What/When The defending MLS champion Toronto FC (1-0-2) will pay a visit to Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado to take on the Colorado Rapids (1-2-1) on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 3:00 pm EDT. TV/Video This match will be shown live on TSN (http://www.tsn.ca/) in Canada, Altitude Sports Network (http://www.altitude.tv/) in Denver, 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; KKSE AM 950 (http://www.altitudesports950.com/, English) and La Invasora FM 87.7 (http://www.lainvasoradenver.com/, Spanish) in Denver.
I'm very interested to see who plays for TFC in this game. It could actually be a lot of fun to watch some of the younger prospects get some field time.
Have to figure this game will be treated like a pre-season game for TFC. We have at least 5 starters coming off injury that may need to get in some playing time. Or need to be rested. This game is going to be all about giving minutes to those who need it and resting those who need a rest. Results are likely going to be a secondary consideration.
I would be nice to see us get a result with what with be a reserve side, It will be a lot different than we played there a 6 weeks ago. I guess line-up might be... ------------------------Irwin------------------- Hasler--Hernandez------Zavaleta---Morgan -----------------------Fraser------------------- -----------Aketxe--------------Chapman---- ------Ricketts-----Spencer--------Hamilton
I'm most interested to see if Akinola plays as we've heard a lot of hype around him. Ricketts probably won't play which opens the door for someone like Akinola to play up top with Spencer or Hamilton.
Got to watch last 30 mins of the game and it was pretty disjointed effort from us which was to be expected given it is a second string side with guys who haven played much or had their first appearance.
Yeah, what saw pretty much sums it up. It wasn't absolutely terrible but they couldn't get anything going offensively and looked like they were playing together for the first time. Expect more of the same next weekend vs Houston.
The weird thing was though that the defence and midfield were alright. It was the three forwards who were the weakest link. Ricketts and Hamilton were garbage out there and Spencer was rightfully taken off at halftime. Irwin and Aketxe played well despite the loss.
The outcome was fair although it could as fairly have been 3-1 given the chances. My impression was that, for a team of mostly backups, the skill level displayed by TFC was actually pretty good. The biggest problem was a lack of familiarity. There were a lot of plays of the sort where the pass went left while the intended receiver broke right instead. Give this group a half a dozen games together and they'd actually do okay against the bottom third of the league.