Posted by

Harjeet Johal ,

June 29, 2016 Twitter

@HarJournalist

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VANCOUVER, B.C. - The Voyageurs Cup is up for grabs tonight at BC Place as the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC will look to claim win the coveted trophy. The visitors come into the Canadian Cup Championship Final with a 1-0 first leg victory thanks to a goal from Sebastian Giovinco. While Vancouver are the holders, Greg Vanney's Toronto side have the edge. Toronto can really put pressure on the Whitecaps by scoring an away goal, while Vancouver must come out with an attacking mindset.



Toronto FC midfielder Benoit Cheyrou played in his first ever MLS match on March 7, 2015 at BC Place. That was the last time Toronto played in Vancouver and they left with a 3-1 win in the season opener. Cheyrou knows that both teams will be working extremely hard to win the Voyageurs Cup and nothing will be left unturned.



"It's really important for us to win a trophy this year, 90 minutes left," said Cheyrou. "We had two good games against Montreal and we did a good job in the first leg, I think. The best part is in front of us and the hardest part as well." Greg Vanney faces an interesting conundrum in-goal as no.1 goalkeeper Clint Irwin will be sidelined 6 weeks with a quadriceps strain sustained on Saturday at Orlando City SC. Toronto will now turn to a pair of youthful keepers. Either Alex Bono or Quillan Roberts will be in net for Toronto. In their extremely young careers, Bono, (22 years-old) and Roberts, (21 years-old) have a combined 20 minutes of action in both MLS and Canada Cup competition, that came when Bono replaced Irwin. Cheyrou is confident in whoever starts for Toronto FC. "I think both are good keepers, and we trust in them," said Cheyrou. "We talk with them to give them even more confidence. We have no doubts with either Alex or Q doing a good job tomorrow." Canadian international Will Johnson is also quite confident in Toronto FC's abilities no matter who starts. In his first season with Toronto FC, Johnson would love to hoist the Voyageurs Cup, supporting his young teammates is the best way for Toronto to pull together.



It's time for Bono or Roberts to step up and show Toronto's depth. This is a fantastic opportunity to earn a huge amount of experience and win a trophy in your first professional start for your club team. Johnson and the banged up Toronto FC back-line will have to be ready to go from the opening kick. "You put together a squad at the beginning of the year knowing at some point you're probably going to have to use depth pieces, so you put those guys together and you sign them based upon the fact that sometime they'll play. One of them will get a chance to step up and take an opportunity that they probably weren't going to get. Now that they have it, they've got to grab it with both hands, make plays and help us out." If Toronto FC decided to park the bus against the Whitecaps, that could be a very dangerous tactic. With offensive threats like Pedro Morales, Christian Bolanos, Kekuta Manneh, and Nicolas Mezquida, Vancouver will be on an all out attack looking to score. Toronto FC must control the match and set the tone. They don't want to have to rely heavily on Bono or Roberts to steal the game. Greg Vanney wasn't about to reveal is match strategy, but you can expect Toronto to try to weather an early Whitecaps storm. If an early goal is scored, that will completely change the complexion of the match. Will Johnson gives us his thoughts on what fans from both clubs can expect to see. "A bit of both, obviously we'll see how the game plays out. Goals change game, if we get the first one, obviously they need three. Likewise, if they get the first one, then it's tied up. We'll see what the games gives us, we'll see how it plays out. We've got some experienced guys who've been in situations like this before, that can make decisions for the group on the fly and we'll go from there." On the other side of the pitch, fellow Canadian international, Russell Teibert and the Caps will be looking to defend BC Place. Vancouver overturned a 2-0 disadvantage against the Ottawa Fury in the semi-finals. Toronto is not exactly at the same level as their Ontario friends to the north. The Niagara Falls native remembers the excitement felt when the Vancouver Whitecaps won the Voyageurs Cup last year against the Montreal Impact. It's a feeling Teibert would like to repeat. "It's a big day for us," said Teibert. "it's a big day for this club and a big day for everybody involved. From the fans, to our team, everybody's just excited to get on the field, anxious almost. Last year was the first time we won this cup and the amount of relief, excitement, happiness, joy, all these emotions bundled up into the celebration into the locker-room. I can't wait to repeat that and we have an opportunity to do so." Vancouver it seems could be looking at a bit of an advantage in net with whoever Toronto FC decides to go with, but Teibert doesn't see it that way. This is a big stage and a big opportunity for both clubs to win a championship trophy. We've seen young players rise to the occasion and show what they're capable of. Whitecaps 15 year-old Alphonso Davies is an example of that. It's far too soon to write of Alex Bono or Quillan Roberts. The old adage is.... If you're old enough, you're good enough. Teibert agrees. "If this tournament shows anything, it shows that young players can step up and do the job. You look at Alphonso Davies who is 15 years-old. No matter which goalie that they put in, young players can step up and do the job." It's always a fantastic match when Vancouver and Toronto get together. The pace is usually quick, lots of goals are generally scored and it's the kind of match that makes you love football. Notes: Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley has flown back to Toronto following the Copa America Centenario and he will not play tonight vs Vancouver.



