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Result of the Saturday May 14th, 2011 MLS game between Toronto FC and Chicago Fire played at BMO Field in Toronto at 7:00pm.

Toronto FC (all red, black shoulders and sleeves, white names and numbers)

........................24 Stefan Frei
27 Richard Eckersley...31 Dicoy Williams...12 Adrian Cann...8 Dan Gargan
........23 Jacob Peterson...6 Julian de Guzman...22 Tony Tchani
........18 Nick Soolsma...29 Marcos Santos (cpt)...7 Joao Plata

Subs:...30 Milos Kocic (gk)...10 Alen Stevanovic (mid)...11 Nathan Sturgis (mid)...16 Oscar Cordon (mid)...20 Ty Harden (def) ...26 Matt Gold (mid)...33 Javier Martina (fwd)
head coach Aron Winter

Chicago Fire (all white, black names and numbers)

Subs:...30 Alec Dufty (gk)...4 Kwame Watson-Siriboe (def)...9 Baggio Husidic (fwd)...15 Orr Barouch (fwd)...23 Josip Mikulic (def) 32 Dasan Robinson (def)...77 Bratislav Ristic (mid)
head coach Carlos de los Cobos

Game officials:...referee Elias Bazakos...referee's assistants Hector Vergara and Corey Parker...fouth official Edvin Jurisevic... (neon yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 7:17pm...TFC defend south end on this mild night with the rain stopping just moments before kickoff (for the first half anyway).
10 sec...TFC Plata knocked down when Fire Cuesta gets leg into him at Fire 35 yards.
1 min...TFC Soolsma short pass from right from 20 yards to TFC Peterson on right who blasts shot from 12 yards that defender partially blocks and TFC Santos blasts 15 yard shot down middle wide right from middle.
4 min...TFC Santos 15 yard shot while tied up by defender has Fire defender Gibbs on right kick ball over left end line.
4 min...TFC Peterson cornerkick from left has defender head ball out of box.
5 min...TFC Peterson wins freekick when Fire Paladini clips him at Fire 22 yards when two defenders squeeze in on him.
6 min...TFC Santos freekick from 20 yards is blasted down middle into player wall. TFC Eckersley gets rebound on right outside of box and blasts 22 yard shot that pops up off defender at 15 yards and goalie palms ball over top left corner of net for cornerkick.
6 min...TFC Plata cornerkick from left is caught by goalie in crowd of players.
8 min...TFC Joao Plata GOAL...TFC Nick Soolsma at Fire 50 yards in middle passes over to Plata at 40 yards on the left and rushes towards middle and takes low 22 yard shot up middle between two defenders and into right corner of net beyond diving goalie.
11 min...Fire Pappa freekick from 40 yards on right is blocked at 15 yards on left by defender and Fire Oduro on right touches ball back to Pappa who takes a 22 yard shot from the right that bends to goalie in center of net.
11 min...TFC Tchani at Fire 45 yards on right sends through pass to middle but has Fire Paladini get back to kick ball on edge of box away for cornerkick before TFC Santos can get to it.
11 min...TFC Peterson cornerkick from right has TFC Cann head 10 yarder from left well high and wide left of net.
13 min...TFC Gargan 40 yard throw-in from left bounces to goalie.
15 min...Fire Pappa cornerkick from left is partially cleared by TFC Williams at 6 yards with header and Fire Bone rolls 22 yarder up middle that's cleared at 6 yards by TFC Santos.
16 min...Fire Oduro wins cornerkick when slow TFC Cann is caught watching ball roll out of play then has to make lunge to clear it over line when Oduro stops it from rolling out.
16 min...Fire Puerari cornerkick from right has Fire Chaves head ball across from 10 yards on left and Fire Gibbs takes one-touch midair 8 yard shot in center well over net.
18 min...Fire Anibaba sends in high cross from 25 yards on right that Fire Chaves chests down while falling backwards in TFC box at 8 yards and defenders clear.
