U-Sector – The Original Toronto FC Supporters Group

Tic Tac…

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

On a night when everyone in Montreal will be cheering for a team in red, that city’s newest major league club will be attempting to finally defeat a different one.

Toronto FC – who sources say will ditch the grey kits for its primary red – has never lost to the Montreal Impact. Many of us take great pleasure in reminding their fans of that fact.

Sure, Montreal won the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship on our turf back in 2008, but even that “victory” was actually just a draw. In fact, every other game between TFC and the Impact has resulted in a win for Toronto, a little tidbit that surely weighs heavily on the minds of Montreal’s supporters.

To be fair, TFC’s record against the Impact is probably a bit more lopsided than the actual games have been. Included in Toronto’s 4-0-1 record versus their Quebec-based rivals is a pair of 1-0 victories, the fateful 1-1 draw at BMO Field that propelled the Impact into the Champions League two years ago, the infamous 6-1 TFC win at Stade Saputo last year, and last month’s 2-0 slugfest.

Also included in those meetings is the dominance of Montreal by one Chad Barrett, who in three matches against the Impact has tallied three goals and two assists. Joey Saputo’s side seems to bring out the best in Barrett, and given the Toronto forward is coming off perhaps his finest performance in a TFC jersey against former side Chicago this past weekend, Barrett will no doubt be looked upon to help lead the Reds in a game that could see Montreal eliminated from contention.

The Impact will be without three players due to suspension, as Adam Braz, Reda Agourram and Roberto Brown will all be sidelined due to red cards in previous NCC matches. Brown is actually also on indefinite suspension from his own club after using Nick Garcia’s face as a punching bag during the tournament opener.

With a very tough road match at Los Angeles on Saturday, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of changes Preki makes to his TFC side. Fears about the Toronto coach not placing proper importance on the NCC proved unfounded, as the tournament opener saw the gaffer field a very strong lineup featuring most of his “A” squad.

Expect to see the same on display in Montreal, as Preki pushes for an early Toronto victory in this tournament. Some starters will be rested, but for the most part Toronto should have close to its strongest squad out there tomorrow night.

The math is simple for Montreal. After a defeat in their first NCC match and a draw in their second, if Montreal loses to TFC on Wednesday they are out.

Toronto will be well aware of this and must be prepared for the fact that the Impact will be fighting for their tournament lives. Montreal coach Marc dos Santos will be forced to instruct his side to push for a victory, which could work right into TFC’s hands provided they can withstand the early pressure. Nothing up to this point suggests that they cannot.

History is on Toronto’s side in this one, contrary to anything the UM02 might sing tomorrow.

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For those traveling to Montreal, please join us for pre-match bevvies at Peel Pub (1196 Rue Peel) from 5:00-6:45pm. Anyone who has ordered match tickets through me will be able to claim them there.

For those staying in Toronto, feel free to head to the Duke of Gloucester (649 Yonge St.) for the U-Sector Away Game Viewing.

Posted by Rudi Schuller