November 21, 2010 MLS Cup Final--FC Dallas vs Colorado Rapids (by Rocket Robin)

............

Result of the Sunday November 21st, 2010 MLS game between FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids played at BMO Field in Toronto at 8:30pm. This was the League Championship final.

FC Dallas (white socks, names and numbers, blue shorts, blue and white hooped shirts)

............1 Kevin Hartman
6 Jackson Goncalves...14 George John...3 Ugo Ihemelu...5 Jair Benitez
18 Marvin Chavez...13 Dax McCarty...10 David Ferreira...2 Daniel Hernandez (cpt)...20 Brek Shea
.................16 Atiba Harris

Subs:...44 Dario Sala (gk)...8 Bruno Guarda (mid)...9 Jeff Cunningham (fwd)...12 Eric Avila (mid)...19 Zach Loyd (def/mid)...24 Eric Alexander (mid)...34 Ruben Luna (fwd)
head coach Schellas Hyndman

Colorado Rapids (burgundy socks and shirts, white shorts, names and numbers)

............18 Matt Pickens
27 Kosuke Kimura...22 Marvell Wynne...3 Drew Moor...6 Anthony Wallace
11 Brian Mullan...4 Jeff Larentowica...25 Pablo Mastroeni (cpt)...20 Jamie Smith
.........9 Conor Casey...14 Omar Cummings

Subs:...17 Ian Bruce (gk)...7 Claudio Lopez (mid)...10 Macoumba Kandji (fwd)...12 Quincy Amarikwa (fwd)...15 Wells Thompson (mid)...21 Julien Baudet (def)...29 Scott Palguta (def)
head coach Gary Smith

Game officials:...referee Baldomero Toledo...referee's assistants Charles Morgante and Craig Lowry...fourth official Sylviu Petrescu...(neon yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 8:58pm...FCD defend north end on this cold night.
20 sec...FCD Benitez cross on run down left has FCD Harris charging down middle head ball wide right of net from 15 yards.
2 min...FCD goalie picks up ball chested back to him by CR Casey after CR player's cross into box.
5 min...CR Smith 55 yard freekick from left sideline is just over players in box and wide right of net.
6 min...CR Mastroeni taps pass forward at 25 yards on left for charging CR Mullan to rush through on left and his 8 yard low shot is stopped by the crumpling goalie on left post.
8 min...FCD goalie charges to right edge of box to catch bouncer chipped in from 30 yards.
10 min...FCD Goncalves 35 yard cross from right side has CR defenders leap to head away cross to left side of box.
10 min...FCD Harris cross from right side of box partially cleared by diving defender at 15 yards and FCD McCarty has 25 yard rebound shot blasted low and blocked at 15 yards.
12 min...FCD Benitez throw-in from left has FCD player head down at 10 yards on left but defenders clear.
14 min...CR Smith low cross from 18 yards on left has defenders clear at 6 yards in middle.
17 min...FCD Ferreira rushes for ball just inside box and sliding CR Moor beats him to it to clear ball at 10 yards.
17 min...FCD Shea injured when running across CR box to left to get to cross sent in from right corner and the defender kicks clearance to but connects to leg of Shea.
19 min...FCD Benitez rushes to pass on left sideline and bends 25 yard cross that goalie catches on left post.
20 min...CR Casey rolls ball forward to left and goalie charges to pick it up on edge of box.
21 min...FCD Ferreira cornerkick from right is rolled back to him but play flagged offside.
23 min...the fans start singing the 'Danny Dichio' song.
24 min...CR Smith charges to rescue ball on FCD left end line and rolls pass to CR Cummings but defender slides to poke away ball at 6 yards.
24 min...CR goalie picks up roller in crowd of players sent into box from right by FCD Chavez at 30 yards.
26 min...CR Casey can't draw penalty kick and pushes FCD Benitez. CR had FCD Ihemelu hang onto him when he turned inside box and then tripped over FCD Benitez who had already fallen at 6 yards on right side near end line when CR Casey flung him out of the way. FCD Goncalves injured in FCD box away from that play.
28 min...CR Kimura cross from right has CR Cummings leap on right side at 8 yards but not quite able to turn header and ball bounces just in front of feet of CR Casey who misses connecting at 8 yards in the middle.
29 min...CR goalie catches 25 yard backwards shot from FCD Harris on the bounce.
30 min...CR goalie charges out of box and heads ball away ahead of charging FCD Harris for throw-in.
31 min...FCD Ferreira cornerkick from left has leaping FCD Ihemelu head ball over net from 9 yards.
32 min...FCD Shea chips 25 yard cross on run on left that goalie catches.
33 min...FCD sub...Loyd replaces Goncalves who's still injured although he had returned to field to play.
34 min...FCD David Ferreira GOAL...FCD Marvin Chavez rush on right from 45 yards and he bends 22 yard cross into 6 yard box where charging Ferreira beats diving goalie Matt Pickens to connect to ball at 6 yards in middle and send it to center of net under bar.
36 min...CR Cummings dekes through two defenders on right and takes 15 yard shot that misses the top left corner of net.
37 min...CR Smith ends CR pressure by twisting header wide left from 15 yards on cross from right.
40 min...CR YELLOW card...Wallace earns it for sliding tackle on FCD Chavez at CR 50 yards.
42 min...FCD Ferreira cornerkick from right is low and cleared by defenders on right side.
43 min...CR goalie makes diving save on 25 yard shot up middle from FCD Chavez and big rebound is cleared by defenders.
44 min...CR Wallace high 30 yard cross from left is well high and wide right of net.
45 min...CR Kimura cross from 35 yards on right has CR Casey and FCD John injured on crash leaping for ball just inside box.
47:47 min...half ends 9:45pm.

