TFC head to Ottawa as part of the Canadian Championship for the third time in three years. I personally think it's a bit silly that TFC got a bye all the way to the semi-finals but, here we are, potentially just four games away from an eight Canadian Championship title. I'll be at this game tonight in person. I'm hoping for another big crowd in Ottawa although the weather isn't looking too great at the moment. I suspect that, as usual, TFC will start a squad made up of bench players and TFC II members. The outcome of this leg will therefore be in doubt but, over the past two years, it has been a good chance to see up and coming players perform. Hopefully this year we can win again only metaphorically set Ottawa's field on fire.
If TFC can beat Ottawa and Cavalry can beat Montreal, having an MLS vs CPL championship final would be great for the growth of the game in our country. For that to happen, TFC needs to take care of business here. They need to be able to rest guys and still get a result. A draw will be fine but the bench players need to step up and not fold like they did last time we played our bench.
We've done the bench/TFC II thing against Ottawa twice now. The first time we lost that leg 2-1 and last year we won that leg 1-0. So the (short) history says we can be competitive in the first leg this way. Both times we followed up with a stronger roster and a convincing win (4-0, 3-0) at home in the second leg. I'd love to see Calgary beat Montreal to meet TFC in the final. I don't see it happening, though.
Canadian Content🍁: Starting XIs for Semi-Final Round Match 10 Opening Leg.#CanChamp pic.twitter.com/uEgeiIKRHS— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) August 7, 2019 It looks like we're doing it a third time.
A fun game to be at as a TFC fan. Ottawa played well and had some nice passing sequences with good control. They generally weren't able to penetrate on offense to generate good scoring chances, however. Christiano Francois did give the TFC defence some problems with his speed. TFC was a bit more disjointed - it was clear that many of the players weren't used to playing with each other. Despite that, they did what was needed and earned the win. Endoh really came to play - he was all over the pitch and running hard all night. The late second goal was big in terms of breathing room. With a two goal lead and two away goals, Vanney may very well choose to put out a toned down line up for the second leg which would help with TFC's league games. Gallardo looked good in his few minutes. He is quick and aggressive. The crowd was announced at something over 5800. It would probably have been higher had it not been raining before the game. Ottawa's supporters' group did well to cheer on their team. There was no organized TFC fan presence and it seemed like fewer TFC fans than in the past two years.