July 23, 2014 International Friendly--Toronto FC vs Tottenham Hotspur (by Rocket Robin)

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Result of the Wednesday July 23, 2014 International Friendly between Toronto FC and Tottenham Hotspur (England) played at BMO Field in Toronto at 7:00pm.

Toronto FC (all red, white names and numbers)

........................1 Chris Konopka
25 Jeremy Hall...16 Bradley Orr...15 Doneil Henry...5 Ashtone Morgan
23 Dominic Oduro...26 Collen Warner...8 Kyle Bekker...35 Daniel Lovitz
..............18 Jermain Defoe (cpt)...9 Gilberto

Subs:...40 Quillan Roberts (gk)...2 Justin Morrow (def)...4 Michael Bradley (mid)...14 Dwayne De Rosario (mid)...17 Nick Hagglund (def)
...21 Jonathan Osorio (mid)...22 Jordan Hamilton (fwd)...27 Luke Moore (fwd)...33 Ryan Richter (def)
team officials:...head coach Ryan Nelsen

Tottenham Hotspur (white socks and shirts, navy shorts, names and numbers)

......................24 Brad Friedel
16 Kyle Naughton...4 Younes Kaboul (cpt)...51 Milos Veljkovic...33 Ben Davies
...........15 Etienne Capoue...23 Christian Eriksen...38 Ryan Mason
...........11 Erik Lamela...9 Roberto Soldado...7 Aaron Lennon

Subs:...2 Kyle Walker (def)...3 Danny Rose (def)...14 Lewis Holtby (mid)...17 Andros Townsend (mid)...20 Michael Dawson (def)
27 Iago Falque (mid)...28 Tom Carroll (mid)...35 Zeki Fryers (def)...37 Harry Kane (fwd)...43 Ryan Fredericks (def)
...44 Cristian Ceballos (mid)...-- Luke McGee (gk)
team officials:...manager Mauricio Pochettino

