Saturday, August 13, 2011. 7:00pm EDT.

BMO Field. Toronto, ON.

U-Sector Pre-Game: Maro

Real Salt Lake are clearly a bit lost as a team right now, and coming off a mid-week game they may be ripe for the picking. Of course, this being TFC on the road, the best we can hope for is a well-earned draw or a blowout loss.

Go Reds!

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Real Salt Lake v. Toronto FC

Saturday, June 25, 2011. 9:00pm EDT.

RioTinto Stadium. Sandy, UT.

U-Sector Away Game Viewing: Duke of Gloucester (649 Yonge St.)

Stolen from KenFrom225

These guys again?

Tonight, TFC hosts Real Salt Lake for the second time in 30 days, the third match between the two clubs in that same span. Depending on how the game goes, it could be the last meaningful match at BMO Field for the remainder of 2010.

Should Toronto win, hope of advancing in the Champions League remains alive. A loss or a draw wouldn’t completely kill The Reds’ chances at moving on to the knockout rounds, but like their playoff hopes, it’d be all but impossible.

Of course, all that stands in the way is arguably the best team in MLS, a side that hasn’t lost to TFC is the three previous meeting this year. More importantly, RSL is looking to wrap up their own qualification into the next round as earlier as possible, even going so far to rest a large number of regulars in their weekend MLS match with arch-rival Colorado.

So Toronto will be facing a powerful, experienced, and highly motivated opponent tonight in a do-or-die game at home, in the midst of a streak in which BMO Field has shown to be anything but the fortress it was for a good 14 months ending in August. And on top of that, the stadium by the  lake shore will be lucky to be 3/4 full, what with the disappearing act of the crowds in recent weeks and a less-than-stellar weather forecast looming.

To hell with it, it’s time to throw caution to the wind. If they want to even consider winning this match, TFC needs to play with purpose and focus. No holding back, no trying to play defensively and hope for an RSL mistake to squeeze out a victory.

Sure, our TFC is overmatched and would be foolish to throw numbers forward against a side that has shown that it can punish mistakes, but at this point in the season, what more can the team really lose?

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Dwayne De Rosario and Jamison Olave at BMO Field, Aug. 28, 2010. (Scotty / TFCpics.com)

No one ever said it was going to be easy.

Toronto FC’s new era got off to a rocky start, with the side losing 4-1 at Real Salt Lake in a match that puts serious doubt in TFC’s Champions League hopes.

The scoreline was somehow flattering to both the visitors and the hosts, as the game took on a number of vastly different forms over the 90 minutes.

Toronto opened the game on the front foot, with O’Brian White collecting an awful back pass from RSL defender Nat Borchers at the eighth minute and sliding it over to an onrushing Maicon Santos, with the Brazilian coolly slotting the ball into the wide open net.

The Reds continued the early pressure and should have had at least one more goal within the opening 25 minutes, if not for a lack of finishing from White on a couple of occasions and a clear handball in the box by an RSL defender missed by the referee.

Anyone watching could just feel that those missed opportunities would come back to haunt TFC, and indeed Salt Lake started to claw back with a goal on a set piece, Toronto’s Achilles heel this year. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman was left all alone in the box on a corner kick and easily nodded the ball into TFC’s net, the umpteenth goal given up by the Reds on a set piece this season.

RSL then proceeded to score another on a set piece, this time with half their team in an offside position. Despite being up 2-1 at the break, it still felt like RSL could be had for at least a point. Alas, this is TFC, so what happens in the first half isn’t always going to happen in the second.

Toronto fell apart in the final 45 minutes, the proverbial “nail in the coffin” coming in the 66th minute when Mista — who had just entered into the game six minutes previous — was ejected for what one can only assume was violent contact on Beckerman.

Not that we got a good look at it, but from the brief, wide angle glimpse it can be surmised that the Spanish DP kicked out at the Salt Lake captain, who then proceeded to make a meal of it. The referee was no more than 10 feet away at the time, and he immediately reached for the red card. Mista didn’t even argue the call, instead heading straight for the dressing room, so perhaps he felt that the punishment was justified.

Either way, it was the tipping point for a tired side that has been through an emotional rollercoaster for the past few weeks, facing an opponent that had no qualms about taking advantage of a weakened opponent.

