|
|
Colorado Rapids Down 9-Man Toronto FC
Conor Casey redeemed himself by scoring the winning header having missed a penalty in the first half to give Colorado a massive 1-0 win.
Sep 6, 2009 1:40:03 AM
TORONTO, Canada -- Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids began the first of back-to-back matches between the two sides, with the Rapids coming out ahead by a lone goal. The next game will go a long way to determining whether either of these sides will make the playoffs.
Toronto hadn’t scored a single goal in their recent excursions to the West Coast. They needed to break their goal-scoring duck and register a win to keep them in the playoff mix. They lined up without Honduran Amado Guevara, who was with his national side.
Colorado approached the game with Pablo Mastroeni suspended while Colin Clark, Jamie Smith and Cory Gibbs were missing with injuries. However, Conor Casey crucially made the starting line up. Coming off a 1-0 home win over conference-leading Houston Dynamo, the Rapids were full of confidence.
First Half
The home side enjoyed a significantly better start to the game. They denied their opposition any sort of possession and nearly took an early lead through Mehdi Ballouchy, but the midfielder’s shot was parried away by Stefan Frei in the Toronto net.
Omar Cummings and Conor Casey were constant thorns in the Toronto backline. The defense simply could not handle them. Casey had a few shots that missed the target, while the pace of Cummings led to some dodgy Toronto defending that almost resulted in a gilt edged opportunity for the home side.
In the 21st minute, Amadou Sanyang received a yellow card for taking Ballouchy’s legs from underneath him. Soon thereafter, a scrum in the Toronto area resulted in a Jacob Peterson shot that Stefan Frei somehow managed to save with his legs.
In the 25th minute, Emmanuel Gomez was penalized for a handball inside the penalty box and a penalty was awarded to Colorado. Casey stepped up but lashed his spot kick against the bar. It was a major let-off for Toronto.
Looking to make amends, Casey was denied soon after by a well-timed challenge by Jim Brennan when the striker looked to have been played through.
Matt Pickens in the Colorado net only had a few meek efforts to deal with. However, Marvell Wynne started making headway down the right flank towards the end of the half and missed a first time volley after being set up by Dwayne De Rosario.
It was Stefan Frei that Toronto had to thank for keeping parity in what was a one-sided first half dominated by Colorado, despite the 0-0 at the break.
Second Half
Colorado almost scored off the first possession of the second half. Conor Casey received the ball, spun around and played a through ball for Omar Cummings that Frei did well to smother at the striker’s feet.
Toronto FC made a change at half time, Adrian Serioux coming on for Nick Garcia who was having trouble with his vision. Chris Cummings changed the formation to 4-4-2 after a dismal first half where TFC failed to hang on to possession. Sam Cronin was moved into a more central role.
The Rapids had been knocking on the door, dominating play and in the 52nd minute, Jacob Peterson crossed a ball from the right flank that Casey buried into the corner of the net with a sumptuous header, making up for his first half penalty miss. It was a deserved 1-0 lead for the Rapids.
TFC head Coach Cummings took off the second of his starting center backs in Emmanuel Gomez, making an attacking substitution by bringing on Ali Gerba in the 57th minute. Neither side was able to establish its ascendancy in the ensuing minutes as the game became patchy.
Pablo Vitti was replaced by Danny Dichio in the 69th minute, as the visitors desperately looked to snatch something from the game. Michael Holody checked in for Pat Noonan for his first appearance of the season as Colorado beefed up their back line and tried to secure the win.
A minute later, Amado Sanyang received a red card for a second bookable offense. It seemed like a harsh decision on the player. Omar Cummings raced clear of the Toronto defense, but Frei thwarted his goal bound effort, making a fantastic save with an outstretched leg.
The sending off seemed to invigorate Toronto, as Chad Barrett made some space for a shot, only to narrowly miss the target. Just as Toronto started to gain some momentum, Adrian Serioux received his marching orders with a straight red for making a cynical shoulder charge at Omar Cummings on the edge of the box in the 86th minute. Already down to 9 men, Toronto were relieved to see Mehdi Ballouchy’s subsequent free kick whistle past the upright.
Colorado comfortably kept possession of the ball and saw the game off till full time as a deflated Toronto side looked resigned to experiencing defeat in the mountains.
This defeat along with the ensuing suspensions for Gomez and Serioux could close the curtain on Toronto’s chances of a playoff appearance this season. They face the Rapids once more next week, on home turf. Anything less than a win from that game is likely to leave the Canadian side too far adrift of a playsoff spot.
The Colorado Rapids solidified their claims for a playoff spot and with a weakened Toronto side welcoming them next week; they will fancy their chances of sweeping the home and away series. As the race for play off spots heats up, the Rapids find themselves in a favorable position and could be a major force with the altitude of their stadium a huge detriment to visiting sides.
Talha Zaheer, Goal.com
Toronto hadn’t scored a single goal in their recent excursions to the West Coast. They needed to break their goal-scoring duck and register a win to keep them in the playoff mix. They lined up without Honduran Amado Guevara, who was with his national side.
