TFC vs. Columbus (R) March 28th

[Gian-Luca]

This game is on tape-delay on Gol TV but has just finished its webcast on the TFC site. If you are watching the game as though it were live on Gol TV, turn away now!

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TFC escape with a 1-1 draw. Frankly they were lucky to get the draw creating very few chances and the goal coming late on an own-goal header off a DeRo free kick (which the on-line feed missed live). Sutton came on for the 2nd half as Frei got injured making a great save & Sutton made a number of excellent stops to keep TFC with a shout.

On the other hand Columbus' goal came in the first half on a somewhat harsh hand-ball call on Kevin Harmse who was trying to get out of the way of the ball when it struck him - although this play is a good reminder why defenders should keep their arms down in the box as you never know when a Ref (especially at a home match) will decided to be a prick.

I don't know if its a knee injury slowing him down but I thought Vitti (in his debut) looked really slow for a striker, which is somewhat worrying. Rohan Ricketts had a poor game and so did his replacement in the 2nd half, Johann Smith. On the other wing Cronin was perhaps guilty of giving the ball away to set up most of Columbus' chances (at least I thought it was him - not always easy to tell with on-line feeds). While its nice for TFC to have depth in goal with 3 keepers, I'm still not sold on their winger situation, particularly if DeRo doesn't play there. CB on the hand has been ok so far with Velez stepping in today (Harmse moved into Robinson's spots) with only two-heart attack moments in this game (much lower than his average per game last year) and Nana waiting in the wings. I can't recall if we have any roster spots still open but if not, I'd be looking to move Edwards (who I can't see getting any playing time ahead of Frei or Sutton unless they are both injured) and shoring up the winger position.

[michaeltfc91]

Theres only 1 Greg Sutton!

Move over Stefan Frei and let Sutton do the job. I have always believed in Sutton if you look at some of my old posts and I am telling you he is the best keeper in MLS. He saved our skin in the first 25 mins of the second half and after Dichio came on, it was all out TFC. Good draw, and now we're top of the league, for about 2 hours!

Frei 6

Wynne 7.5

Velez 7

Serioux 7

Brennan 6.5

Cronin 7.5

Ricketts 3

Harmse 7

De Rosario 8

Vitti 8

Barrett 4

Dichio 7

Sutton 10

Smith 5.5

[Portuguese Sensation]

Nice start to the season for TFC... 1-0-1 can't complain about that! Here's hopin the boys can make a run at a playoff spot this year cuz the fans deserve it!

[tmcmurph]

4 out of 6 points on the road to start the season! Looking good boys, looking real good. Last week on a tiny field this week without several starters. They are finding ways to get points on the road.

Sutton gets man of the match IMHO. Vitti looked very good and I was surprised by the TV announcers saying DD would sub in for him. I was certain Barrett would be the one going out.

A bit of bad luck on the hand ball call (marginal) and then good luck on the own goal to equalize.

Well done game overall. I think TFC can go at it with anyone this year. Both Harmse and Serioux have now gone 2 games without even a yellow card. Well done and good discipline.

[Tuscan]

I wasn't all that impressed with the match today. Neither side seemed overly competent on offense, with Columbus getting most of their chances on foolish give-aways by Cronin and (sadly) Serioux. Hopefully the home opening next weekend will be a better showing by the boys.

Vitti did look rather slow today, but there were moments where he was an inch away from breaking in (a couple chances where he was stripped, and the through-ball DeRo JUST about fed him). I really look forward to what he can do for TFC this season.

Goddamn do I hate Schelotto...

[VPjr]

That match looked a lot like last year (plenty of poor decisions while defending, very little offensive possessions, keeper(s) having to keep us in the game with miracle saves, etc...) but the difference is that somehow TFC managed a draw rather than a 2-0 or 3-0 defeat, which is what they probably deserved.

Frei - was generally outstanding while he was in the game. Made a world class save on the play where he ultimately got hurt. He is a very mature young keeper and an excellent distributor of the ball. If he is healthy, I still would start him next week. Rating: 8

Wynne - Marvell played much better this week, more involved, especially offensively. However, until he improves his dribbling and his crossing, he'll always be a somewhat limited player...nonetheless, he was an important player for TFC on Saturday. Rating: 6.5

Velez - I can't say he played well but he wasn't as bad as he's been in the past. Very indecisive at times and he failed to close down Eddie Gavin on that 25 yard blast that smashed off the far post. His throw ins were pretty good...didn't know he could do that...however, I would have preferred him in the 18 yard box on those long throw ins because he's bigger than Serioux and might have done a better job occupying Chad Marshall's attention. Overall, I'm still not comfortable with him getting regular playing time. Rating: 5

