Countdown: TFC @ Deportivo Arabe Unido

[Spungi]

It was't just the coverage that was the problem on the goal. Ty Harden has to get his head on that ball. He missed it completely instaed of heading it away. Not good game from Harden and on another play he botched a back pass to the keeper which created a great chance.

There were quite a few people, on Twitter especially, questioning Harden's inclusion over Cann

[Gian-Luca]

It was't just the coverage that was the problem on the goal. Ty Harden has to get his head on that ball. He missed it completely instaed of heading it away. Not good game from Harden and on another play he botched a back pass to the keeper which created a great chance.

I thought that was The Latvian who did that......and of course their goal came off a corner that Usanov caused by his own horrible back pass. A shame as the two fullbacks played so well in the Champions league last week but were back to their old selves this week. The Latvian game me the chuckle of the game though when the foul was called in his favour at the corner flag in the end and he started to complain to the Ref about the call when he heard the whistle - because they were so used to having every single bloody call go against them! That reaction alone summed up the officiating of the game (not to mention that the flask of frog feces known as the Ref also blew the whistle to end the match right when De Guzman was about to launch the ball on a free kick into the Unido zone - nice of him to finally give us a free kick, just in time for us not to actually take it but enough to make the foul count at the end of the game not look as lopsided).

[marktci]

(not to mention that the flask of frog feces known as the Ref also blew the whistle to end the match right when De Guzman was about to launch the ball on a free kick into the Unido zone - nice of him to finally give us a free kick, just in time for us not to actually take it but enough to make the foul count at the end of the game not look as lopsided).

He also blew it right at 3 minutes. This after stopping Kocic's goal kick to see to Hscanovics who was lying on the ground after having been tripped on the Unido break. That alone cost us probably another 20 seconds.

[Cheeta]

There were quite a few people, on Twitter especially, questioning Harden's inclusion over Cann

Ho, boy. Yah think?

In fairness to Preki it's not as though he hasn't already displayed his willingness to get the irregulars playing time in cup fixtures, both the V's Cup and now CCL. However, in criticism of Mr. Preki, either he's revealing a habit of under estimating the opposition or placing a value on these these Cup matches which seems to be dismissive of the value the hard core TFC supporter attaches to them. That's my thinking.

Throwing hungry players out into a competition has it's purposes. Fair enough, but it's a difficult task assessing what you're seeing out there when the on-field chemistry gets too disrupted by the inclusion of too many new faces.

Two disclaimers in defense of what TFC were facing tonight.

1). That pitch is FIFA approved?

2). I'm reminded of my last yellow card for desent. You wouldn't know it but I'm usually pretty easy going on the refs when playing as I subscribe to the school of thought which says you can start a match without a ref but never will finish one. It's a crap job and in the big scheme of things if I've got a problem with an opponent I'm pretty certain I can find a way to see to it on the playing field, ref or no ref, but sometimes enough is enough isn't it?

"You must be joking! You must be FU'KING JOKING!"

*Tweeeeeet!*

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Number #5, Einstein...."

[BearcatSA]

It was't just the coverage that was the problem on the goal. Ty Harden has to get his head on that ball. He missed it completely instaed of heading it away. Not good game from Harden and on another play he botched a back pass to the keeper which created a great chance.

Well, the guy hasn't played in ages so I wasn't expecting a whole lot from him. I remember Usanov horribly mis-hitting a back pass that gave the DAU an excellent opportunity.

Gala did little, got subbed, and I can imagine Preki putting him back on the bench for another extended period (but like Harden, he hasn't seen much more in the way of playing time). The White/Imbrahim partnership needed Viagra because it was totally impotent. Things improved when DeRo came on for White (another guy who's running out of chances to impress the coaching staff), but went south somewhat when LaBrocca was giving his marching orders. Even a man down, I felt that the team might be able to conjure up an equalizer against what was quite frankly a pretty weak opponent. They almost did, but a great chance was cleared and Imbrahim got a second yellow for dissent and that was that.

I was hoping that Preki would have saved his final sub for a late inclusion of Mista but that was not the case.

[Admin]

Our entire federation is the puss filled rotting ass crack of the sports world.

[Soju]

Our entire federation is the puss filled rotting ass crack of the sports world.

Asia.

edit: actually you're right nm

[Joe Keeper]

I can honestly say in almost two decades as a soccer fan this game was the most disgusting I have ever seen. TFC turned in one of the most sloppy, gutless performances of the franchise's short history. Preki's substitutions made no sence... Why did Dero replace White just to be wasted playing as a wide man? Why was Mista not brought in? I would love to know Preki's thinking about tonights tactics and line up (yes I get that he was resting players too).

