June 30, 2024...MLS NEXT Pro...Toronto FC II vs Philadelphia Union II game report (by Rocket Robin)

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Result and details of the Sunday June 30, 2024 MLS NEXT Pro game between Toronto FC II and Philadelphia Union II
played at York Lions Stadium in North York at 3:00pm.

Toronto FC II (all red uniforms, white names and numbers)

......................40 Adisa De Rosario
92 Theo Rigopoulos...51 Adam Pearlman (cpt)...58 Ythallo...85 Marko Stojodinovic
.........79 Andrei Dimitru...89 Charlie Staniland...68 Lucas Olguin
.........91 Dekwon Barrow...81 Hassan Ayari...95 Nate Edwards

Subs:...50 Abraham Rodriguez (gk)...71 Markus Cimermancic (mid)...98 Kristjan Fortier (def)...94 Noah De Blasis (def)
...75 Luca Accettola (mid)...72 Mark Fisher (mid)...70 Matthew Catavolo (mid)...96 Richard Chukwu (mid)
...97 Tristan Pusztahegyi (def)
team officials: head coach Gianni Cimini...assistant coach Marco Casalinuovo...goalkeeping coach David Monsalve

Philadelphia Union II (light blue socks and shorts, light blue, white, and gold diagonal striped shirts, dark blue names and numbers)

....................................57 Mike Sheridan
58 Gavin Wetzel...44 Neil Pierre...29 Olwethu Makhanya...39 Francis Westfield
88 Kyle Tucker (cpt)...41 David Vasquez...22 Sanders Ngabo...56 CJ Olney
.............45 Leandro Sorla...77 Edward Davis III

Subs:...13 Holden Trent (gk)...6 Cavan Sullivan (mid)...24 Nick Pariano (mid)...30 Jamir Berdecio (def)
...36 Randy Meneses (def)...38 Giovanny Sequera (mid)...42 Carlos Rojas (def)...43 Alex Perez (mid)
...98 Ryan Zellefrow (mid)
team officials:...head coach Marlo LeBlanc...goalkeeper coach Karl Spratt

Game officials:...referee Mazzen Black...referee assistants Joey Filipic and Kurtis Nozack
...fourth official Fabrizio Stasolla...(all black uniforms)

First Half:...game starts 3:01pm...TFC defends south end on this mild, cloudy day with a strong breeze from the north.
There had been a misty rain during the warm up.
The Union captain gives the TFC captain a gift pennant while TFC has nothing to exchange!
2 min...PU Sorla rushes down left wing and crosses along 6 yard line is unplayed.
4 min...PU Vasquez low 25 yard freekick from slight right deflects off TFC Olguin in player wall and wide left for cornerkick.
5 min...PU Tucker cornerkick from left has PU Pierre pop up header on near post wide left for goalkick.
7 min...Philadelphia Kyle Tucker GOAL...CJ Olney sends cross from 15 yard line on left has PU Edward Davis III
flick 10 yard header down middle that hits right post. Tucker steps forward and shoots 8 yarder into open net
as goalie was on right side to play deflection.
9 min...TFC Barrow can't quite reach cross from right on leap to try connecting on header at 10 yards.
12 min...Philadelphia Edward Davis III GOAL...PU David Vasquez crosses from left and has PU CJ Olney at 20 yards
foot-tip ball forward for Davis to blast low 10 yarder to right. Goalie Adisa De Rosario dives and gets hand
to it but pushes ball into right corner of net.
15 min...TFC Pearlman gets back to 5 yard line on right to clear ball for throw-in on left.
15 min...PU goalie is out to 25 yards to break up through ball pass with header.
17 min...I notice the TFC subs are out warming up already.
18 min...TFC Pearlman gets back to clear cross from left into 6 yard box giving up cornerkick in the wind.
19 min...PU Tucker high cornerkick from left is cleared from 6 yard box.
20 min...Philadelphia Francis Westfield GOAL...PU Leandro Sorla gives ball to Westfield for run along 8 yard
line cutting in from left and gets around three defenders eluding sliding tackle and shoots 8 yarder into
right side of net over sliding goalie.
22 min...Dimitru is injured at PU 50 yard line winning freekick.
23 min...PU Westfield chips 60 yard pass from left that finds PU Sorla charging to shoot 22 yarder roller wide left.
24 min...TFC YELLOW card...Ayari earns it for kick on PU Wetzel at TFC 35 yard line.
25 min...PU Vasquez 45 yard freekick from right has charging PU Makhanya head 6 yarder forward and wide left.
30 min...Philadelphia Edward Davis III GOAL...PU Francis Westfield chips 45 yarder from left downfield
to charging Davis who rushes to 5 yard line and shoots tough angle shot that finds the bottoms right corner
of the net.
31 min...PU YELLOW card...Ngabo earns it for kicking ball away on TFC freekick.
32 min...TFC Ayari 40 yard freekick from left is headed away by defender at 20 yards.
35 min...PU Tucker 40 yard shot from left is into crowd of players in box and defender clears.
36 min...PU Westfield rush down left and low cross has leaping TFC Pearlman clear from 7 yards.
38 min...TFC Rigopoulos getes by defender he pushed over on right edge of box and another defender checks him off ball.
38 min...PU Vasquez looks to pass on run up middle but has ball poked away after long run from 50 yards to 20 yards.
42 min...TFC Ythallo is nutmegged on a backheeler!
44 min...TFC Ayari 15 yard shot from near left end line has defender stop on 2 yard line near post and turns and clears.
47 min...half ends 3:48pm.