Two goals later, and the game was a blowout, adding to RSL’s impressive home undefeated streak, and lengthening Toronto FC’s misery by at least one more match.

The Reds have no time to dwell on the result, they are on a plane to Houston tomorrow for a weekend tilt versus the slumping Dynamo. One would expect to see some more change — both personnel-wise and tactically — as Nick Dasovic looks to find any hope of salvaging a season that has all but slipped away.

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Pros and Cons from the CONCACAF Champions League match played between Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake on September 15, 2010:

PROS

• The first 20 minutes was some of the most positive football played by TFC in weeks.
• Maicon Santos continues to impress.
• Jacob Peterson sent in more crosses in the first half than he has all season. More of that, please.
• Newly-signed Academy grad Nicholas Lindsay looking composed and willing to go forward.
• Chad Barrett got some decent minutes in.

CONS

• Mista. WTF?
• More wonderful officiating from CONCACAF referees.
• Terrible set piece marking. Again.
• Nick Garcia got torched on the left side all night long.
• Dwayne De Rosario is clearly drained from playing 90 minutes every third or fourth day. His worst game this year.
• O’Brian White can’t finish. At all.
• Kyle Beckerman. Huge douche, or the hugest douche?

HIGHLIGHTS

Posted by Rudi Schuller

TFC's De Guzman and Gargan fight for possession with RSL's Morales at BMO Field, Aug. 28, 2010. (Scotty / TFCpics.com)

So TFC v4.0 has been upgraded to TFC v4.01.

Out is Preki, who managed to wear out his Toronto welcome in record time. Also out is Director of Soccer Mo Johnston, who, while much more personable than his coach, probably should have been gone a long time ago.

(Back) in is Nick Dasovic, the loyal assistant coach-turned-interim gaffer who seemed to be on his way out as recently as this past weekend. Things changed, of course, when TFC played arguably its worst home game in franchise history in losing to lowly DC United on Saturday.

Julius James’ 80th minute dagger was the final nail in the coffin of the two most senior soccer men in the organization, leaving The Reds once again in the hands of temporary caretakers promoted from within.

There are many places where you can read post-mortems on Preki’s and MoJo’s TFC careers. There’s plenty of conjecture out there about what this latest overhaul means to a franchise that is showing cracks in the previously infallible armour of constant sell-outs and fan goodwill.

This will not be one of those pieces, because there is a game tonight and a season that is still somewhat (albeit improbably) salvageable.

First off is TFC’s Champions League visit to Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake has become, since squeaking into the MLS playoffs last year en route to its first ever championship, a juggernaut. The Utah side hasn’t lost at home for nearly two years. It took Mexican giant Cruz Azul to the brink in a thrilling, rain-soaked CCL match in Mexico City last month. It is, along with one or two other teams, the class of MLS.

Fortunately for Toronto, many of the key RSL weapons could be out for this one. Javier Morales, Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio and Ned Grabavoy are all likely to miss the match, which will severely test Salt Lake’s depth, especially in the offensive third.

Given that TFC is already a defensively sound squad — thanks mainly to the trio of Stefan Frei, Nana Attakora and Adrian Cann — the slim chances of stealing at least a point from the Utah fortress got a boost with the aforementioned RSL player absences.

Toronto will no doubt be playing with the newfound levity that always follows the firing of a strict coach, so a positive result could be the catalyst for a late-season resurgence.

Or not.

Whatever happens, it couldn’t get much worse than the past few weeks.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Photo courtesy TFCpics.com

Must Win.

It’s a phrase that gets thrown around far too often in sports, especially in today’s world of instant gratification. It’s one that I am loathe to use very often, but in the case of Saturday’s TFC match versus Real Salt Lake, I’m saying it.

It’s a must win game.

Sure, if the Reds don’t get full points at BMO Field on the weekend, there is still the entirety of September and October for the team to get hot and pick up the requisite number of points to get into the playoffs, so a loss wouldn’t be devastating from a mathematical point of view. But the points would definitely help, and the game is a must win for other reasons.

For starters, Toronto is coming off two very demoralizing losses over the past week. Both were in different competitions, and both were very different defeats. The end game was the same for each though, with Toronto having dropped three very claimable points against unremarkable opposition.

