The USL D3 adventure finally began for TFC II last Friday when they flew down to Florida to take on those old USL foes, the Young Lions of Orlando City B.

The setting? A track and field stadium on the campus of a C$70,000-a-year prep school. Apparently, most of the boarders had other things on as the game allegedly pulled in a bumper crowd of 244, and even that figure might require a dose of sodium.

You’ll presumably already know how it ended – a relatively painless 2:0 road win for the kids in red (white in this instance) – here’s some guff on how it happened.

No Laryea? No Problem

Tonight's starting XI as we open up the season in Orlando. #TFCLive// #ORLvTOR pic.twitter.com/m0foRV8SYL — Toronto FC II (@TorontoFCII) April 5, 2019

Until the line-ups were tweeted out, it was still unclear which first-teamers Rabasca would have to choose from. In a blow to purveyors of bullsh*t rivalries, the omission of Richie Laryea, the OCB veteran-come-TFC rookie, meant no Laryea Derby™, but Rabasca took the edge off by handing the captain’s armband to Tsubasa Endoh.

Other surprises included the preference of Dante Campbell at right-back over Panamanian loanee Jésus West, and the complete absence of centre-backs Franco Ramos Mingo and Jelani Peters. Clearly Rabasca likes to live dangerously.

The Jacob Shaffelburg Action Hour

In my round-up of TFC II’s attacking options, I may have insinuated Jacob Shaffelburg looked better than he was during TFC’s Pantsing In Panama™, on account of everyone playing like sh*t.

Well, I take it all back: young Shaff might just be that good.

The Nova Scotian essentially was TFC II’s offence through the first half. He registered the team’s only two shots-on-target of the period, and set up their second-best chance of the half with a one-man counter-attack that Captain Tsubasa would’ve tapped in, if only he’d started his run a second or two earlier.

The best chance came shortly after right-winger Griff Dorsey was downed in the OCB box. As with all but one set-piece, the kids’ Japanese chaperone dutifully stepped up and blazed it over the bar. Nothing as meteoric as Terrence Boyd’s, though.

Perhaps inevitably, Shaff was less of a presence in the second half. The Cubs’ coach Fernando de Argila Floridian may have sussed him out, as OCB’s substitute defender Tanner Hummel intercepted most of his later efforts. He also looked completely gassed ten minutes before Rabasca finally took him off in the 82nd.

Mind Your Fito, Adolfo!

Some teams play dirty. Orlando City B play downright filthy!

The Cubs’ much-vaunted ‘sporting director’ Oguchi Onyewu’s ambivalence towards bookings has clearly rubbed off on his charges. I was amazed they only picked up four yellows (including a double), given how they were setting about the kids’ ankles like a bunch of Dutchmen in Soweto.*

By contrast, TFC II’s only disciplinary liability on the night was Chilean debutant Adolfo “Fito” Ovalle. You’d expect any holding midfielder to get stuck in, but to go sliding in late, from behind, twice? Set the suspension countdown clock!

I’m not sure if it’s more amusing or embarrassing his actual booking was for a harmless shirt-pull. The ref was probably just looking for an excuse by that point.

*See 2010 World Cup Final.

Oh Look, A Goal…

For all Shaff’s bluster, TFC II’s opening goal came about more in spite of their efforts than because of them. It started with OCB’s Ghanaian centre-back Emmanuel Hagen very considerately getting himself sent off mere seconds after the break.

Captain Tsubasa then redeemed himself with a free kick OCB keeper Christian Herrera only just got to. The ensuing corner, which Endoh let left-back Terique Mohammed take, Luca Petrasso somehow volleyed in at the back post over the 6’6″ Herrera, through an empty space where a certain Ghanaian might’ve usually been standing.

Perruzza Caught Perusing?

Listen to that crowd roar…

Besides a promising run that was called offside, Jordan Perruzza was largely invisible in the first half. He could well have just been out-of-frame for Shaff’s many runs up the wing, but he seemed to dropping inordinately deep for a centre-forward on the business end of a 4-4-3.

Whether or not he was following coach’s orders, the game plan evidently changed at half-time. He was the guy Hagan overturned for that second yellow. He didn’t see all that much more of the ball after that, but he was in the right place when it mattered, chipping an onrushing Herrera in the 86th.

He was actually unlucky not to bag a hat trick in the last ten minutes, but for an unfortunate shank in front of an open net, and a frankly fabulous slide tackle by OCB’s Quebecois import Nathan Simeon.

Time for Primetime!

After a very patchy half-hour following Petrasso’s goal, Rabasca administered a shot in the arm when he replaced Shaff with Jayden “Primetime” Nelson in the 82nd minute.

Hapless commentator Bruce Silverman kept woofing about how ‘high’ Toronto are on him, and loathe as I am to agree with a man who called the US Open Cup one of the greatest tournaments in soccer, you can see where he’s coming from.

With Nelson chasing the ball in and around OCB’s box, the ball scarcely entered Toronto’s half for the rest of the game. He didn’t have a hand in the goal Perruzza did score, but he did put in the golden cross that poor Jordan shanked. He also came mighty close to scoring himself, having weaved his way between the same two defenders he rounded en route to setting up that cross.

Basically, he packed enough moments into his twelve-minute cameo to make a YouTube highlight reel. One moment he’ll surely cut out is his stoppage-time booking, given for some delightfully naïve time-wasting in which he casually threw the ball away while prepping for a throw-in.

Kid needs a few more classes before he gets his Concacafing diploma.