsubasa will not be able to do any wrong.  And I really really REALLY hope it’s against stupid Sporting KC Wiz. 6-1 thrashing should do it.

Player Ratings : Irwin 6.5, Morrow 6.5, Moor 6, Perquis 7, Beitashour 6, Delgado 5.5, Bradley 6, Johnson 6, Osorio 6 [MorganN/A], Giovinco 7.5, Endoh 6 [Cheyrou N/A]