May 25, 2008 CSL TFC Academy vs North York Astros (by VPjr of Voyageurs message board)
Posted: May 25 2008, 11:25 PM
I'm going to do my best Rocket Robin immitation here and try to give a recap of the TFC Academy vs. North York Astros match this afternoon at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York.
51 min...TFC-A Goal scored by Junior Ellis. Ellis beat the offside trap that had been effective to that point in the match. He collected a nice pass from midfield, made a deft move to his left to get around the charging Astros GK and then went in all alone on an empty goal and buried it. Quite clinical.
Around the 75th minute, Astros #9 gets a straight red card for a rash two footed tackle on a TFC-A midfielder. The TFC-A player appeared to be hurt and left the game. No argument on this call in my mind. That's a Red card in any league, anywhere.
Around the 85th minute, the starting GK for the Astros was also given a straight red card for "taking down" a charging TFC-A forward, putting the Astros down to 9 men for the remainder of the game. The Astros keeper came out of his 18 yard box to clear away a long forward pass but the hard charging TFC-A attacker beat him to the ball by a split second. The GK put his arm out to impede the attacker's angle to the net, causing the TFC-A forward to go down. The ref took quite awhile to make a decision on what card to show but eventually the Red card was shown. That call struck me as being a bit harsh.
TFC-A could have / should have made the score 2-0 immediately after the Astros got their 2nd red card. The substitute GK (#1) came in cold and got action immedtiately. He made a wonderful series of saves on point blank shot in his 6 yard box before it was finally cleared away.
Astros had some good opportunities in the 1st half and had an absolutely glorious chance to tie the game in the dying minutes of the game but the Astros #21 did not make good enough contact on a ball that was bouncing around the PK spot and it was either saved by the GK or by a defender...hard to tell.
Final Score:……Toronto FC Academy……..1……………North York Astros..........0
Attendance was about 200 people on this beautiful spring day. There were a fair number of TFC scarves in the stands, which was cool to see. No typical TFC chants were heard while I was there but there were some guys in the back rows trying some bootleg versions of the TFC, clap, clap, clap chant.
I apologize that I did not get a program when I got the stadium (about 15 minutes after kickoff) so I don't have many names to share with you but I will share my observations:
a) TFC Academy is going to cause alot of the existing CSL teams fits due to their fitness, athleticism and quality. This is a well organized team. Its clear that they have played together for a long time. I really don't believe the TFC Academy coaches have really imposed their own philosophies on these players yet. It's too early for that and they are already know how to play together. These boys are playing the kind of football that is the hallmark of the OSA all star teams (very much route 1 style in attack, strong and disciplined in defense, midfield applies strong pressure on opposition ball carrier) and it is proving to be effective enough thus far.
I would personally prefer to see these young men being pushed to play a more positive, ball control style of play. My hope is that this will emerge as the season progresses.
One thing is for sure...if TFC-A continues to play in CSL, teams will need a more involved off season training regime to ensure that they are ready to play with these young men when the 2009 kicks off. The Astros were not as fit as the TFC players.
b) I've got some concerns about the refereeing on display today. Like all CSL matches I've seen, the game was a bit chippy so it is imperative that the refs keep control. To their credit, the game never got out of control despite the occasional physical play but the Astros players and coaches were clearly frustrated as the game wore on.
I would not want to accuse the refs for being biased toward TFC-A because I don't think that is the case. However, I just had this feeling that the Astros were being held to a somewhat different discipline standard when it came to physical play.
Were the refs being influenced by the pro-TFC crowd (there appeared to be quite a few parents of TFC-A players in the crowd)? I guess that's possible. The crowd got quite loud whenever it felt the TFC-A players were fouled and louder still when they felt the ref made the wrong call against a TFC-A player.
Do the refs feel that the men's teams in CSL ought to be "taking it easy" against the youngsters? I should hope not. These boys are playing in a senior league and need to be able to handle the physical play that they will be exposed to without preferential treatment. We are not doing these young men any favours if they are protected. When you play vs. men, you need to be able to take the knocks that go with it. If they are good enough to go overseas or move up to the senior team, no one will hold back on them because of their age.
Time will tell on this refereeing issue. I will be attending alot more CSL games this year (I bought season tix packages to a couple of teams) so its going to be something that I pay attention to.
Next TFC Academy home game will be Friday May 30th at 8:00pm against Italia Shooters. TFC-A will also play on Sunday away to Brampton Lions at victoria park in Brampton. I will likely be catching that match live.
The Next North York Astros game takes place on Sunday June 1 at 3:00pm at Esther Shiner Stadium vs. Windsor Border Stars.
By the way, Astros head coach Rafa Carbajal mentioned post game that the team will be adding a very talented player (a true #10 type player) to the roster in time for the next game.
This player came to Toronto in 2007 for the original TFC Open Tryout that saw Jamaal Smith get selected to join the team for Florida training camp. From what I'm told, this player was identified by many of the guest coaches helping TFC that week as THE best player at the tryouts. for whatever reason, Mo didn't want him. TFC's loss is Astros gain I guess.
more details to follow when i get them
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