Like Baby Deer Learning To Walk
A blog for all things Canada Soccer, mostly the Men's National Team, who look a bit like baby deer learning to walk when they play internationally.
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Who Decided Watching Soccer in 6 Degree Weather Was A Good Idea?
I’m just home from the Toronto FC X FC Dallas match and I’m SO COLD. It was nice in the supporters’ end until the sun went away and then it was AWFUL.
The stadium started clearing out around the 75th minute, as it tends to when there’s so little time left and Toronto is down 2:0. Last season, it would’ve been the end. This season, however, we’re apparently a whole different team who can score 2 goals in the last 5 minutes with almost no trouble and we clawed back a point from the first place team in the west.
It was all in all a very exciting game with some questionable calls from the ref, but even that couldn’t hold Toronto back forever.
Goals for Toronto were scored by Justin Braun in the 85th minute (after replacing John Bostock in the 73rd) and Darel Russell in the 90th.
Justin Braun also picked up a late yellow in stoppage time, so it was a rather eventful game for him.
Toronto is away to Philadelphia next week; hopefully they can turn this new art of drawing they have into a win!
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I just published my first piece on the blog I'm writing for now!
Just a straightforward match report for Toronto FC vs Sporting KC.
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Goodbye and Good Luck, Torsten
To quote a friend of mine from Facebook:
Frings is the kind of DP you want. He earned every penny of his cheque taking on any task he was assigned and giving his all.
He will be most surely missed and leaves a massive gap to fill in the centre of our mid-field. Best of luck to him…and US!!!
Thanks for everything, Torsten.
Now if only you’d been able to stick around long enough for BMO Field to introduce a Harveys-style fries/onion rings combo in your honour.
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Toronto FC Cleaning House
Option Declined On Six Players
Adrian Cann among those Toronto FC released on Thursday.
The other five players: Dicoy Williams, Ty Harden, Keith Makubuya, Nicholas Lindsay and Oscar Cordon, who tweeted “thank God!” in response. Well.
Getting some fresh blood into the team can’t be a bad thing and at least one player obviously didn’t want to be there anymore anyway.
(Not that I can blame him because why would you want to be with such a hot mess of a team if someone else will take you, I mean really.)
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So Canada comfortably beat Cuba last night, 3:0 in the face of some terrible, terrible ref and some Oscar-worthy acting on the part of the Cubans.
And Panama & Honduras dew 0:0.
Which was actually the second-worse outcome for Canada, next to Honduras winning.
Because I think we can safely assume Panama is going to beat Cuba in their final group match and advance rather comfortably. Hell, even if they draw or lose (as they’re ahead of Honduras on points and ahead of Canada on goal difference, so regardless of the outcome of that match they’ll be either top or second in the group), they’re pretty much through.
But Canada needs to win or draw against Honduras to join Panama in the hex.
Whereas if Panama had just managed to beat Honduras last night, Canada would be three points ahead of Honduras right now and capable of still advancing on goal difference if they lose to Honduras.
But, oh well, Tuesday’s match will be an important (and exciting!) one!
Fun fact: Canada currently has the exact same record in their group as the US does in Group A. And should they make the Hex they will most likely be meeting Mexico (guaranteed, actually, they’re 8 points clear at the top of their group with one match to go), Costa Rica, Guatemala, USA and Panama. We know Canada can beat Panama, I think they can handle Costa Rica, the USA will be an interesting set of matches, I’m unsure about Guatemala, and there’s probably no chance of beating Mexico, so I don’t think advancing from the Hex is completely unrealistic.
We just have to get there.
