July 24, 2015 USL Pro--Toronto FC II vs Charleston Battery (by Rocket Robin)

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Result of the Friday July 24, 2015 USL Pro game between Toronto FC II and Charleston Battery played at the Ontario Soccer Centre at 8:00pm.

Toronto FC II (all red, white numbers)

....................40 Quillan Roberts (cpt)
54 Gabriel Boakye...33 Skylar Thomas...37 Adam Bouchard...43 Mark Serjeant
48 Raheem Edwards...45 Luca Uccello...56 Malik Johnson...34 Manny Aparicio
..............42 Massimo Mirabelli...41 Molham Babouli

Subs:...25 Alex Bono (gk)...31 Salvador Bernal (fwd)...29 Marco Nunes (fwd)...46 Daniel Fabrizi (mid)...58 Anthony Osorio (mid)
...63 Liam Fraser (mid)...64 Kevin Timachy (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Jason Bent

Charleston Battery (black socks and shorts, yellow & black striped chests, black backed shirts, white numbers)

.....................0 Kevin Corby
11 Quinton Griffith...6 Shawn Ferguson...3 Forrest Lasso...15 Emmanuel Adjetey
8 Sebastien Thuriere...18 Jose Rodriguez...14 Jared van Schaik (cpt)...24 Zachary Prince
..............17 Ricardo Garbanzo...9 Dane Kelly

Subs:...4 Taylor Mueller (def)...7 O'Brian Woodbine (def)...19 Dante Marini (mid)...20 Justin Portillo (mid)...26 Austin Savage (fwd)
team officials:...head coach and general manager Mike Anhaeuser

Game officials:...referee Pierre Acouri...referee's assistants Peter Pendli and Michael Stenbring...fourth official Justin Tasev
...(teal shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 8:11pm...TFC defends north end on theis warm, humid, and overcast evening.
3 min...CB goalie beats TFC Babouli to long through ball up right to smother it at 12 yards on right.
4 min...CB goalie charges forward to catch 25 yard chip from left in front of crowd of players.
5 min...CB Rodriguez 25 yard freekick from right has leaping CB player head 8 yarder in crowd of players that's flagged down in box.
8 min...CB Kelly turns to right and cuts 22 yard shot down middle well over net.
9 min...CB Kelly on rush on right shoots 20 yard shot wide left of net.
11 min...TFC Uccello 35 yard cross from left has goalie run forward to catch over head of TFC Mirabelli at 12 yards.
13 min...TFC goalie dives forward to beat CB Prince to short through ball pass at 15 yards up middle on multi pass play.
14 min...CB Thuriere cross from 25 yards on right and CB Kelly leaps to flick 13 yard header over net and is injured on bump.
19 min...CB Garbanzo gets poor TFC goalie clewarance at 22 yards and passes to CB Kelly who has defenders cover and prevent clear shot inside box.
20 min...TFC YELLOW card...Bouchard earns it for pulling down CB player at TFC 40 yard line on right.
21 min...CB van Schaik 45 yard freekick from right has goalie catch on left post and bash back into post but hangs on to ball.
23 min...CB Kelly is injured on bump at TFC 38 yard line.
25 min...CB Kelly survives TFC Bouchard bump to get him cutting in from right and low cross from 20 yards and CB van Schaik blasts low 22 yarder between defenders and diving goalie pushes wide right of post.
25 min...CB goalie beats TFC Edwards to through ball pass at 25 yards to boot away after CB cornerkick from right is headed around in box and TFC players start fast break.
27 min...CB Rodriguez boots 28 yard freekick from left over net.
28 min...CB Kelly low 20 yard shot from right has goalie dive to save.
29 min...CB Garbanzo bicycle kick from 14 yards up middle is well over net on cross from right.
30 min...CB Kelly pokes ball around goalie at 20 yards but goalie retreats to boot ball away.
31 min...CB Rodriguez 28 yard freekick from far left has charging CB Kelly on left post head ball wide right from 6 yards.
35 min...CB van Schaik breaks past defender on right and cross into box from 20 yards has CB player flick ball across and CB Kelly blasts 7 yarder from left that goalie pushes wide left of post.
37 min...TFC Johnson blasts 15 yard shot wide right from right.
39 min...TFC Babouli cuts 22 yard shot between defenders up middle that goalie catches.
41 min...CB van Schaik cornerkick from right wins cornerkick on left in header on left post.
42 min...CB Rodriguez cornerkick from left has CB Lasso head 12 yarder from right over net.
43 min...TFC Babouli is caught from behind on poke check on run into CB box.
45 min...CB Prince cross from 35 yards on left to CB Thuriere at 15 yards on right and he passes to left for CB Kelly to blast 7 yard shot from sharp left angle and goalie blocks on left post.
46 min...half ends 8:57pm.