So in that vein, TFC needs at home win on Saturday to pick the team’s collective spirit up and wash away the memories of the previous two matches.

Secondly, the opponent is RSL, as side that Toronto will become intimately familiar with over the next month, to the tune of three matches against the Utah club between Saturday and September 28. It would be incredibly advantageous if the Reds could kick off the first of those matches on the right foot and stamp their home authority over the Salt Lake crew.

Speaking of home authority, TFC just lost hold of a BMO Field unbeaten mark that lasted over a full year in all competitions when they got thrashed by the New York Red Bulls last weekend. Toronto thrives on the home field advantage — one could say that the entire season depends on it given the atrocious road record — so a win over a very good RSL side on the Lakeshore will send the message that the Red Bulls loss was an anamoly rather than an emerging trend.

Finally, Toronto needs to win on the weekend for the simplest reason of them all, and one that I alluded to above — points. TFC, after having sat in a playoff position the entire season, is now on the outside looking in where post-season rankings are concerned. Toronto is once again in a dog fight for the playoff table scraps, and every single point from here on out will help the Reds in that fight.

Win, TFC. That’s all there is to it.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Preki did just that, of course, when he kept Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman on the bench to start Saturday’s road loss at Salt Lake.

That Real Salt Lake jumped out to a 2-0 first half lead came as a surprise to no one. It was, after all, TFC’s third game in seven days, on the road, at altitude, against the MLS Cup holders who just about never lose on their home turf.

Regardless, I think all TFC fans would have preferred to see the big guns on the field, especially given that they now have a full week to recover before their next match. It’s arguably still early enough in the season that throwing out the stars on little rest would not have been as detrimental to them as it would be, say, in September.

The decision was made, and it was always going to be a gamble given what Preki has at his disposal. It’s no secret that TFC is built on an ethos of hard work, team spirit and grit, and while those are all fine qualities that any pro sports team should aspire to have in spades, they need to balance that out with a depth of skill as well.

It’s painfully obvious that there are very few “skill” players on this TFC squad, and in packed weeks like this it becomes even more apparent as the coaching staff attempts to protect those players.

When De Ro and JDG – along with O’Brian White – stepped on the field to start the second half, Toronto showed an extra spring in their step, and for periods took it to RSL.  The second half TFC was at least equal to their opponents, and was actually unlucky not to have at least salvaged a draw for the visitors.

Lesson learned though, and if I were a betting man, I’d lay down a princely sum that Preki never keeps both of his big Canadian guns on the bench at the same time for the rest of the season, regardless of how busy the schedule is.

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Pros and Cons for the Toronto FC at Real Salt Lake match played May 1, 2010:

PROS

• Dwayne De Rosario simply cannot stop scoring
• Chad Barrett’s leadership in the absence of the team’s captain
• Super Stefan Frei’s continued stellar play

CONS

• The first half lineup, one of the ugliest lineups TFC has ever put out
• Lack of attacking depth means conceding an entire 45 minutes to RSL
• Way too much space on Andy Williams’ goal
• Kyle Beckerman’s hair. It still pisses me off after so many years
• TFC’s road record, especially against the Western conference. Just brutal, and it needs to change

HIGHLIGHTS

Posted by Rudi Schuller

One of the main tenets of being a Toronto FC fan is that the team will find a way to disappoint you after giving you just enough to believe that they have turned the corner.

TFC has rattled off two consecutive victories. Last Sunday they dispatched the visiting Seattle Sounders in relative style, and on Wednesday they stood toe-to-toe with the hacks from Montreal and sent their pink-clad foes back up the 401 with yet another loss at the hands of TFC.

It goes without saying, then, that TFC is due to lay an egg tonight. Right?

After all, they are coming off a slate of two wins in three days, with a third game set for tonight in Utah. History shows how well TFC does away from home, at altitude, on a quick turnaround. They do not so well (to put it very mildly).

The defending champion Real Salt Lake are a hurting bunch, with star midfielder Javier Morales likely missing the game with strep throat, his countryman Fabian Espindola also out, and veteran defender Chris Wingert doubtful. RSL have started out poorly, with a measly one win in the team’s first five MLS matches.