Halftime entertainment:...There were retired players' highlights shown on the scoreboard including Jaime Moreno's last league goal against Toronto on a penalty kick in the final week of the season. There was applause for Brian McBride when he came out of the player tunnel to wave at the crowd.

2nd Half:...starts 10:02pm.
45 min...FCD Hernandez and CR Smith are both injured at FCD 35 yards in crash of legs.
50 min...CR Cummings has ball poked away from him on left side of FCD box before he can make cross.
50 min...CR YELLOW card...Smith for tackle from behind on FCD McCarty at FCD 35 yards.
52 min...CR goalie shanks clearance kick back pass behind own line.
53 min...FCD Ferreira cornerkick from left is over players in box and deflects for through ball.
55 min...CR Conor Casey GOAL...CR Jamie Smith run on left and crosses low into box from 25 yards. Casey slides to ball at 4 yards on left post and has ball blocked by goalie Kevin Hartman and sliding defender Jair Benitez. While on ground Casey pokes foot out to roll ball under arm of Benitez into open net from 3 yards.
58 min...CR Smith 50 yard freekick from right has goalie fly to catch when CR player volleys partial clearance to edge of box.
58 min...CR MaCarty low 25 yard shot through crowd of players has goalie smother ball.
60 min...CR Smith tripped up by FCD Hernandez at FCD 30 yards.
61 min...CR Larentowicz receives centering tap over of freekick from left from 30 yards and his low blast has goalie dive right to push ball wide of net.
61 min...CR Smith cornerkick from right has CR Mastroeni knock ball wide right of net from 5 yards.
63 min...FCD Hernandez 50 yard shot up middle is low and wide left of net.
63 min...FCD sub...Cunningham replaces Shea.
64 min...FCD Cunningham cross from right is through box and cleared by defender.
64 min...FCD Benitez cross from 25 yards on left has CR Moor clear at 5 yards in box.
66 min...FCD Cunningham cross from right end line from 15 yards has goalie bat ball away and CR player clears rebound.
69 min...FCD Ferreira 45 yard freekick down middle chip has CR Larentowicz head ball away on edge of box.
70 min...FCD Hernandez 55 yard freekick from left has CR Casey head ball behind own net.
70 min...FCD Ferreira cornerkick from right has goalie catch ball on 6 yard header after header deflected to him.
71 min...FCD Hernandez 50 yard freekick from left has ball knocked around with it both being cleared and blocked with FCD Ferreira blasting shot down middle from 22 yards and CR Larentowicz blocking it at 10 yards.
75 min...FCD Ferreira 35 yard freekick from left sideline has goalie punch ball up in crowd of players and rebound shot blocked at 20 yards.
79 min...FCD Loyd cross from right 30 yards has defender head ball away.
80 min...FCD Chavez injured in own box.
82 min...FCD Loyd rolls cross from 10 yards on right end line through CR box unplayed.
83 min...FCD YELLOW card...Benitez earns it for battle at center line.
.........CR YELLOW card...Casey earns it for his battle at center line.
84 min...FCD pressure on outside of CR box with best chance having FCD Chavez blasting 16 yard shot down middle that defender blocks.
84 min...CR Mastroeni is injured in own end and its only noticed after the ball was cleared.
86 min...FCD McCarty cross from 30 yards on right has FCD Ferreira one-touch at 12 yards on left end line kick ball over net.
88 min...FCD Harris rolls cross from right into box from 22 yards and CR Moor clears it away.
88 min...CR sub...Thompson replaces Smith.
89 min...CR goalie catches headed ball from FCD player from 22 yards that had been knocked around in box.
90 min...There's a pushing incident at FCD 40 yards mostly between CR Thompson and FCD Hernandez.
91 min...CR sub...Baudet replaces Wallace.
92 min...CR Thompson 50 yard freekick from left has defender head ball over own line.
93 min...There's no time for a cornerkick on right!
93 min...half ends 10:50pm.

