Wonderful unexpected treat last night, as Toronto FC staff sorted out a raft of technical problems, and managed to put up a decent webcast of their pre-season match with USL-1’s Charleston Battery.
Hard to tell much from a single friendly, of course, but a couple of things seem clear.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 1) TFC ’09 sure has a lot of ways of going forward.
It took just two minutes for an alert Amado Guevara to pounce on a Charleston misplay, and slot a perfect forward ball to Dwayne DeRosario, who tore home to score. That’s a particularly good sign given the ongoing concern over whether two established creative midfielders who always want the ball will be able to play effectively together.
And even though the Reds were a man down for more than half the game, the eternal downfield push continued. Marvell Wynne consistently overlapped of the right, effectively playing wing from the fullback position. He did that a lot last year, of course, but it is hoped some combination of Guevara and rookie Sam Cronin will take over. Cronin played – and had some nice touches – but it was still mostly Wynne rocking and rolling on the right.
Left winger Rohan Ricketts, as usual, blew hot and cold. No question, the man can advance the ball, but still he struggles to effectively create with it. Mind you, he also bagged the winning goal with a late outside curve job. Hey. That’s Rohan.
2) It ain’t gonna be dull in the centre of defence.
Adrian Serioux roamed with the ball, created runs for the midfield, and served up a terrifying centre-line to penalty-area throw-in that sounded alarms in U.S. defence radar stations up and down the eastern seaboard. He also conceded a penalty and got tossed for his second yellow card well before halftime.
Back when the Serioux-to-Toronto rumours first began – ages before the trade – I joked that if Serioux and Kevin Harmse teamed up at centre back (as they did last night, and apparently will all season), the over-under number for red-card expulsions is going to be six. Exhibition games don’t count, of course, but I stand by my story.
And even though the opponents were an undermanned USL-1 squad, the Torontos played with energy, flair, determination, grit and creativity. The newcomers looked good, and the returning players played like they don’t want to return to the MLS East basement.
Lots of fun – and kudos to the support staff for getting this game on the air.
Onward!