Colorado approached the game with Pablo Mastroeni suspended while Colin Clark, Jamie Smith and Cory Gibbs were missing with injuries. However, Conor Casey crucially made the starting line up. Coming off a 1-0 home win over conference-leading Houston Dynamo, the Rapids were full of confidence.
First Half
The home side enjoyed a significantly better start to the game. They denied their opposition any sort of possession and nearly took an early lead through Mehdi Ballouchy, but the midfielder’s shot was parried away by Stefan Frei in the Toronto net.
Omar Cummings and Conor Casey were constant thorns in the Toronto backline. The defense simply could not handle them. Casey had a few shots that missed the target, while the pace of Cummings led to some dodgy Toronto defending that almost resulted in a gilt edged opportunity for the home side.
In the 21st minute, Amadou Sanyang received a yellow card for taking Ballouchy’s legs from underneath him. Soon thereafter, a scrum in the Toronto area resulted in a Jacob Peterson shot that Stefan Frei somehow managed to save with his legs.
In the 25th minute, Emmanuel Gomez was penalized for a handball inside the penalty box and a penalty was awarded to Colorado. Casey stepped up but lashed his spot kick against the bar. It was a major let-off for Toronto.
Looking to make amends, Casey was denied soon after by a well-timed challenge by Jim Brennan when the striker looked to have been played through.
Matt Pickens in the Colorado net only had a few meek efforts to deal with. However, Marvell Wynne started making headway down the right flank towards the end of the half and missed a first time volley after being set up by Dwayne De Rosario.
It was Stefan Frei that Toronto had to thank for keeping parity in what was a one-sided first half dominated by Colorado, despite the 0-0 at the break.
Second Half
Colorado almost scored off the first possession of the second half. Conor Casey received the ball, spun around and played a through ball for Omar Cummings that Frei did well to smother at the striker’s feet.
Toronto FC made a change at half time, Adrian Serioux coming on for Nick Garcia who was having trouble with his vision. Chris Cummings changed the formation to 4-4-2 after a dismal first half where TFC failed to hang on to possession. Sam Cronin was moved into a more central role.
The Rapids had been knocking on the door, dominating play and in the 52nd minute, Jacob Peterson crossed a ball from the right flank that Casey buried into the corner of the net with a sumptuous header, making up for his first half penalty miss. It was a deserved 1-0 lead for the Rapids.
TFC head Coach Cummings took off the second of his starting center backs in Emmanuel Gomez, making an attacking substitution by bringing on Ali Gerba in the 57th minute. Neither side was able to establish its ascendancy in the ensuing minutes as the game became patchy.
Pablo Vitti was replaced by Danny Dichio in the 69th minute, as the visitors desperately looked to snatch something from the game. Michael Holody checked in for Pat Noonan for his first appearance of the season as Colorado beefed up their back line and tried to secure the win.
A minute later, Amado Sanyang received a red card for a second bookable offense. It seemed like a harsh decision on the player. Omar Cummings raced clear of the Toronto defense, but Frei thwarted his goal bound effort, making a fantastic save with an outstretched leg.
The sending off seemed to invigorate Toronto, as Chad Barrett made some space for a shot, only to narrowly miss the target. Just as Toronto started to gain some momentum, Adrian Serioux received his marching orders with a straight red for making a cynical shoulder charge at Omar Cummings on the edge of the box in the 86th minute. Already down to 9 men, Toronto were relieved to see Mehdi Ballouchy’s subsequent free kick whistle past the upright.
Colorado comfortably kept possession of the ball and saw the game off till full time as a deflated Toronto side looked resigned to experiencing defeat in the mountains.
This defeat along with the ensuing suspensions for Gomez and Serioux could close the curtain on Toronto’s chances of a playoff appearance this season. They face the Rapids once more next week, on home turf. Anything less than a win from that game is likely to leave the Canadian side too far adrift of a playsoff spot.
The Colorado Rapids solidified their claims for a playoff spot and with a weakened Toronto side welcoming them next week; they will fancy their chances of sweeping the home and away series. As the race for play off spots heats up, the Rapids find themselves in a favorable position and could be a major force with the altitude of their stadium a huge detriment to visiting sides.
Talha Zaheer, Goal.com
Inside Goal.Com
-
EURO 2012: Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi and Van Persie named in Goal.com's dream team XI
Goal.com put together its dream team for this summer's European Championship in Poland and Ukraine
-
RIGG: Anelka struggling against the current in Shanghai
Nicolas Anelka went against the grain when he moved to Shanghai. Now he's finding that coaching and gelling tactically is like swimming against the tide.
-
ROGERS: Bradley should command a bidding war among Serie A teams
Chievo is currently shopping the American midfielder and several Italian clubs have shown interest.
-
ISOLA: Neymar-led Brazil should be considered the 2014 WC favorite
Neymar was brilliant as Brazil easily handled the United States with early World Cup preparations officially underway.
-
LATHAM: Mexico using summer friendlies to build depth
With World Cup qualifying to begin in June, Mexico is using three U.S.-hosted friendlies to build squad depth.