18 min...Fire YELLOW card...Segares earns it for pushing over TFC Soolsma on run at Fire 45 yards on right sideline.
20 min...Fire Pappa cross from 28 yards on left has leaping TFC Cann at 12 yards head ball out of box preventing Fire players from getting to it.
22 min...TFC Plata run on left and cross from 25 yards to center just outside box has TFC Santos flub ball facing away from goal at 22 yards and defenders clear.
24 min...TFC Gargan long throw-in from left has Fire goalie punch ball in crowd of players on left over players just too far for TFC Plata on right but who gets to ball and rolls ball from 15 yards across 6 yard box where defender clears.
24 min...TFC YELLOW card...de Guzman earns it for knock over of Fire Oduro at Fire 45 yards injurying him.
27 min...Fire YELLOW card...Paladini earns it for sliding tackle on TFC Tchani at Fire 45 yards.
27 min...TFC Peterson 50 yard freekick from left is headed wide right of net from leaping TFC Tchani from 8 yards on right.
28 min...Fire Chaves pushes pass right from 22 yards in middle and Fire Puerari crosses from 10 yards on right that TFC Eckersley gets foot in to prevent sliding Fire player from connecting at 5 yards in middle but ball deflects out for cornerkick.
29 min...Fire Puerari cornerkick from right has Fire Gibbs head ball wide right from 10 yards.
29 min...Fire Oduro charges to TFC end line to stop ball rolling out of play but slips and TFC Gargan charging back knocks ball over end line.
30 min...Fire Pappa cornerkick from right has TFC Cann heads ball out left side of box from 12 yards in middle.
30 min...TFC de Guzman long cross from 50 yards on right is just a step ahead of charging TFC Santos on edge of box and out for throw-in.
32 min...TFC Peterson 40 yard freekick from left has TFC Soolsma nod 15 yard header up middle onto top of of net.
35 min...TFC Gargan on run on left rolls cross from 20 yards behind TFC Plata at 8 yards in middle who turns back and cuts shot that's blocked by defender.
35 min...Fire Pappa cuts low cross around TFC Eckersley at 20 yards near left end line that goalie dives forward and misses and TFC Gargan give up cornerkick on right.
36 min...Fire Puerari cornerkick from right has TFC Santos head ball away on right side of box.
37 min...Fire Paladini low 35 yard shot up middle after tapped over freekick has TFC de Guzman block at 20 yards and Fire Pappa taps over ball for Fire Bone to blast 20 yard shot up middle deflects off foot of Fire player and wide left of net.
40 min...TFC Cann 40 yard chip cross from left finds TFC Soolsma near end line and he crosses from 15 yards that Fire Anibaba heads away from inside box and wins freekick when TFC Plata bumps him in the back.
41 min...Fire Oduro long run up right and blasts 20 yard shot that goalie blocks but fumbles on right post, Oduro rescues ball before it rolls out and crosses 12 yarder that TFC Williams heads away from 6 yards in crowd in box.
43 min...TFC Gargan long throw-in from left that diving TFC Soolsma can't connect at 6 yards.
43 min...Fire Oduro on rush on right rolls pass to Fire Puerari who blasts 20 yard shot that deflects off TFC Canna and diving TFC goalie blocks shot on right post and ball cleared by TFC Gargan.
44 min...Fire goalie catches TFC Tchani cross from 30 yards on left sideline.
45 min...TFC goalie charges forward to catch low cross from right by Fire Oduro from 25 yards.
46 min...TFC Eckersley rush to middle across at Fire 50 yards and pass to left cornerkick where TFC Plata rescues ball and crosses back TFC Tchani but referee blows whistle to end half.
46 min...half ends 8:03pm.