Serioux - Overall, not bad but definitely not as solid as game 1. Made a couple of bad decisions that could have cost a goal. Totally misread the bounce on a ball that allowed Garey (Columbus #9) to go in all alone on Sutton, who made a nice save. I like his willingness to dribble out of the back rather than simply bombing balls forward. Rating: 6

Brennan - clearly, Columbus believes that Brennan and Velez are the weak side of the TFC Defense because most of their offensive efforts were directed to their side of the field. IMO, Brennan doesn't close down fast enough or effectively enough and, when matched against better talent (Schelotto and Gaven), he gets exposed. Didn't do much of anything offensively this week. Rating: 4.5

Cronin - Slow closing down his mark for most of the 1st half, terrible giveaways in the 2nd half. it struck me that, at times, his teammates seemed to lose confidence in him and kept the ball away from him. He has potential to be a good player and its tough to be too harsh on a rookie in only his 2nd game of the season playing the defending champs away but he was very weak on Saturday, a liability in fact. Rating: 4

Ricketts - Did nothing. Couldn't retain possession, made few if any good passes. didn't pressure hard enough or track back enough. Should have been pulled at HT. Too bad that they are so thin on the wing. As much as TFC needs a CB, they might need a wing player more. Ricketts better get it turned around because, at 200K/season, he needs to contribute more. Rating: 3

Harmse - unfortunate PK call against him, although as GL rightly points out, defenders need to keep the arms down. Overall, an ok performance. Schelotto made him look bad a couple of times but he does that to most guys who mark him. again, a bit slow closing down his mark but showed good hustle. His weak dsitribution is a hindrance (he's actually worse than Robbo) Rating: 5.5

De Rosario - Worked very hard but not very effectively. Nice, well placed free kick fortunately resulted TFC's only goal. Had a few good chances to put balls on net but launched moon shots into outer space. He MUST do better on those opportunities. Overall, a pretty good performance but he certainly missed having Guevara around. When Amado returns, I'd like to see him start up front, just behind Vitti. Rating: 6.5

Vitti - Best player on the field for TFC in my mind, after the 2 keepers. He has more pure skill than anyone on the team. He just doesn't know any of their tendencies and probably isn't playing as close to the net as he needs to in order to be effective. very comfortable with the ball at his foot. Put a nice shot on goal in the first half by...gasp...dribbling into an attacking area and taking a shot. needs to get in better shape. Doesn't look match fit and I agree, did look a bit sluggish at times. I'm confident he'll be a big piece of the puzzle, assuming Carver knows how to deploy him properly. Rating: 7

Barrett - garbage. wooden. completely ineffective. nothing more to say. rating: 3

Subs:

Dichio - How Carver didn't see fit to put Danny in earlier (with at least 30 minutes to go), I don't know. Barrett did nothing and Marshall was having a field day containing any high balls in the offensive area. Once Danny entered the fray, Marshall couldn't feast on easy prey anymore. DD held up the ball well and laid off a few nice balls that no one did anything with. He might be on his last legs but he still has something to offer and Carver needs to deploy more intelligently, especially when TFC is trailing. Rating: 7.5

Sutton - Can't say anything bad. He came in under difficult circumstances and made good saves and read plays very well. I'd still start Frei next week but if he falters, Sutton is not a step down, just a step sideways. Rating: 9.5

Smith - this guy simply doesn't have the ability to break anyone down 1v1 unless he flicks a ball past a defender and outruns his mark. As Devos rightly noted on the broadcast, Smith is very lacking when it comes to thinking the game. Put in 1 or 2 decent crosses in but otherwise, didn't bring much. Rating: 5

[ag futbol]

Overall i'd say that I'm happy with the point, although I thought we were lucky to get it. Plus we didn't drop one game on the road to start the season.

Major issues i saw: a lot of long ball and too many crosses into the box (side affect of stagnant wing play). Unless Dichio was on the field, they are superior in the air to us, so i don't see why we would approach the game that way because it didn't play to the strengths of the guys on the field.

Cronin and Harmse gave away the ball a few times in some critical areas. Hopefully they continue to hold the ball but have a little more awareness of where they are. It will be nice to have Guevara back because he holds up the ball incredibly well and teams can't focus on him / dero singularly.

Smith, Ricketts, and Barrett all played poorly. I'm hoping they turn it around, but Carver must be pretty close to thinking about swapping Cronin for Ricketts and Dichio for Barrett.