Halftime Entertainment: none today.

2nd Half:...starts 9:13pm.
halftime subs:...CB Woodbine replaces Adjetey.
................CB Mueller replaces Ferguson.
................TFC Bernal replaces Johnson.
................TFC Timachy replaces Mirabelli.
45 min...TFC Babouli blasts 20 yard shot that's blocked by CB Lasso who's injured on play.
46 min...TFC Babouli cornerkick from right has ball headed out of box.
47 min...CB Griffith bends 25 yard kick from right that goalie catches.
51 min...TFC Bernal rolls pass from 25 yards on right over end line too far for any teammate to play.
52 min...CB player slides to block low cross into box and pops up 8 yarder that goalie catches.
56 min...CB Garbanzo tries to get to high bouncing chip forward at TFC 22 yards but defenders get ball away from him before he can control it.
57 min...CB YELLOW card...Prince earns it for knocking over TFC player at TFC 50 yard line.
58 min...CB sub...Marini replaces Prince.
58 min...CB Kelly on run 8 yard shot on right has goalie push ball wide right.
58 min...CB van Schaik cornerkick from right has ball cleared on left side after short blocked shot from 8 yards on left.
59 min...TFC goalie runs out of box to 20 yards to clear ball.
60 min...CB Thuriere cross from 20 yards on sharp right has ball pop and goalie catch in crowd of players at 5 yards in center of box.
61 min...CB Kelly beats TFC Bouchard on run on right and cuts around defender to get away 12 yard shot that goalie catches.
63 min...CB Rodriguez 50 yard freekick has play whistled down in box as CB player and goalie jump for it with TFC defender.
64 min...CB Rodriguez chips 40 yard freekick down middle which is also whistled down in box. TFC Bouchard is injured on play.
65 min...TFC sub...Fabrizi replaces Bouchard.
67 min...TFC Thomas gets back to check CB Kelly off ball on run down left to 22 yard line.
69 min...CB sub...Savage replaces Garbanzo.
71 min...TFC sub...Fraser replaces Edwards.
73 min...TFC Babouli and TFC Serjeant in pushing match with CB players near center circle when TFC are awarded a freekick.
74 min...TFC Babouli bashes through to edge of CB box where TFC Uccello is injured being outjumped by defender to head away.
75 min...TFC YELLOW card...Fabrizi earns it for sliding tackle on CB Thuriere on as Thuriere ran down sideline to TFC 30 yard line.
76 min...CB van Schaik bends 35 yard freekick over crowd of players that goalie catches.
78 min...TFC sub...Anthony Osorio replaces Serjeant.
78 min...TFC Babouli is cheked off ball when trying to line up 16 yard shot down middle.
79 min...CB Rodriguez cornerkick from left has goalie punch ball at 6 yards on left in crowd of players.
80 min...TFC Bernal can't win Penalty kick on bump in CB box on left while running for ball.
81 min...TFC player clears ball over end line to relieve DB pressure.
82 min...CB van Schaik cornerkick from right is eventually sent back to him after few blocks and CB van Schaik shoots sharp 12 yard shot that goalie pushes forward.
83 min...CB van Schaik 40 yard freekick from right has ball headed down at 8 yards and goalie catches on bounce.
84 min...TFC Bernal 22 yard shot from left is partially blocked by defender and rolls over left end line but goalkick is awarded.
85 min...CB Kelly blasts 20 yard shot up middle on long pass up middle over net and back fence.
86 min...CB sub...Portillo replaces Lasso.
87 min...CB YELLOW card...van Schaik earns it for tripping of TFC Babouli at 20 yards on right.
87 min...TFC Skylar Thomas GOAL...TFC Molham Babouli 28 yard freekick from right has Thomas jump in crowd of players at 6 yards on left and head ball into short left side of net past goalie Kevin Corby.
89 min...CB Portillo cornerkick from left has goalie punch ball away and ball crossed around box until knocked out for a goalkick.
92 min...CB Kelly has ball drop to him on cross from left and his 8 yard shot up middle is blocked by sliding TFC Thomas.
93 min...CB Rodriguez chips 30 yarder up middle and CB Woodbine 12 yard header from left has TFC goalie pick up ball on bounce at 6 yards.
94 min...CB Thuriere ball from 8 yards is pushed over end line as he fouls defender.
95 min...game ends 10:03pm.

Final Score:.....Toronto FC II.......1........Charleston Battery.......0.......

Attendance was about 500 or less on this warm evening with the sun not being a factor. The supporter group section appeared almost empty with what looked like one drummer.

Quinlan Roberts wore the captain's armband again tonight and was definately the star of the game making some magnificent saves in particular against Battery's Jamaican forward Dane Kelly. He had numerous catches or punch outs on cornerkicks.