Halftime Entertainment:...Something different! It was a Timbits soccer game played entirely in the center circle between members of the North Toronto Soccer Club. The boys and girls playing were about 4 or 5 years old and they were just awful. All running after the ball, no sense of positions. One kid standing still, one taking the ball on a run and scoring on his own net, one kid running outside the circle and downfield where a parent had to chase her. This mini-game actually started late with only five minutes before the second half was supposed to start.

2nd Half:...starts 8:13pm. It's now raining much harder then when it started during halftime. No more notes from me! The rest of my report is faked by watching a television replay.
46 min...TFC Maicon Santos GOAL...Joao Plata on run on right sideline rolls cross from 45 yard line to Santos at 40 yards nearer center of field and his 35 yard shot from right is low and through the legs of goalie Jon Conway standing only two yards off goalline.
47 min...Fire Bone run down left side and from 8 yards pokes low shot that diving goalie pushes wide left of left post for cornerkick.
47 min...Fire player's cornerkick from left is into box where it is knocked around but cleared from box.
47 min...Fire Pappa cross from 18 yards on left is low and into center of box where TFC Williams kicks ball wide left of goal to keep Fire forward from 6 yard shot.
47 min...Fire Pappa cornerkick from left has TFC de Guzman head ball out of box.
48 min...Fire Pappa on left sideline at 30 yards rolls ball forward for Fire Segares who crosses low from 20 yards on left and diving TFC Williams heads ball from 5 yards wide left for cornerkick.
48 min...Fire Pappa cornerkick from left has TFC Williams head ball out of box.
56 min...TFC Soolsma cross from 30 yards on right after run and Fire Bone clears it from box.
57 min...Fire sub...Barouch replaces Puerari.
58 min...Fire Anibaba cross from 40 yards on right sideline has TFC Cann stop in box then slip backwards and Fire Chaves gets to ball at 8 yards on right but knocked off ball and TFC de Guzman clears. TFC Gargan was hurt on bump in play when he made sliding tackle.
60 min...TFC sub...Stevanovic replaces Plata.
61 min...TFC Peterson cornerkick from left has TFC Williams head 12 yarder from left over crowd of players in box and flying goalie catches near right post.
62 min...Fire Oduro run on right side crosses from 28 yards on right that Fire Barouch gets to in center but squeezed by two defenders including TFC Peterson who got foot in to trip him and wins freekick at 20 yards.
62 min...Fire Marco Pappa GOAL...Pappa blasts 20 yard freekick off underside of bar on right side and into net with goalie Stefan Frei stuck in middle of net.
68 min...TFC Soolsma at 30 yard line on right cuts to middle and takes 30 yard shot that goalie saves on one bounce on right post and has time to pick up rebound.
68 min...Fire Pappa blasts 40 yard low shot from right that skips through box well wide left of net.
69 min...Fire Segares run on left wing and low cross into box from 22 yards has TFC Cann stop and clear ball.
69 min...TFC Tchani rolls through ball from 50 yards on right to TFC Stevanovic on left and he runs in from 35 yards with Fire Anibaba not letting him cut towards center, takes 20 yard shot from right that sliding goalie makes foot save on shot. TFC Santos had been injured at center line earlier in play when clipped by Fire Gibbs.
71 min...TFC Peterson 30 yard low shot up middle through crowd deflects over end line well wide left for cornerkick.
71 min...TFC Peterson cornerkick from left has players on left side of box miss and ball knocked down to center of 6 yard box where Fire Bone clears out of box.
73 min...Fire Cuesta injured at Fire 20 yards near left sideline when TFC Stevanovic slides into him.
74 min...Fire Orr Barouch GOAL...Fire Marco Pappa at 50 yards taps ball back to Fire Cory Gibbs who chips ball from middle into box where TFC Cann outjumps Fire player to head ball out right side of box. Fire Corben Bone on right edge of box runs to right end line and sends cross around TFC Dan Gargan and goalie dives forward from right post but misses and sliding Barouch on left post deflects 1 yard shot into left side of net with thigh.
76 min...TFC Peterson 35 yard freekick from left is high and goalie punches ball forward out of box as surrounded by three TFC players at 6 yards.
77 min...Fire Pappa 28 yard shot from right has TFC Eckersley at 8 yards head ball out of box.
78 min...Fire Oduro low cross from 22 yards on left has TFC Williams kick ball out of box from 10 yards.
79 min...TFC Eckersley throw-in from right has TFC Soolsma at 20 yards on right skip through defenders but not get ball through.
79 min...TFC Cann rolls ball forward from middle over to left side and TFC Santos on run blasts 25 yard shot from left over net.
81 min...TFC Peterson throw-in from right has TFC Soolsma on right edge of box flick header across box and TFC Stevanovic flub shot from 10 yards while guarded by defender and ball rolls for goalie.
82 min...Fire Bone from 28 yards in middle rolls through ball forward past sliding TFC Williams and Fire Paladini in alone at 18 yards and he chips sprawling goalie at 8 yards but goalie swings hand over and bats ball up and wide left of net for cornerkick.
82 min...TFC sub...Martina replaces Santos.
83 min...Fire Pappa cornerkick from left has Fire Barouch dive at 15 yards and pop header up that goalie catches on left post.
83 min...TFC goalie punts ball downfield to charging TFC Martina but ball bounces over end line wide right of goal.
84 min...Fire Pappa chips 22 yarder up middle but Fire Bone trips as he's turning around at 15 yards and can't get to ball so it's cleared out right side of box. Fire Barouch recovers near right end line and tries to deke TFC Williams but is knocked down and wins freekick.
85 min...Fire Anibaba chips 18 yard freekick from right end line diving Fire Chaves miss heading ball and defenders partially clear. Fire Bone shoots 18 yarder that goalie catches.
86 min...TFC sub...Gold replaces Soolsma.
89 min...TFC Martina slips on his run down right side but recovers to roll weak 15 yard shot on right through defenders legs to goalie.
89 min...Fire sub...Husidic replaces Chaves.
91 min...Fire Paladini blasts 35 yard freekick up middle that deflects off head in TFC three man wall and TFC Williams clears from edge of box.
92 min...Fire Pappa blasts 22 yarder down middle but well high wide right of net.
92 min...Fire sub...Ristic replaces Oduro.
93 min...TFC de Guzman cross downfield from 35 yards in middle has TFC Martina on left runs to one-touch 18 yard shot on left well high and wide left of net when he slips.
93 min...game ends 9:01pm.

