What/When Toronto FC (13-8-3) will pay a visit to Stade Saputo in Montréal, Québec to take on the Montréal Impact (9-6-8) on Sunday, August 27, 2017 at 4:30 pm EDT. TV/Video This match will be shown live on TSN (http://www.tsn.ca/, English) and TVA Sports (http://www.tvasports.ca/, French) in Canada, ESPN (http://www.espn.com/, English) in the U.S., MLS Direct Kick and MLS Live (http://live.mlssoccer.com/, U.S. only). Radio/Audio CHUM AM 1050 (http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050, English) in Toronto; CKGM AM 690 (http:///www.tsn.ca/montreal/, English) and CHMP FM 98.5 (http://www.985fm.ca/, French) in Montréal.
Big match with a pretty high profile.....non-soccer sports fan friends have been asking me about it all week!
Chances at both ends....tempers flaring....looked like going to half nil nil till Altidore draws a foul on edge of box and Seba dispatches the fk into the net. 1-nil us at the half.
Early 2nd half goal has TFC up 2-nil Montreal post game team chat: "nope, leaving Altidore unmarked inside 6 yard spot was not a good idea" #tfclive— Toarea Fan 🇨🇦 (@TOareaFan) August 27, 2017
Impact pull one back in the first minute of time added on....Toronto kicks off and restores 2 goal lead while announcer is telling fans Piatti had scored. Great skill from Seba on the 3rd (his 2nd) but I am trying to figure out who placed it on his foot from all of 35 yards! Your final is 3-1.
https://www.torontofc.ca/post/2017/...-montreal-impact-august-27-2017?autoplay=true This team is brilliant. Despite my reservations about the playoff format used currently in MLS and how it doesn't give high seeds enough of a reward for the regular season, the way this team plays that shouldn't be an issue. They should win regardless. Keep it together and this could also be a legit CCL contender. With the current format, we won't have to wait a year later to see them compete in the knockouts either.
Could have been......like I said, Seba did brilliantly with it....not taking anything from him.....but I am stunned by how little is being said about the pass.....TSN showed, what, 3 highlights of the goal and not one analyst mentioned the pass....it was a stunning ball!
One of the nice narratives of this season is how well some of the non-DP players have stepped up to play. Bono has been an upgrade over Irwin, Edwards was excellent early, though Morrow has been even better of late, Hasler has stepped in given Beitashour a tougher job to win his spot back (though passes like that on the goal go a long way), Vasquez has been a linchpin for the offence, Mavinga has been solid at the back along with Hernandez. Not to mention the regular pieces from last year that have been solid - and many ways interchangeable from a depth perspective - Moor, Zavaleta, Osorio, Delgado, Chapman, Hagglund (when healthy), & Cooper. I know the media tend to focus on the big three, and rightly so, but it bothers me somewhat that they're not talking about just how much this team has improved across so many positions, and has given us depth and options that seem incredible compared to even two seasons ago.
The biggest improvement in the team (IMO) is how comfortable every player is on the ball (Zava still seems a bit awkward at times but manages it well) which allows the team to play out from the back and when a player runs into a dead end there is literally no player on the team that he fears passing to. I think it is actually why Cooper is on the outs at the moment....unlike the other skilled players on the team he does not seem to recognize this and still tries to beat the man in front of him to often and ignores passing opportunities....opportunities that it is plain to see would have been a better option.
Part of that is familiarity with the system in place, part of it is the training and comfort level that takes a while to shake out when you are learning things with new teammates. The interesting thing is that we've added a half dozen regular starters/rotation depth and we're still seeing this level of comfort moving the ball around. Edwards makes sense, since he was learning the system in the academy, and Bono has been around for a few seasons as well. But Vasquez, Mavinga, Hernandez and Hasler have only been around for just over 6 months.
This also suggests the team will be in good shape going forward after this season. It's not three great DPs and some shirts - it's a large number of solid players in a system. Which is what the front office said they wanted to build. Having lived through eight seasons of TFC futility it's nice to think we're not one or two injuries away from being back there again.
The addition of Vasquez has been key IMO. Not only has he filled a need that they've had for ages, but his addition means that Bradley doesn't have to take on as much of an offensive role. It's been good for not only Bradley but has made our defence much stronger this season. Also, Bono seems to be getting better every game.
Not that it takes a genius to figure this out, but a lot of MLS teams rely on press against defenders to try to create turn overs for a counter attack opportunities. Having defenders who are comfortable enough on the ball (Zavaleta and Hagglund improved tremendously on their first touch and passing) helps, but also 3-5-2 means defenders have an additional outlet for a sideway pass to break the press (and Bradley dropping back). This totally neutralizes teams like NYRB and SKC who now have to be more selective on who they press, and TFC has more options in midfield to cycle the ball around, which negates a lot of advantages of a high press. Vanney is making 3-5-2 a fad again (last MLS teams to really use it was NE and DCU like 10 yrs ago) and some teams are trying to copy the 3-5-2 again. (though not very successfully, yet)
Eh. I think the media has been doing an ok job pointing out that there is depth in this team. I think this team is 2 deep in every position and the subs probably be starting for most MLS teams. Only exception is at AM with Chapman, but I don't think he gets enough mins to show what he's capable of, and maybe Hamilton and Ricketts, and again, not enough mins to fully judge whether they are starter worthy.
Fair enough - my impression is just that - mine. I'm also judging based on the coverage the Leafs/Jays/Raps get, which has way more detailed analysis of role players. I've found most of my exposure is via the TV coverage, which likes to showcase the big three (Giovinco gets more than the other two), that said their analysis is decent and does cover the Canadian players rather well. Though rotation depth like Hasler totally flew under their radar until he was starting, and coverage on the new signings this year was a bit lacking.
The Leafs, Jays and Raps play much more often than TFC and the games last longer. The commentators have much more time to delve into many more levels of the teams. Plus TFC isn't on the same level as the aforementioned in terms of ratings and revenue and really we aren't a soccer city. If this team was in Europe or S.A. we'd know everything about every player. Giovinco gets the most exposure for obvious reasons. And the big three are the big three for a reason. Is it wrong that Connor McDavid gets the most exposure on the Oilers? Or that Sydney Crosby has been the face of the Penguins and the NHL for over a decade?