[Keegan]

quote:Originally posted by ag futbol

Overall i'd say that I'm happy with the point, although I thought we were lucky to get it. Plus we didn't drop one game on the road to start the season.

Major issues i saw: a lot of long ball and too many crosses into the box (side affect of stagnant wing play). Unless Dichio was on the field, they are superior in the air to us, so i don't see why we would approach the game that way because it didn't play to the strengths of the guys on the field.

Cronin and Harmse gave away the ball a few times in some critical areas. Hopefully they continue to hold the ball but have a little more awareness of where they are. It will be nice to have Guevara back because he holds up the ball incredibly well and teams can't focus on him / dero singularly.

Smith, Ricketts, and Barrett all played poorly. I'm hoping they turn it around, but Carver must be pretty close to thinking about swapping Cronin for Ricketts and Dichio for Barrett.

Dichio shouldn't start. We need him for later in games. Bring him in at the 50th minute, hell even half time but don't start him. He is a game changer as a substitute not as a starter, he is good for changing the pace.

I'd like to see Vitti start up front with De Rosario in the hole. Guevara out left and Ricketts on the right. Robinson and Cronin as defensive mids. Same back four. Sutton in goal.

This formation helps out our weakness... defense. With two defensive mids back to help out the backline and then have De Rosario connect everything, after all he is the center piece of the team.

Barrett just isn't very good. Last year I was really not that impressed with him, he finished his chances something he had never done in his career... now it looks like he is back to his old ways of missing sitters. In open play he just isn't very good but he was given a pass because he scored. So what now? Bench.

[ag futbol]

Guevara needs to play in the centre because he's the best distributor / holder of the ball we have on the team. It makes no sense to play him in on the wing.

You put Cronin and Robinson in the centre and this team is going to be playing channel football when it could be using the whole field.

[BearcatSA]

Finally got to watch the match. The team was lucky to get the point, however: it was a pretty mediocre performance overall, though I think Vitti is one to watch as he gets healthier and more settled. DeRo had a good two-way effort in the first half but as already mentioned his shooting was way off: too many giraffe's asses (high and sh*tty). TFC gifted some great opportunities off turnovers (Harmse to Exbo, Cronin for Gavan, Serioux for Garey) but the team dodged the bullets, thanks to Frei and Sutton. The next feature on "Rollin' with Ricketts" should have Rohan sitting on the bench interviewing Barrett during the 90 minutes of the home opener vs Seattle. I felt there was a significant fall off in midfield with the absence of Guevara and Robinson but we'll see how it looks next week.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

Cronin - Slow closing down his mark for most of the 1st half, terrible giveaways in the 2nd half. it struck me that, at times, his teammates seemed to lose confidence in him and kept the ball away from him. He has potential to be a good player and its tough to be too harsh on a rookie in only his 2nd game of the season playing the defending champs away but he was very weak on Saturday, a liability in fact. Rating: 4

I agree with most of your player ratings. I thought this one was particularly perceptive. I get the feeling that he would have benefitted from Robinson's leadership in the midfield, giving him some more direction. Like you say, he's a young player but he seemed to be drifting out of the match, and I think a more assertive midfield leader may have snapped him back into the game.

Harmse: generally, that's the same old stuff I have seen in the past from his midfield play. Though he got more of the ball as the match progressed, he's never involved enough in the passing game for my liking. With Robinson back for the next match, Harmse needs to continue to prove to JC and MoJo that he's the man to partner Serioux at CB for the rest of this season and not just be a stopgap option until the transfer window opens.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

Smith - this guy simply doesn't have the ability to break anyone down 1v1 unless he flicks a ball past a defender and outruns his mark. As Devos rightly noted on the broadcast, Smith is very lacking when it comes to thinking the game....

Think that was obvious late last season so I really don't understand why people here and elsewhere were so keen to see him in a sub's role against the Wizard and as a starter against the Crew. Out of curiosity does anyone disagree with the assessment above and if so why?

I managed to predict the starting lineup correctly for the Crew game:-

http://www.canadian-soccer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19032

but would be far from confident on doing so next time around as I think there are three major issues now for John Carver.

(i) Frei vs Sutton - Frei didn't do too much wrong beyond getting caught in no man's land a bit on one corner. Sutton played a very strong half. If the decision were purely on winning 3 points against Seattle you probably go with Sutton but if you take the longer view that you need to let Frei go through the learning curve so you wind up with a superior keeper in the second half of the season you go with Frei. I suspect he'll risk going with Frei but I wouldn't be willing to bet too much money on it.