1st half of overtime period (15 minutes)...starts 10:55pm...FCD defends north end.
FCD Harris is in the game with his head taped.
91 min...FCD Ferreira taps pass over to FCD Chavez who shoots 20 yarder from left high and wide right of net.
93 min...CR Cummings can't get to pass rolled downfield to left from 50 yards so it becomes a goalkick.
96 min...CR Thompson 50 yard freekick from left has ball cleared back to him and his 40 yard chip has flying CR Mullan head ball over net from 10 yards.
97 min...CR sub...Kandji replaces Cummings.
98 min...CR Mastroeni spins and after receiving freekick from 60 yards and kicks 25 yard shot down middle over net.
101 min...CR Mastroeni blasts 40 yarder that CR Casey stops at 18 yards but defenders stop him from lining up shot.
104 min...FCD sub...Avila replaces Chavez.
105 min...half ends 11:10pm.

2nd Half overtime:...starts 11:12pm.
106 min...CR (FCD George John own goal) GOAL...CR Conor Casey chips ball from 40 yards to CR Macomba Kandji on the left and he dekes FCD Jair Benitez and pokes 7 yard shot from right split second ahead of FCD Ugo Ihemelu getting foot to block it and ball deflects off thigh of George John's shoulder and squeeze between goalie Kevin Hartman stepping forward to stop cross and short side post. Kandji was injured on the play and he collapsed on the field.
Kandji left the game and did not return and because CR had made all their substitutes, they had to play shorthanded for the rest of the game.
109 min...FCD Ferreira 15 yard low cross from left edge of box has defender clear.
109 min...FCD Ihemelu cross from 30 yards on left has FCD Harris head ball from 10 yards is just high and wide right of net.
110 min...FCD Avila 22 yard shot down middle is wide left of net.
110 min...CR Thompson rolls cross from left cornerflag but no one is there and ball is cleared.
113 min...the Danny Dichio song starts again (well the clock reads 23 minutes of overtime).
114 min...FCD Loyd long throw-in from right has CR defender in box leap to head ball away.
115 min...FCD Ihemulu shoots 12 yarder up middle over net on pass from left from FCD Ferreira.
116 min...CR Casey and FCD John both injured in clash of heads at FCD 25 yards.
117 min...FCD Ferreira low 20 yard kick up middle between crowd of players as he slides for ball and goalie dives to smother it.
119 min...FCD Ferreira 25 yard freekick from right has ball cleared from box.
120 min...FCD John 15 yard shot from even with left post has goalie dive and block at 1 yard and ball cleared.
120 min...FCD Benitez crosses 35 yarder from left that has McCarty duck head and flick 15 yard header down middle that lands on top of the net.
121 min...FCD Fernandez 50 yard freekick from left has ball headed down just inside box and FCD Avila can't draw Penalty kick when he pushes ball too far forward.
122 min...FCD Cunningham spins scissor kick that's caught by diving goalie just right of post but offside flag was up.
122 min...FCD Ihemelu long throw-in downfield from 60 yards on left has CR Kimura head ball backwards from 25 yards and FCD Cunningham gets behind him and 10 yard shot on left that gets behind goalie out to block shot and retreating CR Moor clears ball from 2 yards. FCD McCarty one-touches rebound from 25 yards wide left of net.
123.34 min...game ends 11:31pm.

