A new season begins with a trip to (or at least near) the Big Apple. Who thinks TFC can spring a win in the season opener at a venue that has been tough for the team?
We won the last two season openers, both against very good teams. Why not do it a third year in a row? NY's midfield and attack is still scary, but they're without both their top CB's from last year. They're beatable for sure
^ Think Vanney wants to leave himself with some options on the bench. Can't use up all his best players in starting XI. Not a good day for Lovitz. He's not quick enough to get around the back but doesn't have the technical ability to put in reliable crosses. Endoh, however, has been solid.
2-0 win away to start. Ill take it. Assume a 4-3 opening road trip if they go .500 the rest of the way would be some positives come May 7th. Dare I say even better? I like the way they pressure..never saw that from them before.
That was unexpected to say the least. NYRB picked us apart for most of the game and were unfortunate not to score.
I only remember NY creating 2 good chances in that game. I thought Endoh and Moor were fantastic, Irwin was great too. 3 season-opening wins in a row all against good teams too
pretty good road game...hard to say who was the better team on the balance of play but, as you say, they did not get many chances to score and we took our chances...so good win. Yes.....but that should also serve to temper any early season euphoria....one of those seasons ended with us on the outside looking in...and last year we pipped Chicago, Philly and two expansion teams to a 6th place finish and a one and done visit to Montreal. Good result, but that is all it is.
Yes but I think it's nice to be able to say TFC has a history in recent years of something positive for once
You want history? I believe this is the first time in club history they have gone into the 2nd regular season match of th season without conceding a goal!
Plus it's a win in a place we've never won before. Nobody's planning an MLS Cup parade yet, but they did better than I thought they would. I do believe they'll have a harder time scoring this year, but the defence looks a lot more solid than last year and I have a lot more confidence in Irwin than last year's goalies. I like what we saw of Endoh, at times he looked a little lost, but he's confident on his feet. Can do a lot more there than Jackson ever did. Only weak link today, I felt, was Lovitz, whom, honestly, I never really liked. When Zabaletta came on he made an immediate impact.
In previous seasons, we would have been fighting from at least one goal down. Then some spectacular Giovinco magic would salvage a point. The back four and keeper are surprisingly solid. Some mistakes but no one lost the game. For sure an in form playoff opponent would have capitalized, but if everyone stays healthy and the bench is filled, it won't be the biggest worry of the game. I'm not sure how Morgan, Williams, Simonin, Bloom, Hagglund, Zavaleta or any of the others will find playing time. (yes, I saw Morgan replaced Endoh) Vanney wasn't too late with the Lovitz substitution. Good tactics. We were bullied by the NYRB energy last season. Looks like we found a way around it. This season we look like we're actually making progress, and we didn't even have Altidore or Cheyrou on the pitch. It's refreshing. I've never seen Will Johnson play. He had that one offside when Giovinco hit the post. Is he supposed to be that far up? I thought it was Johnson who was supposed to shield the back four and Bradley goes on the attack. Looked rather like the other way around. That said, the guy's all over the pitch.
Johnson has always been a box to box midfielder. At RSL he played the LM position in their midfield diamond. In Portland he played as a DM in their 4-2-3-1, but he often went forward to get into the box late to score goals. He had 15 goals and 7 assists in his first two seasons at Portland before he broke his leg
why would you use the plural seasons if you are going to describe something that was only possible last season. "this season"?....one match?
I was referring to being a goal down or letting in soft goals on the road. One has to be optimistic. Otherwise you can be get pretty bitter and snarky being a fan of this club for the 10th season.