(ii) Harmse vs Velez - A new centre half is needed as these guys should only be cover in MLS terms. On the goal conceded most people will only remember that it was Harmse who got called for hand ball (somewhat unluckily but at best it was clumsy to have his arm out like that hence the call). People who know the game inside out will probably also have noticed that Velez gave up the throw in in the final third immediately prior to that very softly to set up the pressure situation. Both make bad mistakes every game like that, which is why a new centre half is needed, but the worst blunder against the Crew was probably Harmse's (90% sure it was him) crazy gentle pass square at the top of the box in the first half that led to the save Frei appeared to injure himself on. It probably all boils down to who forms a better partnership with Serioux. On balance I would say that is Velez but again wouldn't be willing to bet too much money on it and would greatly prefer to see a new arrival.

(iii) who to drop in midfield and up front with the return of Guevara and Robinson - Barrett obviously is struggling a bit as his confidence took a knock with those first half misses against the Wizards, while Ricketts has been less than stellar so far on the left. Many people will say one of those two should be dropped. Think that would be a mistake, personally. Cronin is not doing anything terrible and makes the occasional good pass but he looks slightly out of his depth and is prone to ball watching at times. Think now he has had a taste of the action it is time for him to sit for a bit. Ricketts should be moved back to the right to see if he does better playing his natural wing, Guevara should play the #10 role with DeRosario on the left where he did so much damage against the Wizards' three in the second half in the first game. There is no point pushing the panic button on Barrett after just two games. Quite confident on this one.

So overall:-

----------------------Frei/Sutton*

Wynne-----------Serioux-------Velez------------Brennan

-----------------------Robinson

Ricketts--------------------------------------DeRosario

-----------------------Guevara

-----------------Barrett-------Vitti

* - if Frei fully recovered he starts, if not Sutton.

[Gian-Luca]

I suspect Carver will probably stick with Harmse at CB. He (along with nearly everyone of his teammates) made some blunders as mentioned against Columbus but his performance at CB against KC was better than Velez against Columbus and that should probably count the most. Velez' inability to deal with pressure situations well is something I suspect will have given Carver nightmares. It wasn't just giving away the throw that was the problem, there were two other times when he had all day to deal with a clearance but didn't. On the one hand he made an obviously injured Frei race all the way outside his own 18 yard box just to hoof the ball away when Velez could have done that & then had the same problem late in the game and almost headed the ball past Sutton into his own goal. I suppose the good news is that last year those mistakes would have ended up in the back of the net - this year we seem to be able to get away with them.

[BearcatSA]

I think that both Harmse and Velez have gaps in their game which makes neither of them the long term answer at CB. I'd be surprised if we didn't see a new face in there by the second half of the season, but you never know.

[Gian-Luca]

I meant stick with him for the next game given the available personnel. When Nana becomes healthy or they upgrade their personnel back there then there may indeed be a change.

Although I still think the wing position is the one which arguably needs the most upgrading. Whatever we think of Velez at CB & Harmse as a d-mid, Carver preferred to use those two in those positions than to stick Cronin in his natural position as D-Mid and keep him out of position on the right because he appears to have no confidence in anyone else for that spot. Maybe they could put Ricketts back on the right & De Ro on the left with Vitti up front with Barrett - but they still seem short of reliable options, and Ricketts stinking up the joint this season so far isn't helping much.

[john tv]

I READ IN THE SUN THAT THERE WAS SOME FIGHTING BETWEEN OUR RESPECTIVE FANS. ANY COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS?

THIS HAS TO STOP IF WE WANT TO OBTAIN THE STATUS OF A MAIN SPORT. THIS IS GOING TO STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING, THE MEDIA WILL USE THIS BIG TIME.

[Loud Mouth Soup]

John. No need to yell.

[Pawel]

quote:Originally posted by john tv

I READ IN THE SUN THAT THERE WAS SOME FIGHTING BETWEEN OUR RESPECTIVE FANS. ANY COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS?

THIS HAS TO STOP IF WE WANT TO OBTAIN THE STATUS OF A MAIN SPORT. THIS IS GOING TO STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING, THE MEDIA WILL USE THIS BIG TIME.

NFL has fans fighting....they seem pretty big time to me....

[superbrad]

I gotta tell you - I watched this game on GOLTV....Wow, the TFC fans are incredible. 2 -3 sections of red, outchanting the Crew fans (DeRosario song was fricken LOUD). Very impressive. I suggest the momentum will keep rolling. Too bad BMO didn't seat 40K.