Game officials:...referee Geoff Gamble...referee's assistants Richard Gamache and Gianni Facchini...fourth official David Barrie
...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 7:10pm...TFC defends south end...The sun is in the north west comes in and out between the clouds.
2 min...TFC Orr clears ball off Spurs Lennon at 15 yards that deflects back off Orr for cornerkick.
2 min...Spurs Eriksen cornerkick from left is short to Spurs Mason who chips 30 yards from left that TFC Henry heads from 6 yards on right behind own net for cornerkick.
3 min...Spurs Eriksen short cornerkick from right has Spurs Lamela pass ball up right for Spurs Mason to chip cross from 25 yards and Spurs Soldado lifts leg behind ball at 8 yards up middle and tips ball over net.
6 min...TFC Henry slides at 15 yards to stop through ball pass attempt from 22 yards on right from Spurs Lamela.
8 min...Spurs Lennon receives short headed centering pass from Spurs Soldado and rolls ball between TFC Henry's legs and shoots 15 yarder up middle wide right of net.
11 min...TFC Oduro rushes forward to get to pass to 15 yards on right is called offside.
13 min...Spurs Lamala rushing down middle rolls pass to left for Spurs Davies who then passes low centering cross from 22 yards from left and Spurs Lamela shoots low 18 yarder up middle that goalie smothers near left post.
15 min...Spurs Erike Lamela GOAL...Christian Eriksen rushing up right and cutting towards middle taps short centering pass to Spurs Roberto Soldado who rolls ball to left and Spurs Aaron Lennon with back to goal lets ball run by him and ball rolls to Lamela in open on left who receives ball on edge of box and shoots low 20 yarder to right corner of net past diving goalie Chris Konopka at 6 yards on left.
18 min...TFC Gilberto receives pass from TFC Lovitz and chips ball from 45 yards down middle and Spurs goalie rushes forward and left to 10 yards to beat charging TFC Defoe to smother ball.
22 min...TFC Oduro charges up right wing to get to ball and Spurs Davies kicks ball over end line.
23 min...TFC Lovitz cornerkick from right is high and TFC Gilberto at 20 yards on left pops up header towards goal and Spurs goalie punches ball away in crowd of players at 6 yards near right post.
23 min...TFC Henry chips ball from 45 yards on left over players and ball bounces for goalie to pick up on bounce left of net.
24 min...Spurs Lennon chips 28 yarder from left unplayed that bounces to goalie.
25 min...Spurs Davies cross from 25 yards on far left has TFC Orr dive forward to head ball away at 8 yards on near post.
31 min...Spurs Eriksen 25 yard shot from right has goalie dive left to stop at 7 yards on ball that would have gone wide for goalkick.
32 min...Spurs Davies rolls cross from 25 yards on left that Spurs Lennon taps pass from 20 yards back to Spurs Eriksen who shoots 22 yarder from center well over net.
35 min...TFC goalie has to boot out of bounds under pressure from Spurs Lamela caused by too soft backpass from TFC Morgan.
37 min...Spurs Lennon cuts along 20 yard line to center from left and shot deflects wide right for cornerkick off TFC Orr at 15 yards.
37 min...Spurs Eriksen short cornerkick from left never gets inside box. Spurs Capoue eventually crosses low from 25 yards on right that TFC Henry clears at 8 yards in center of box.
38 min...Spurs Mason gets to partial clearance and blasts 28 yarder down middle well over net.
39 min...Spurs Erik Lamela GOAL...Lamela at 45 yards in middle taps pass forward for Spurs Aaron Lennon who turns and runs forward from 35 to 30 yards and tapping pass forward to Spurs Roberto Soldado who flicks pass to left for charging Lamela open and alone on left and he runs forward and blasts 15 yarder from left into right corner of net past sliding goalie at 6 yards even with left post.
40 min...TFC goalie makes another panic clearance caused by soft backpass by TFC Henry.
44 min...TFC Warner 35 yard freekick down middle has defender head ball away at 8 yards.
45 min...TFC Warner 22 yard freekick from left is low and Spurs Naughton retreats and kicks ball wide left from 5 yards for cornerkick.
45 min...TFC Defoe quick give and go cornerkick from left is not worked into box.
45:37 min...half ends 7:56pm.

Halftime Entertainment: Tonight there was none except for the Season Seat Holder Award given to some son and father combo where the son has TFC tickets and the father was born in the Tottenham area of London England.

2nd Half:...starts 8:15pm.
halftime subs: Spurs changed all ten of their outfield players. TFC made seven changes.

The formations for the second half looked like this: (there were no other subsititutes the rest of the game).

TFC: 40 Quillan Roberts
25 Jeremy Hall...17 Nick Hagglund...33 Ryan Richter...5 Ashtone Morgan
8 Kyle Bekker...14 Dwayne De Rosario (cpt)...21 Jonathan Osorio...35 Daniel Lovitz
........32 Andrew Wiedeman...22 Jordan Hamilton

Spurs: 24 Brad Friedel
2 Kyle Walker...20 Michael Dawson (cpt)...35 Zeki Fryers...14 Lewis Holtby
.........28 Tom Carroll...27 Iago Falque...3 Danny Rose
.........44 Cristian Ceballos...37 Harry Kane...17 Andreos Townsend