Final Score:.....Toronto FC......2..........Chicago Fire..........2...........

Attendance was announced as 18674. This might have been the number of tickets sold but there another 2000 empty seats besides the 3000 unsold. It had rained all day and stopped just before the national anthems. A vendor gave me a pancho after seeing me wearing a clear garbage bag. It was too confining to make notes. The rain started to fall in the second half harder than it had rained all day driving some of the fans who did turn out home sooner than if there was no weather problems.

The momentum of the game turned in favour of Chicago at around the 60 minute mark which was at the time when TFC replaced offensive threat Joao Plata.

TFC Julian de Guzman picked up his fifth Yellow card of the season so misses the next league game next weekend in Colorado.

I don't recall if they announced a man of the match but it should have been Joao Plata for his overall play.

I couldn't believe that Toronto would not win this game with building a 2-0 lead. The flubbed goal at the beginning of the second half felt like at last their luck had turned. They led the Fire by three points in the standings although they have played two more games. The Fire had won only one game so far this year. Almost exactly one year ago they beat Chicago at home 4-1 for their most lopsided win of the year. Tonight's result is their fourth tie at home this season to go with two wins and a loss. As this team over the years has not been able to win on the road, it's going to make it difficult to grab one of the playoff places even with more teams being allowed into the post season this year.

stats from MLSsoccer.com

Scoring Summary:
 
TOR -- Joao Plata 2 (Nick Soolsma 2) 9
TOR -- Maicon Santos 3 (Joao Plata 2) 47
CHI -- Marco Pappa 4 (unassisted) 63
CHI -- Orr Barouch 1 (Corben Bone 1) 76
 
Misconduct Summary:
 
CHI -- Gonzalo Segares (caution; Reckless Foul) 19
TOR -- Julian de Guzman (caution; Reckless Tackle) 25
CHI -- Dan Paladini (caution; Dissent) 28

Match Stats
Toronto FC            Chicago Fire
18     Attempts on Goal     20
 8     Shots on Target       8
 6     Shots off Target      6
 4     Blocked Shots         6
 5     Corner Kicks          9
18     Fouls                11
 7     Open Play Crosses    15
 1     Offsides              1
 1     Yellow Cards          2
 0     Red Cards             0
44     Duels Won            49
47%    Duels Won %          52%
307    Total Pass           537
77%    Passing Accuracy %   81%
36.2%  Possession           63.7%

Lineups:
 
Chicago Fire-- Jon Conway, Gonzalo Segares, Cory Gibbs, Yamith Cuesta, Jalil Anibaba, Corben Bone, Gaston Puerari (Orr Barouch 58), Marco Pappa, 
Dan Paladini, Diego Chaves (Baggio Husidic 89), Dominic Oduro (Bratislav Ristic 89).
Substitutes Not Used: Josip Mikulic, Dasan Robinson, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Alec Dufty.
 
Toronto FC -- Stefan Frei, Richard Eckersley, Dicoy Williams, Adrian Cann, Dan Gargan, Tony Tchani, Julian de Guzman, Jacob Peterson, 
Nick Soolsma (Matt Gold 87), Maicon Santos (Javier Martina 84), Joao Plata (Alen Stevanovic 61).
Substitutes Not Used: Oscar Cordon, Ty Harden, Nathan Sturgis, Milos Kocic.
 
Referee: Elias Bazakos
Referee's Assistants: Hector Vergara, Corey Parker
4th Official: Edvin Jurisevic
Time of Game: 1:51
Attendance: 18,674
Weather: Showers and 61 degrees

TFC starters

Fire starters

Fire players waiting for kickoff.

TFC Maicon Santos lines up to take this freekick.

TFC Richard Eckersley makes clearance.

TFC Dan Gargan runs to the end line.

TFC players wait for start of second half.

TFC Jacob Peterson takes cornerkick. Note how hard it's raining.

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