How Arabe Unido even qualify as a pro team I do not know. Their tactics where typical and expected but still made me want to wretch. And then there is the "refereeing?" crew... How anyone can actually be so stupid as to buy the crap Arabe Unido where spewing is beyond me... TFC atleast will see better days, but how can CONCACAF expect this tripe to be called a "champions league," when your officials and certain representative national teams and clubs conduct themselves like farcical as$holes and worse, get away with such unbelievable bulls@it in their alleged show piece tournaments? Any other confederation in the world would bring this game under official review. Get your heads out of your A$$es CONCACAF. If things dont change the rest of the world is going to leave your sad little crooked, penny ante puppet show behind and fast.

End Rant........

[Grizzly]

I think TFC fans should be directing their anger at Preki. Bad reffing and diving central American teams are no surprise in CONCACAF and part of being a good coach is preparing the team even for unknown variables. These are known variables so the team should have been prepared for it and the way to counter bad refs and cheating opponents is to play with your best players and dominate the game. If you field a B lineup for a game like this I don't think you deserve much sympathy. Also while the second red card was a sham it occured with very little time left in the game. The first red card resulted from a stupid challenge in which the keeper was kneed in the face by LeBrocca. Some refs might have only issued a yellow because it was unintentional and the keeper milked it but a keeper getting kneed in the face is a legitimate straight red card.

I really find it hard to understand why after upsetting an opponent that they were not supposed to beat and getting a surprise 3 points, TFC goes into a game against the weakest team in the group and starts a B lineup. Champion's League is as important as the league and making the quarter finals would be as big an accomplishment as making the MLS playoffs. Additionally, the team just got its ass kicked in a league match and I think a good coach would be more concerned with getting a win to instill confidence back in the team than with resting players. If TFC had won tonight as they should have done, they would have been in the driver's seat for this group with 6 points. They would probably qualify for the next round with an initial 6 points if they didn't completely tank the last games and could afford to tie a lot of the following games. Instead they are right back in the mix forced to get victories against the two better teams in the group like they would have been had they lost to Cruz Azul and beat Aribe Unido as expected.

[dyslexic nam]

The reffing did suck. Their diving was terrible. But all of that was expected. What wasn't expected was Preki's line-up. This was the best chance at grabbing 3 pts on the road in our group, and after the great game against CA, we could have been in a position where a win would have put us through with just a couple of positive results at home. How could Preki not be aware of the kind of hype and excitement that L'Impact made during their great CCL run? How could he devalue that kind of experience by fielding pretty much a B squad? It is obvious that the hardcore, soccer savvy fans have a lot of interest in this competition. Yes we want TFC to make the playoffs, but mny many of us also want to see TFC do well in the CCL.

I get that Preki would want to rest some players and make use of squad rotation during this competition. What I don't get is why you would choose last night - during your most winnable away group game - to do it. I would rather see a B squad square off against RSL - with the right set of results in the lead up to that game (like a win last night), the result of that game could have been somewhat less important. Or going down to Mexico to face CA on their home pitch - maybe concede that one by choosing a weak line-up. But to do it last night was just a mistake - plain and simple.

[Oldtimer]

It's pretty obvious that Preki is putting league play ahead of CCL play.

That being said, if TFC wins the 3 home matches, and Cruz Azul, as expected, gets 6 points against the other 2 teams, TFC has a good chance of progressing.

[Gian-Luca]

The first red card resulted from a stupid challenge in which the keeper was kneed in the face by LeBrocca. Some refs might have only issued a yellow because it was unintentional and the keeper milked it but a keeper getting kneed in the face is a legitimate straight red card.

There's a huge differece between a keeper's head colliding with a player's knee in a 50/50 goalmouth scramble and a keeper getting "kneed in the face" which makes it sound like La Brocca intended to injure. The latter would be a definite straight red, but the former is debatable whether it was even a foul - and it is the former that happened, not the latter.

And TFC fans are annoyed with Preki's line-up choices - we can be annoyed at that and the inept officiating at the same time.

[loyola]

I'm surprise no one mentionned the tackle on Nana after their goal. I thought it should've been a straight red.

[Keano]

I think TFC fans should be directing their anger at Preki. Bad reffing and diving central American teams are no surprise in CONCACAF and part of being a good coach is preparing the team even for unknown variables. These are known variables so the team should have been prepared for it and the way to counter bad refs and cheating opponents is to play with your best players and dominate the game. If you field a B lineup for a game like this I don't think you deserve much sympathy. Also while the second red card was a sham it occured with very little time left in the game. The first red card resulted from a stupid challenge in which the keeper was kneed in the face by LeBrocca. Some refs might have only issued a yellow because it was unintentional and the keeper milked it but a keeper getting kneed in the face is a legitimate straight red card.