45 min...Spurs Falque low cross from 15 yards on far left has TFC Hagglund slide near left post and deflect ball wide.
45 min...Spurs Holtby and Falque work out short cornerkick from left on give and go and Holtby cuts low 18 yard shot from left that goalie dives to smother just wide left of net.
48 min...Spurs Ceballos blasts 25 yard shot that's blocked at 18 yard line by TFC Hagglund.
52 min...TFC Lovitz low cross from 22 yards on left has Spurs Dawson at 10 yards boot ball left for throw-in.
53 min...Spurs Falque rolls centering pass from left to Spurs Townsend who blasts low 22 yarder from left wide left of net.
54 min...TFC Lovitz tipped cross from left edge of box is cleared by defender.
55 min...Spurs Walker rolls ball forward up right from 28 yards and goalie dives on it as Spurs Holtby turns at 10 yards.
56 min...TFC Osorio centers short pass for TFC Bekker who shoots 25 yard low shot up middle that's wide right of post.
58 min...Spurs Rose cross from 28 yards on left has Spurs Kane slide and redirects ball from 8 yards up middle wide right of net.
61 min...Spurs Holtby cornerkick from right is short with Spurs Townsend and he passes to Holtby who backheels ball forward to charging Townsend and TFC De Rosario body checks Townsend off ball at 10 yards on right and ball rolls for goalkick.
62 min...TFC Wiedeman is flipped over on sliding tackle up middle by Spurs Fryers at 25 yards and ball is cleared.
63 min...TFC Hall 20 yard shot near right end line deflects off sliding defender to goalie.
64 min...TFC Andrew Wiedeman GOAL...TFC Daniel Lovitz intercepts pass from Spurs Cristian Ceballos at center line on left and runs up wing and rolls through ball from 25 yards on left and charging Wiedeman rolls one-touch 12 yarder from left into right corner of net past sliding goalie Brad Friedel at 6 yards.
65 min...TFC Bekker 45 yard freekick from right is headed away on edge of box and TFC Morgan shoots 40 yarder from left well high and wide left of net.
66 min...Spurs Townsend rush down right against TFC Morgan and cross from 25 yards drifts behind net.
67 min...Spurs Holtby cross from 28 yards near left corner flag has retreating defender head away out right side of box.
69 min...TFC Osorio blasts 22 yarder up middle between players that goalie catches.
69 min...Spurs Townsend long run up middle and passes over to Spurs Ceballos rushing up right and he taps back to Spurs player's shot from 22 yards is stopped by TFC Hagglund at 8 yards.
71 min...Spurs Ceballos rushes from right while cutting to center and blasts 25 yarder just over bar.
71 min...Spurs Falque is called offside on run up left at 25 yards on through ball pass.
72 min...TFC Jordan Hamilton GOAL...TFC Nick Hagglund from 60 yards on right chips pass forward that TFC Andrew Wiedeman one-touch flicks kick from 25 yards on left forward and to center for charging Hamilton from right at 22 yards to run towards center on edge of box and kicks low 18 yarder into low right corner of net.
77 min...Spurs Walker rush on right against TFC Morgan and blasts 15 yarder into outside webbing of net then kicks rebound high into stands in frustration.
80 min...TFC Morgan low cross from 20 yards on left has TFC Wiedeman tips shot forward from 12 yards but goalie picks up ball at 5 yards near left post.
81 min...Spurs Ceballos gets tipped ball on right and runs in but 12 yard shot is blocked by TFC Hagglund at 8 yards.
82 min...Spurs Rose on long run up left wing and crosses pass from 15 yards near end line to middle where TFC Hagglund heads away at 6 yards and Spurs Townsend low shot from 15 yards up middle is smothered.
82 min...TFC Lovitz cross from 35 yards on left and TFC Wiedeman leaps for header with Spurs Fryers who heads ball over end line from 15 yards.
83 min...TFC player's short cornerkick from right is out to TFC De Rosario who taps pass back and player's cross has TFC Hamilton miss connecting on bicyle kick at 15 yards down middle.
83 min...Spurs Townsend high cross from 35 yards on left is high over box.
84 min...Spurs Andros Townsend GOAL...Spurs Lewis Holtby takes ball off slipping TFC Kyle Bekker at center line on right and runs downfield cutting towards center. He rolls ball forward from 30 yards to Townsend who receives pass at 20 yards and cuts shot around defender TFC Nick Hagglund and blasts 20 yarder that bends into top right corner of net over goalie Quillan Roberts.
86 min...TFC Townsend runs up left and crosses from 12 yards near left end line over box and play whistled down.
86 min...TFC Wiedeman and Lovitz give one too many passes on left side of box until they push ball over end line.
90 min...game ends 9:00pm.