Halftime:...subs on both teams warm up.

Second Half:...starts 4:04pm. The weather is now cooler and it's now overcast again.
Halftime subs:...TFC Fisher replaces Dimitru.
...................TFC Cimermancic replaces Staniland.
49 min...TFC Ayari on 4 v 3 break on left is checked off ball before he can send in cross.
50 min...PU Tucker is injured at PU 40 yard line in middle as game carries on around him.
53 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from left blows into left side webbing of net.
55 min...TFC Barrow on break up middle after defender falls has PU Ngabo get back to tip ball away.
56 min...PU Pierre is injured in PU box and needs trainer for head injury.
58 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from left has defenders on near side clear.
58 min...TFC Cimermancic rolls bounced pass he received wide left from 10 yards on left.
60 min...PU Makhanya gets back to clear TFC pass into box.
62 min...TFC players are called offside again for the third time this half on multi pass play.
63 min...TFC Ayari 30 yard freekick from left has goalie catch overhead wide right of net.
64 min...PU Olney cross from left from 20 yards has defender on edge of 6 yard box head away.
65 min...TFC players (Cimermancic was one) have two chances on edge of box but both are cleared.
66 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from right has defender on near post concede ccrnerkick.
66 min...TFC Ayari cocrnerkick from right has nearest defender on right head ball back to him then Ayari pass is intercepted.
67 min...TFC sub...Catavolo replaces Rigopoulos.
.............PU sub...Berdecio replaces Ngabo.
.............PU sub...Sullivan replalces Sorla.
.............PU sub...Pariano replaces Tucker.
69 min...TFC Sstojodinovic cross from left has leaping defender head from 15 yards for cornerkick.
69 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from right has defender on left head ball out left side of box.
71 min...TFC Cimermancic clears cross into box to break up play.
72 min...PU YELLOW card...Wetzel earns it for dissent.
75 min...TFC Stojodinovic is tapped centering pass by TFC Olguin and low 30 yard shot is smothered by diving goalie on right
side of net.
76 min...TFC Pearlman and Ythallo are able to break up PU Sullivan and Davis rush up left on edge of box.
78 min...TFC Catavolo low 22 yard shot from left is smothered by goalie.
80 min...TFC Catavolo cornerkick from left is downfield and never even crossed into box.
80 min...TFC Ayari 25 yard freekick from left pops off head in player wall and deflects for goalie to catch.
82 min...PU sub...Meneses replaces Davis.
............TFC sub...Chukwu replaces Barrow.
83 min...Another TFC forward pass is over the PU end line for not the first time this half.
85 min...PU Olney after run up left takes 25 yard shot from left that's wide left of net.
86 min...TFC Edwards cross from 30 yards has TFC Fisher twist 12 yard header down middle that goalie catches.
87 min...PU Makhanya bodies off TFC Fisher letting ball run over end line for PU goal kick on right.
89 min...PU sub...Rojajs replaces Wetzel.
91 min...TFC Ayari freekick from 22 yards from right has PU player in crowd of players deflect for cornerkick.
92 min...TFC Ayari cornerkick from right is over players in box and PU players are away on a fast break.
93:05 min...game ends 4:52pm.