I really find it hard to understand why after upsetting an opponent that they were not supposed to beat and getting a surprise 3 points, TFC goes into a game against the weakest team in the group and starts a B lineup. Champion's League is as important as the league and making the quarter finals would be as big an accomplishment as making the MLS playoffs. Additionally, the team just got its ass kicked in a league match and I think a good coach would be more concerned with getting a win to instill confidence back in the team than with resting players. If TFC had won tonight as they should have done, they would have been in the driver's seat for this group with 6 points. They would probably qualify for the next round with an initial 6 points if they didn't completely tank the last games and could afford to tie a lot of the following games. Instead they are right back in the mix forced to get victories against the two better teams in the group like they would have been had they lost to Cruz Azul and beat Aribe Unido as expected.

This. I was shocked they wouldn't want to grab the points and field a full squad. IMO even the worst reffing and cheating wouldn't have saved Arabe from a full TFC squad.

[jonovision]

The reffing of this game was probably the biggest crime. The second biggest crime (a close second) was that a Panamian team with little depth was missing both of its central defenders on red card suspensions, yet their defense was rarely put under any real pressure. This has a lot to do with lineup choices, including starting a striker pairing of White and Ibrahim, who have a shocking 7 goals in 50 appearances combined.

[BearcatSA]

I'm surprise no one mentionned the tackle on Nana after their goal. I thought it should've been a straight red.

That was a wicked challenge, and a good point.

Even before that play both TFC CBs in particular struggled with their first touch on the bouncy surface and lacked comfort on the ball IMO, hence a lot of back passes or forward hoofs to a DAU player or touch.

[Gian-Luca]

Predictably officiating is the main topic of the post-game discussion:

http://torontofc.neulion.com/tfc/

with De Ro the only one to also indicate that the team needs to play better as well. Naturally there is no discussion from the players criticizing Preki's line-up choices, presumably because they want to keep their jobs.

[Gian-Luca]

I'm surprise no one mentionned the tackle on Nana after their goal. I thought it should've been a straight red.

True it was much more of a case for a red than anything done by any TFC players on the night, but there were so many bad calls it is very tough to keep track of them all by the end of the game.

[killgod]

I do say I hope the boys remember this match when we're at the final game of this stage in October. Anything short of a 4 goal drubbing will be disapointting, provided we get a fair ref crew for the match.

Certainly going to make it hard for the growing sport to succeed when even a casual viewer of the sport can see the obvious imbalance in fair play.

FIFA: Our Game is Fair Play....except in CONCACAF. Wonder if I'll be allowed to put that on a sign @ BMO?

[BearcatSA]

^In the first half I wasn't sure what the call on LaBrocca was when he was challenging/containing (yet hardly touching) the shielding DAU player in possession. His response to the RA for his foul call was definitely picked up by the field microphone!

[loyola]

^In the first half I wasn't sure what the call on LaBrocca was when he was challenging/containing (yet hardly touching) the shielding DAU player in possession. His response to the RA for his foul call was definitely picked up by the field microphone!

Yup, I got that one! I'm considering writting a complain letter to GOLTV for letting this happen

[Gian-Luca]

^In the first half I wasn't sure what the call on LaBrocca was when he was challenging/containing (yet hardly touching) the shielding DAU player in possession. His response to the RA for his foul call was definitely picked up by the field microphone!

I believe it was because he breathed on the player. They don't allow that in Panama - in fact it is grounds for a straight red.

[RS]

Hello. Thank You.

^My blog on last night's proceedings.

[BearcatSA]

^A very enjoyable read, Rudi!

[Grizzly]

There's a huge differece between a keeper's head colliding with a player's knee in a 50/50 goalmouth scramble and a keeper getting "kneed in the face" which makes it sound like La Brocca intended to injure. The latter would be a definite straight red, but the former is debatable whether it was even a foul - and it is the former that happened, not the latter.

You are describing half of all fouls. Most two footed slides are not intents to injure but reckless, careless attempts to get the ball. They still get carded nevertheless. La Brocca's foul was also a reckless careless attempt to get the ball and he was rightly carded for it and would have been by a good ref as well. I am not defending the ref in general, I didn't see all the game but he was bad in the parts I watched. He didn't make the wrong decision on La Brocca though.

I do agree though that the poor/unfair reffing in CONCACAF is a travesty but also something that Preki should have expected. The way to overcome this is to be better than your opponent and you do not do this by fielding a B team. It is no different for the MNT. In next WCQ we do not have to be as good as teams like Costa Rica and Honduras but better than them. That is why we need a good coach who picks the top players. The last two WCQ we had a guy (Yallop) who didn't pick the best players and a guy (Mitchell) who picked the best players but couldn't coach them and that is why both WCQ runs were so poor and why poor reffing hurt us so much. Next WCQ we need someone who picks the best players, can coach them properly and choose the needed tactics. Hopefully we have already found that coach in Hart but the jury is still out.