Final Score:.....Toronto FC.......2..........Tottenham Hotspur (England)...........3........

Attendance was announced as a sellout at 22591 on this mild and cloudy evening. There were a lot of fans I didn't recognize near me and estimate the fan support was about 50-50. Many fans arrived late because it was an early start for a mid-week game. 7:00pm Toronto time would have been midnight in England so it shouldn't have mattered if the game started at 1:00am their time. It was still an obstacle course getting through the grounds to the stadium as remnants of the Indy car race held on the weekend--cement walling and wire fencing, wooden stands, and tire barricades--were scattered around. Based on previous years, it will take quite a few more days to dismantle.

Man of the Match (who for this game only was one from each team) was Erik Lamela from Hotspur who scored the game's first two goals in playing only the first half of the game and Andrew Wiedeman who scored the first TFC goal and had an assist on their second. I agree with both those choices. Lamela was here last year as a starting midfielder for AS Roma in their friendly against TFC.

Hotspur flipped every player except the goalie at halftime. TFC put in seven new guys at halftime. There were no other changes any other time of the game.

I was surprized by the two TFC scorers--Wiedeman and Hamilton. Both don't really play for the main team. Andrew Wiedeman is rarely listed even as a sub in the weekly games. Jordan Hamilton is a graduate of the Toronto FC Academy and now is on loan to the USL Pro team Wilmington for seasoning. He played for the Academy the year they left the CSL (2013) so I never saw him. No one from the current Academy was listed tonight. That made sense as they had an important Cup game in League 1 Ontario.

Jermain Defoe only played one half which was also a surprize. He was 'rested' in the weekend away game in Houston and only subbed on at 63 minutes. He then picked up a Yellow card in that game and the accumulation will keep him out of their next game on Saturday against Kansas City.

Spurs dominated the first half and I didn't count a TFC shot until the second half. TFC's second half squad had less regulars than the first half. Michael Bradley and Luke Moore were the only unused subs for team. Jackson, Steven Caldwell, and Mark Bloom are all out injured.

Spurs finished 6th last year in the English Premier League. They are in their pre-season right now and this was only their second game on their tour. They tied 3-3 against Seattle Sounders on Saturday and finish their MLS tour later this week against Chicago Fire. They did NOT bring their World Cup players this tour so I expect their first squad once their season gets started will be even stronger.

The officiating crew was completely different than those announced. The fourth official answered my e-mail that the announced crew were going to call the AC Milan vs Olympiakos friendly tomorrow night.

Changes to the rosters of both teams were carried out earlier in the day. TFC acquired Warren Creavalle from Houston Dynamo for Toronto's Number 1 Allocation pick which the Dynamo used to acquire the returning Demarcus Beasley to prop up their leaky defence. Spurs acquired defender Ben Davies and goalie Michel Vorm from Swansea who all on a North American tour and Davies was a starter today. They gave up midfielder Gylfi Sigurosson.

Ryan Richter was recalled by TFC from Ottawa Fury for this game. Tonight the Fury were playing Glasgow Rangers from Scotland in a friendly in Ottawa. Fury lost 1-0. The game was on the Rogers Sports overflow channel at the same time as this game so I could watch it when I got home.

Upon entry to the game we were given Tottenham pennants attached to a straw to wave if we wanted.

Announcements were made during this game that if we showed the ticket booth our tickets, we could take advantage of a 2 for 1 ticket offer for tomorrow's game between AC Milan and Olympiakos. This must be humbling for the organizers because as recently as the last TFC home game last Wednessday we were offered tickets STARTING at $75.00! (I expect they'd be the cheap seats). The night before was a Legends game between former stars of Italy and Portugal. Three events here in three nights may be a bit much for fans. [follow up: attendance to the next night match was only 10306].

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca