After six away games in seven weeks, Toronto FC II finally played a game last Friday that didn’t require air travel. With two months to prepare, you’d maybe think TFC would put in a bit of extra effort for occasion, right?

Yeah, me neither.

Expecting grass instead of the very fetching Limonta turf was probably a bit naive, but were a couple hours of Gareth Wheeler’s time too much to ask? In place of Wheeler and Dunfield, we got Bruce Silverman on the call (live from Florida), talking over pictures shot from a scaffold apparently not quite wide enough for two cameras.

Bruce’s commentary was actually a mild improvement compared to his call of TFC II’s season opener against Orlando City B. Matt Srbely was no longer “Matthew Sore Belly”, and the US Open Cup no longer one of the greatest tournaments in soccer. Still some snags to iron out though, like “BE-EM-OH” and Dante Campbell being 17 – he turned 20 last Wednesday.

In spite of the production values, the game itself turned out OK.



Perruzza vs Ejimadu

Opta’s stat monkeys seem strangely obsessed with recording “duels” (is this soccer or bloody Yugioh?), but the main thread of Friday’s game was the first meeting of TFC II’s lone striker and FC Drogba 2 Tucson’s goalkeeper, LAFC loanee Phillip Ejimadu.

The fact it took the kids 80 minutes and 14 shots (6 on target) to score on Ejimadu in their first meeting – and even then had to rely on Jordan Hamilton – should tell you the boy’s way sharper than you’d traditionally expect a 19-year-old keeper to be.

The first half went Perruzza’s way. Having collided with the airborne Ejimadu without consequence as he chased down a Terique Mohammed free-kick, he later headed home a cross from Jacob Shaffelburg. After the break, young Phillip flipped the script.

Firstly, he denied Perruzza a would-be easy chip, plucking the ball from his onrushing adversary’s feet. He then ended the striker’s game early, totalling him amid a(n admittedly very good) sliding punch-save. Following a lengthy concussion protocol, he was subbed out for utility winger Jordan Faria.

Here’s hoping the coaching staff were playing it safe, because the Reds were essentially toothless without him.

Take the two stoppage-time chances they biffed away. Gideon Waja managed to thread a shot between a defender’s legs as he sliced it wide, and second-highest scorer Luca “The Fluker ” Petrasso preferred to try and set Kody Wakasa up for an own goal but bouncing a cross off him rather take a shot himself.

Cancel the Laundry Service

With his third start in net, Kevin “Jambinho” Silva got his first professional clean sheet. But you won’t see him up for Save of the Week this time, unless the woodwork’s eligible.

Seems almost surreal to say it, but most of the credit goes to Jambinho’s backline. Left-back Terique Mohammed, fresh off his red-card suspension, was in particularly good form. He was up to his usual tricks, frustrating attackers with cheeky tekkers, stealing metres on throw-ins, and generally demonstrating there is life after Ashtone Morgan.

He also came dangerously close to being sent off again. About a minute into stoppage time, he went to ground after taking the ball out of play, then very casually grabbed it, forcing Guillermo Delgado to prise it from his hands. All while he’d been playing on a yellow card since the 16th minute.

Elsewhere on the backline, it’s feeling like suspended centre-back Franco Ramos Mingo might have to rely on squad rotation to get another bite of the cherry after his straight red in Florida. Given the games Terique and Dante were having, few Tucson attacks penetrated deep enough to trouble Dunn or Bunk-Andersen, and they coped just fine when they did.

Anyone sweating about advancing ages of Les Rouges’s centre-back options could take heart from Julian Dunn’s start to the season. His current trajectory might be Nana Attakora 2.0 than Doneil Henry 2.0 (‘Manwrecker’ James can rest easy), but he’s damn near unrecognisable from that kid who got pantsed by Honduras Dynamo last year.

There was nothing to quite match last week’s sliding tackle-from-behind in the box he avoided a booking for, but he looked remarkably comfortable on the bell, what with the incessant passes back from midfield which saw TFC II with 69% possession at half-time.

Oh, and it was one of his passes forward that ultimately led to Perruzza’s goal. Question is, do USL award tertiary assists?



Suspensions Imminent

At some point, Rabasca’s going to need to start making contingency plans for those inevitable accumulation suspensions. The biggest risk at present is Dante Campbell, now sitting on four yellows, whose main back-up Jésus West is currently starting for Panama in the U-20 World Cup.

The next name on the list is Noble Okello, who urgently needs to brush up on his Concacafing if he makes Herdman’s Gold Cup squad. If he’ll insist on running down the clock strolling off the field while it’s still legal, fine, but for God’s sake, lad, don’t pick that moment to practice your Walking Dead routine.

That completely avoidable booking was the only stain on a decent but understated performance from the 18-year-old. He very tidily snuffed out an early Tucson counter-attack, headed off another moments after the goal, and initiated the play that ended in Perruzza’s wipe-out with a pinpoint long-ball to Shaff.

Would be great if any suspension coincided with the U23 Olympic qualifiers we’ll inevitably lose him for. No dates for those yet.