TFC II players didn't have any really good chances all night. They had trouble getting away shots either by getting poke checked off the ball or having shots blocked. Battery goalie Kevin Corby didn't have much to do except venturing to the edge of the box or out of it to clear potential through balls.

Best non-scoring chances were at 13 minutes when TFC Quillan Roberts dove forward to beat CB Zachary Prince to a short through ball pass at 15 yards up middle after a multi pass play. At 19 minutes Roberts made his only mistake of the game when he made a bad clearance and a CB player stopped the ball at 22 yards and made a pass to CB Dane Kelly who had a group of defenders surround him to prevent a clear shot inside the box. Two minutes later DB Jarad Van Schaik took a 45 yard freekick from the right that Roberts caught on the left post then survived as his momentum slammed his back into the post and rattled the framework with the force of impact. 25 minutes had CB Kelly survive a TFC Adam Bouchard bump to get by him cutting in from the right to 20 yards and his low cross had CB van Schaik blast a low 22 yarder between defenders and the diving Roberts pushed the ball wide right of the post. 30 minutes had CB Kelly poke the ball behind Roberts on the edge of the box but Roberts retreated and was able to kick the ball out of bounds. 35 minutes had CB van Schaik break past a defender on the right and cross into the box from 20 yards and a CB player flicked the ball across and CB Kelly blasted a 7 yarder from the left that Roberts pushed wide left of the post. 45 minutes had CB Prince cross from 35 yards on the left to CB Sebastien Thuriere at 15 yards on the right and he passed back to the left for CB Kelly to blast a 7 yard shot from a sharp angle that Roberts blocked on the left post. 61 minutes had CB Kelly beat TFC Bouchard on a run on the right and cut around the defender to get away a 12 yard shot that Roberts caught. 79 minutes and CB Jose Rodriguez's cornerkick from the left had Roberts punch away the ball at 6 yards on left in crowd of players. 82 minutes and CB van Schaikj took a cornerkick from the right that was eventually sent back to him after a few blocked shots and he shot a sharp angled 12 yard shot that Roberts pushed forward and out of box. One minute later van Schaikj took a 40 yard freekick from the right that a CB player headed down at 8 yards but Roberts caught on the bounce.

Referee Pierre Acouri gave out four Yellow cards (two to each team) in a game that got rough at times with at least two pushing matches breaking out after freekick calls.

TFC II had their PanAm games contingient back and in the lineup plus some of their players who carried the workload for the MLS team in their exhibition game against Sunderland of the English Premier league when the regular TFC team checked out after half an hour of work.

As announced at the time of the goal, this marked the first goal scored by TFC II at their new home. So it's taken five games to do it. I had to defend the team from a guy at halftime who said they'd lost all their home games by pointing out they'd won down at BMO Field later on the same rain drenched day the MLS team played DC United. I couldn't stay after getting soaked for two plus hours then having a cold wind blow up before the USL game started.

TFC II's record improves to 4 wins, 9 losses, 3 ties for 15 points and flip back over FC Montreal (who they lost to here on Tuesday night) into tenth place in the twelve team Eastern Conference. Charleston's record now falls to 9 wins, 3 losses, 7 ties and they stay in second place but now face continueing on to Rochester NY to play the first place, undefeated Rhinos.

Now you may hear Duane Rollins' 'Two Solitudes' podcast next week where everything's sunshine based on coming to his first game of the year, I'd point out a multi-game problems of declining attendance, whipped together stands looking like Molson Indy leftovers, no 'great' chances on goal tonight despite the return of the PanAm players, one goal in their last five games, and added tonight in the hot weather, the stench of the port-a-potties drifting to the walkthrough between the gate and the stands. (Nothing about any of these points--well maybe the last one--personally bothers me as I love coming here and watching the team play and many I've seen play though the TFC Academy over the years but it's a counter to his potential podcast).

The Battery have an affiliation with Houston Dynamo but from the website there looked like there may be at most three players who played for that team while I counted at least four Caribbean players. They only had five subs on their bench tonight.

After the game I asked Liam Fraser who subbed in at 71 minutes if he'd be in the TFC Academy League 1 Ontario team against Sigma tomorrow afternoon but he wasn't sure.

There looked like there was something different about Quinlan Roberts tonight. I took a chance to ask "When did you shave your head?" "Two days ago" was his answer. Hey maybe it works like a hockey player's playoff beard!

Next TFC II game is on Tuesday the 28th at 8:00pm against AS Roma Primavera in a special international friendly. It will be interesting to see the crowd size for this game being played in Vaughan with it's large Italian-Canadian population. TFC II should have a chance in this game if the visiting team is their Under 19 team against the men of TFC II. If the visitors are the size of Sebastian Giovinco but not the skill level, the tall home team may push them around.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto FC II starters