Final Score:...FC Dallas.......1 (OT)........Colorado Rapids......2 (OT)...........

This championship game was played with a silver ball.

Attendance was supposed to be 21700 but there was no way there were that many people showed up. TFC fans were forced to buy tickets as part of their 2011 renewal package. There were some travelling fans from each city and some MLS fans who just like travelling. In between halfs there was a guy who asked if the two empty seats beside me were taken. He sat there for the second half and said officials had come over to his side on the west side and asked him to sit on the east side to make it look better for the telephone broadcast. I heard other fans walking up the aisle asking the same question.

The majority of fans were TFC fans. They delighted in singing the 'Danny Dichio' song at 23 minutes during the first half and the overtime period where the clock was started all over at zero. They booed ex-TFC player Jeff Cunningham when he was introduced and when he came into the game as a substitute and whenever he touched the ball. Otherwise the fans were neutral. They sang "TO reject" when Conor Casey was awarded the MVP player of the game trophy. Casey had played two games for TFC in their inaugral 2007 season before being traded. The only player they appeared to cheer was CR Marvell Wynne who was traded by TFC at the beginning of this season.

The weather was cold but that was expected and most people looked like they dressed warm enough. The field had installed moving sign boards for this one game.

I warmed up for the game by taking in the pre-game festivities, getting autographics from TFC players Ty Harden and Adrian Cann, San Jose Earthquakes and 2010 league Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski, and Real Salt Lake Alvaro Saborio.

Many fans didn't stay to the end, including leaving before the overtime even started. The game started even later than scheduled which was supposed to be 8:30pm. (actual kickoff was 9:00pm even though the television pre-game show started at 8:00pm). This game was definately played for television because a reasonable time for mild weather in Toronto would have been an afternoon game but they were probably afraid of ratings clashing with gridiron football.

It took hours for me to get home as there were no streetcars waiting as folks who left early jumped onto them. The subway was also short turned after midnight for construction repairs and so I had to catch a shuttlebus. That will be forgotten about because I'll remember this game for decades.

Only problem on the east side stands that our view of the pre game and post game ceremonies were blocked by onfield flags and banners. I thought the wooden stage would collapse with the Rapids players jumping up and down after the trophy presentation. A nice touch was their players running over to the north end to salute their fans who were mostly confined to that area.


stats from MLS.com website.

  
FC DALLAS   	COLORADO 
	1   		2 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ferreira 35'  
 			57' Casey 	 
			107' John (OG) 

Comparison  	FC DALLAS   COLORADO   
Shots 			17   	7 
Shots on Goal 		6   	3 
Saves 			2   	5 
Fouls 			11   	16 
Offsides 		4   	0 
Corner Kicks 		5   	1

FC Dallas starters