Final Score:......Toronto FC II.....0.......Philadelphia Union II........4.........

Attendance started off slow but reached almost 200 by halftime. There were many dozen travelling Union II fans who cheered every chance the visitors had. It was overcast and it looked like we'd get more rain than we already had and in fact a misty rain fell just before the warm ups that would help kill the walk up crowd. Also the Euros have moved in to their final 16 round so England v Slovakia which went into extra time and Spain v Georgia would keep some fans at home.

The PA system played the ice cream truck music and an announcement was made that it was here at the north gate but no truck was present the entire game. This just proves the themes are 'canned'. It makes sense as any truck could make X-times the money downtown this afternoon at the Pride parade.

The third team that played a part in this game was the strong, gusty wind from the north that TFC ran into in the first half before the Union took it on for the second when it got even stronger. Goal punts in the air would die and fall back to earth well before the center line and those sent with the wind would bounce forward over the end line for goal kicks. I was thinking that the Union better score early (and did they ever!) as TFC would have the winds at their backs for the second half but they never calibrated its strength and kept bouncing balls over the end line. Only time the wind helped TFC was in the second half as it kept Philadelphia from scoring any more as they emptied their bench starting with a triple change at 67 minutes.

Referee Mazzen Black from Alberta gave out only three Yellow cards—one to TFC with Union's two for time wasting and dissent in a game that couldn't be slowed down with fouls. League stats had TFC holding a wide edge in passing but that was caused by a lot of passing around outside the Union 30 yard line as they tried to break through the Union defence.

Mike Sheridan earned the shutout for the Union with all four saves (league stats) made from the 75 minute mark onward. Defenders Gavin Wetzel, Neil Pierre, Olwethu Makhanya, and Francis Westfield blocked almost everything before that.

I was warned to watch Cavan Sullivan for the Union from the autograph seeking guys. He's only 14 years old and has been signed to Manchester City but he will be staying with the Union until he's 18 (I assume he's caught up in the labour laws instigated to ensure young African born players are no longer exploited by European clubs). He was one of the 67 minute subs. He had a few good dribbles but no shots on net.

I was surprised how many usual TFC II guys were missing today. Maybe it was because TFC had a game here on Wednesday night with a 2-1 win over Inter Miami CF II. Biggest surprise was reading that Markus Cimermancic signed a short term contract to play for the MLS team. That put him in Atlanta last night but he didn't get into the game. OK but today he was brought in at halftime to play for TFC II. There were a half dozen faces of the usual TFC II players in the stands that me and the autograph seekers recognized. Oh that Atlanta game didn't go well. I am a huge backer of Luka Gavran the main goalie for TFC II until signing with TFC for this season but he was tricked on a last minute clearance by having a forgotten Atlanta player behind him poke the ball away and score into the open net to win the game. That will be on every sports blooper reel show for the next year.

The visiting team looked good with multi-pass plays on rushes, nutmegs and backheelers, and follow throughs and quick transitions. I looked up before the game started that this was the first place team. It was a surprise that their MLS team is actually four points behind Toronto FC as both are in middle of the pack in the race for the final playoff spots.

TFC II started their season with a 2-1 loss against them in Chester Pennsylvania. This team will be back here on August 16th. Strange they'd have a third meeting when there are some teams piled into the Eastern Conference who they only play once (especially from the southern US states).

This was the only afternoon game of the day but there are many others tonight. The result for Toronto drops their record to 5 wins, 2 ties, 6 losses (0 shoot-out points) for 17 points and eleventh place although they could drop further from the eighth place playoff line—21 points at the start of today.

Union II stay in first place improving to 9 wins, 3 ties, 3 losses (2 shoot-out points) for 32 points and lead the Eastern Conference by 4 points at this time.

TFC II now travel to Columbus next Sunday and then play a rescheduled game on Wednesday July 10th in Chicago. Their next home game is Sunday July 14th at 3:00pm against FC Cincinnati 2 who are currently the second best team in the Eastern Conference (oh-oh!).

Rocket Robin
robin.glover.1958@gmail.com
X @RocketRobin01

Toronto FC II starters