PS. At some point in the distant future I will have to hate this team...however, for now I'm going to catch as many games as possible and maybe try to attend a few. Any west NorthAmerican games?

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I meant stick with him for the next game given the available personnel. When Nana becomes healthy or they upgrade their personnel back there then there may indeed be a change.

Although I still think the wing position is the one which arguably needs the most upgrading. Whatever we think of Velez at CB & Harmse as a d-mid, Carver preferred to use those two in those positions than to stick Cronin in his natural position as D-Mid and keep him out of position on the right because he appears to have no confidence in anyone else for that spot. Maybe they could put Ricketts back on the right & De Ro on the left with Vitti up front with Barrett - but they still seem short of reliable options, and Ricketts stinking up the joint this season so far isn't helping much.

As I think back to the latter stages of last season, JC was using Hunter Freeman (primarily a defensive player) in the RM spot, one of his responsibilities being to hold the fort when Wynne did his Daniel Alves routine, so perhaps he's grooming Cronin for this role in the shorter term, my (wild) guess. As much as Ricketts is out of form I still like the potential of DeRo, Guevara, and Vitti in a primarily central location so I'd rather not see either DeRo or Guevara be somewhat tactically hindered by being pushed to the perimeter on a regular basis. I'm curious to see how the personnel problems with the wings plays out during the next two games.

[adma]

First off I think Sutton was clearly man of the match. I agree we were nothing spectacular out there and were lucky enough but deservedly so to equalize late in the match and sutton kept the ball out of our net, no mistakes from him in my opinion and did great to come on with that confidence.

Ya ok so maybe Vitti wasn't as quick as some had hoped and was stripped of the ball a few times but he clearly played a lot better than Barrett (who didn't connect on any scoring opportunities) and is a team player,

Ricketts was absolute **** seemed like he didn't care. smith i don't think i even saw on the pitch but Dichio was solid as always all hail. Cronin making bad rookie mistakes which could have easily led to a goal. Velez did make some odd decisions but i don't think we can lay the blame on him for the breakdowns in defence, they need to go out and spend on a CB

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by Pawel

NFL has fans fighting....they seem pretty big time to me....

Right, but I think what JohnTV means is that when it happens at a soccer match the hooligan stereotype will be applied immediately, and it could become harmful to the development of the sport in North America.

Of course the hooligan/ultra thing is actually a European and latin American culture thing and not a soccer thing, but journalists will be unlikely to point that fact out.

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by Pawel

NFL has fans fighting....they seem pretty big time to me....

Right, but I think what JohnTV means is that when it happens at a soccer match the hooligan stereotype will be applied immediately, and it could become harmful to the development of the sport in North America.

Of course the hooligan/ultra thing is actually a European and latin American culture thing and not a soccer thing, but journalists will be unlikely to point that fact out.

[Pawel]

quote:Originally posted by amacpher

Right, but I think what JohnTV means is that when it happens at a soccer match the hooligan stereotype will be applied immediately, and it could become harmful to the development of the sport in North America.

Of course the hooligan/ultra thing is actually a European and latin American culture thing and not a soccer thing, but journalists will be unlikely to point that fact out.

Easier to educate the media on hooliganism then it is to prevent drunken fans fighting.

[john tv]

Thanks Ami,I did not think an explenation was needed,but just in case.That media is waiting for any wrongs and they will as they have in the past use it to simply scare people in making them believe that soccer is a violent sport,people get killed and foreign taboot.

I have spoken to my guys who were involved in some of that stuff and all of them are outstanding citicens but things happen.

It happens in all sports in N.A but soccer has that stigma and always seem to make those nasty headlines. There are many examples of those that fight in football,basketbal,hockey and baseball games,but don't get these headlines or even a mention.

Yes I am very scared that history may repaet itself and I may very well be to overcautious,but it has been such a fight to see the current success and just hate as heck to see that blamish again. So guys just review this and if you feel that something can be done to avoid this please do. Not yet are we ready for this excitement and I hope we never will be.

To educate that media is the last thing we should consider,they are on the side of the NA major sports and will do and write anything to keep it a NA sport.With soccer not being one of them and in defense of these sports will attack soccer anyway they can.Remember the article in the Wall Street journal last week.This is what we are up against and do you think that this popularity by soccer will be accepted by these other sports and don't you think that any negative article is right up their alley.The gloves are coming of and you will see things happen.