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Steve Bottjer ,

May 31, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer



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@BottjerRNO

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Fresh off a midweek draw in the first leg of the Canadian Championship final, Toronto FC were back in action on Saturday while looking to continue to build some momentum in the league ahead of the upcoming World Cup break.



Facing off against a Columbus Crew side missing their key player Federico Higuain, the Reds went into this one with a good opportunity to pick up a piece of minor silverware in the form of the Trillium Cup, which is awarded to either Toronto or Columbus based on the team that wins the most points from the series at the season's end. More importantly, all three points would move Toronto closer to a playoff position with the Reds also having played the fewest matches of any team in the league.



TFC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen rotated much of his squad from the one that drew the Impact midweek, with Jermain Defoe and Luke Moore leading the forward line, Jonathan Osorio and Jackson returning to the starting eleven after missing time due to injury and Mark Blook and Justin Morrow assuming their regular positions at the fullback spots. With team captain Steven Caldwell unavailable due to suspension, keeper Joe Bendik wore the captain’s armband and Nelsen elected to go with a young central defense duo comprising Doneil Henry and Nick Hagglund. Open Player in a New Window | Subscribe | iTunes | MP3 The Opening 45 Columbus opened the scoring in the 18th minute on a play in which a disorganized TFC back line looked like it was missing its leader in the suspended Steven Caldwell, with Crew midfielder Justin Meram finishing a fast break by blasting a shot past Reds keeper Joe Bendik.



With TFC struggling offensively, Ryan Nelsen made an early substitution in the 19th minute, replacing the defensively minded Bradley Orr with the more offensively oriented Dan Lovitz.



It ultimately did not take long for Toronto to even things up, as some smart play by Jermain Defoe saw the Reds superstar pulled down in the Columbus box by defender Tyson Wahl in the 20th minute. The England International took the ensuing penalty shot and confidently put it in the back of the Crew net.



Columbus came close to scoring a second in the 26th minute as forward Jairo Arrieta danced around a disheveled TFC defense and blasted a shot just wide of the post. #TorontoFC without Michael Bradley is like the #MiamiHeat without LeBron James. #TFC #TFCLive #MLS — Ron Waxman (@RonWaxman) May 31, 2014

The Second Half Both teams continued to struggle to generate much offensively through the hour mark.



With neither side doing much to excite the crowd, Columbus got a go ahead goal on a corner kick in the 65th minute, with midfielder Agustin Viana heading the ball in from the far post.



With his team down a goal, Nelsen endeavoured to kickstart his offense by bringing on both Dwayne De Rosario and Gilberto, with the former playing in an attacking midfielder role.



Those substitutions paid a dividend in the 81st minute when Gilberto set up Defoe with a perfectly placed header and the Englishman delivered a clinical finish while firing a shot past a helpless Steve Clark.



Toronto came close to another goal in the 88th minute when Gilberto showed some beautiful touch to set up De Rosario for an uncontested shot. However, the Canadian International was unable to beat a well-positioned Clark.



The Reds continued to press for a winner and were rewarded during injury time when some veteran play from De Rosario won Toronto a free kick from just outside the Crew box. On the ensuing dead ball whipped in by Dan Lovitz, central defender Doneil Henry rose high and headed in a dramatic goal for the second time this week.





Man of the Match Jermain Defoe

While this one finished with a dramatic flourish, it was Jermain Defoe who single handedly kept Toronto in the game for eighty minutes. The England International won foul after foul and used both his positioning and veteran smarts to cause fits for Columbus. With another brace to his credit, Defoe now has six league goals in seven games.



Honourable mention With second dramatic goal of the week, Doneil Henry deserves honourable mention not just for his performance in this match, but also the manner in which he has bounced back with strong performances in TFC’s last two matches.



While he only played less than half an hour in this one, Gilberto delivered a game changing performance off the bench. It would not be a stretch to say that the Brazilian’s work rate, touch and intelligent play was the difference between a win and a loss in this game. From the moment, Gilberto entered the game TFC looked like a different team. While he is still yet to score this season, if there was ever a player who deserves a goal for all of the good things he brings to the pitch, it is Gilberto.



Dishonourable mention goes to referee Sorin Stoica, who delivered a noticeably poor performance as the referee for the match. Coming on the heels of an ugly display by Baldomero Toledo in Toronto’s last MLS match, it has to be said that the officiating in Toronto’s recent matches has been less than major league. Toronto FC Line-up

2 Joe Bendik

28 Mark Bloom

17 Nick Hagglund

15 Doneil Henry

2 Justin Morrow

21 Jonathan Osorio

16 Bradley Orr

8 Bekker

11 Jackson

27 Moore

18 Defoe



Substitutions: (19) Lovitz for Orr; (66) Gilberto for Jackson; (71) De Rosario for Osorio. Who is your Man of the Match?