That said, Salt Lake will be buoyed by the fact that they are at Rio Tinto Stadium, where they have lost only twice in 21 total matches since the building opened. That is a serious home field advantage, one that Preki’s boys will no doubt be wary of.

TFC will – as usual – look to grind out a result at Rio Tinto, and with offensive catalyst Morales set to miss the match their chances just got that much better.

RSL’s young Canadian midfielder Will Johnson will be turned to to help fill Morales’ shoes, as will Toronto-born Jamaican international Andy Williams. Johnson, who usually plays a supporting role, has the ability to go at defenders and shoot from distance, and Williams is a wily vet who knows what it takes to win games in this league.

The key to this match will likely be in the central midfield, however, where a “battle of the hair” will likely ensue. RSL’s Kyle Beckerman and his white man dreadlocks will match up with our own Julian de Guzman in what should be an exciting battle to control the middle of the park. Both men are supremely talented at controlling the flow of the game, and whomever wins this individual match up will likely also win the game.

If TFC has any energy left from this past week, they should be able to scratch out a result. Get the draw, and get the hell out. Anything more is gravy.

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Join U-Sector at Vivid (1067 St Clair West) to watch tonight’s game vs. Real Salt Lake. Our regular away game spot, the Duke of Gloucester, is closed for a private function.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

The Galaxy won their series by a single goal, courtesy of a successful Landon Donovan penalty kick in the 73rd minute of the Galaxy home leg. The 1-0 scoreline in the second leg was a complete reversal compared to the relative goalfest (a sloppy 2-2 draw) that was the Goats’ home leg a week previous.

Team Beckham now faces off against perennial contenders (and often champion) Houston Dynamo, who finally figured out how to score in the 126th minute of a 120-minute series. Slump-ridden Brian Ching, who has looked a shell of his former self in recent months not only for his orange-clad MLS club but also for the US nationals, rediscovered his scoring touch in extra time after Houston and the upstart Seattle Sounders couldn’t tally a single goal between them over the course of two regulation matches.

Ching figured the best way to break out of a scoring slump was in dramatic fashion, spinning nearly 180 degrees to volley a bullet past Seattle keeper Kasey Keller, off the inside of the nearest post, and into the goal. Houston then held on for dear life for the following 24 minutes as Freddie Ljungberg and company tried their damnedest to continue the expansion side’s Cinderella story for at least a few more days. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, but Sounders fans can still hold their heads high as their side just completed  arguably the most successful expansion launch in MLS history (yes, I’m including Chicago in that statement, who won the Cup in a much less competitive MLS back in ’98).

Speaking of the Fire, Chicago dispatched New England from their seemingly annual playoff matchup, winning 2-0 at home after spotting the Revs a 3-2 lead in the New England leg. Old Man Blanco continues to defy time itself, having tallied the second of Chicago’s goals and thereby clinching the series with one kick of his well-travelled foot.

The Fire now play host the Salt Lake, who flipped confrerences in MLS’ CFL-inspired playoff crossover format as the eighth and final seed. The Utah side gave downtodden TFC fans a small reason to smile by expelling defending champion (and two-time Supporters Shield winner) Columbus Crew.

Columbus inexplicably rested reigning league MVP Guillermo Barros Schellotto in the first leg in Utah, and paid for the foolish mistake by going down 1-0. Upon his return to the lineup, Schellotto did his best to revive the Crew’s chances in their home leg by notching two goals and putting his side ahead in the aggregate with little more than a half of soccer to be played, but Columbus seemed determined to falter, allowing Salt Lake to score three unanswered goals in what was not-too-long-ago an inpentrable Crew Stadium. One has to wonder what impact Schellotto would have had in the first leg of the series, but it’ll never be known.

So the MLS Cup semis are set, with LA hosting Houston and RSL visiting Chicago. If I were a predictions kind of guy, I’d say LA takes the West while Chicago keeps the East crown within the actual Eastern Conference, leading to a star-studded Cup Final in which The Beckham Experiment finally achieves the ultimate success on the field with an LA Galaxy MLS Cup Championship.

But since I’m not a predictions kind of guy, I will not make such proclamations. Unless I’m proven correct, in which case I’ll point back to this piece as evidence of my superior prognostication skills.

Posted by Rudi Schuller