September 29, 2024...MLS NEXT Pro...Toronto FC II vs Chattanooga FC game report (by Rocket Robin)
Result and details of the Sunday September 29, 2024 MLS NEXT Pro game between between Toronto FC IIFinal Score:...Toronto FC II......1.......Chattanooga FC...........5.........
Attendance was about 200 people on this mild afternoon with mostly clouds but the sun in the south west during warm ups. This was the last home game of the season for TFC II who were officially eliminated from the playoffs just last week on the road with their 2-0 loss to New York Red Bulls II. The weather was great for this time of year compared to previous years so I thought that would make up for the fans thinking this was a nothing game. Chattanooga were still in the running but outside the top eight so were desperate to win. TFC II could be a spoiler like the baseball Blue Jays knocking out Boston Red Sox earlier in the week. There were about 80 Chattanooga fans here. Their team today wore navy kits but fans were mostly in an alternate baby blue (think Manchester City). Not just a collection of parents, these also included supporters who sang for most of the game. Their chants of 'Cee Eff Cee' sound almost the same as what our supporters shout...one initial out. Our group wasn't here today. Their supporters caused some confusion before they even arrived as security guards from Sword tried to get us (we the first twenty people here) to move from our center line seats (well first come first served) into the far north section of the stands (think endzone to 10 yard line). Why? I heard 'the owners' were supposed to be here but why would they need 3500 seats? We ended up staying. Later Whenife, one of the security supervisors, came up to me and apologized saying there were a lot of new staff members and some confusion in instructions. She's one of my favourites. During the first games after the pandemic she would instruct the staff to let me through although I wasn't a friend or family member of a player. When the visiting fans arrived it started to make sense. Security watched them closely. Maybe there had been problems with them at other stadiums but they were well behaved today...I'm sure winning helps. Chattanooga came out hot with almost all the action in the first 25 minutes taking place in the TFC half of the field. At 25 minutes the Cht goalie came out to 20 yards and had to head the ball away before Jesus Batiz got to it. The ball bounced to Markus Cimermancic who chipped a 33 yarder from the slight left well over the open net or the game might have been different. Only behind 1-0 at halftime and TFC getting more chances after that goal. Halftime sub was Cht subbing forwards Markus Naglestad for starter Mehdi Ouamri. Nothing looked wrong with Ouamri and he is their leading scorer with 12 goals. This is the first game as head coach for Christopher Nugent who'd been one of their assistant coaches but now replaced Rod Underwood sometime earlier this week. TFC II's leading scorer (10 goals) Julian Altobelli wasn't in the lineup today nor was usual starting goalie Adisa De Rosario. Chattanooga really broke it open during an eight minute spell starting at 61 minutes. Not only did they respond to the TFC goal at 59 minutes but ended up with three in total to take the lead and pull away. TFC's day could be summarized on one play. 85 minutes and substitute Matthew Catavolo took a cornerkick from the right side but it's upfield (not for the first time today and Chattanooga did it too) and Tyler Londono got it at about 25 yards on the right sideline and he rolled a pass downfield for Catavolo but the defenders had stepped forward and Catavolo was immediately flagged offside. Referee Fabrizio Stasolla gave out only one Yellow the entire game and that was at 7 minutes to Andres Jimenez for a tackle from behind on Andrei Dimitru who today had moved up to play forward. After that nothing..no fake dives for freekicks nor Penalty kick calls. The coaches weren't screaming at the referee's and the fans weren't either. Ceremonial coin tosser was Grant Fisher the brother of today's TFC captain Mark Fisher. He was introduced as an Olympic medalist. He won bronze medals in the 5000M and 10000M races for the USA at the Paris 2024 games [Thanks Wikipedia]. It was like teammates were trying to set up Mark all game. He has been captain before but it made sense with forward Julian Altobelli not in the lineup nor defender Adam Pearlman who I saw going over to the players bench before the game in street clothes as he was Red carded in their last game. Mark Fisher's best chances to impress were during first half added time when he received a high cross from Jesus Batiz in a crowd of players at 7 yards and he headed the ball downward and the ball bounced to the goalie. 49 minutes had Batiz rush to the left end line and cross over the goalie and Fisher chested the ball down at 10 yards on the right but was checked off the ball without getting a shot. 89 minutes had him get to a cornerkick and he skip jumped to redirect it onto goal but the goalie was there to save it. Not even an assist as he crossed from 30 yards on the right over to Batiz but he was bumped off the ball trying for an 8 yard header. 81 minutes had Fisher send a low cross from the right along the 8 yard line but no TFC player had bothered to run forward into the box. Football playing brothers were on TFC II today. 16 year old Richard Chukwu was a starting defender and 17 year old forward Joses Chukwu came in as a substitute making his home debut at 80 minutes. Richard had been subbed off at 74 minutes for another home debut guy, Stefan Kapor. Shafique Wilson was in net for TFC in his first start. He was left out to dry a few times with defender blunders. His best save was at 78 minutes when Cht's Min-Jae Kwak intercepted Marko Stojodinovic at the TFC 45 yard line and it set up a 2 v 1 rush with Markus Naglestad and Wilson made a split leg save at 6 yards on Kwak's 18 yard shot. Of course on the resulting corner, Chattanooga eventually scored their fifth goal. Goalie Jon Burke was a difference maker for Chattanooga with lots of diving saves to smother low shots to the corner of the net. The ice cream truck stayed outside the gate until the game ended. I don't know much about Chattanooga. It's in Tennessee I checked before the game. I only remember hearing the song 'Chattanooga Choo Choo'. Something my parents would have liked before they ever met. Bandleader Glenn Miller disappeared on a flight in WWII. So the travelling fans suddenly started singing it...well not at random...at 29 minutes because the lyrics mention the train leaves from Track 29. Instant Danny Dichio song. TFC II were prepared to give us 'stuff' on our way in. When I bought my ticket at the booth I was given a choice of a gift. I chose a TFC II scarf (yes it does have their logo and name on it—not their MLS parent). It wasn't wool but the more I thought of it the better I liked it as I've got plenty of wool scarves for different teams. From a distance it could pass for silk or at least linen. The ticket seller also snuck me a souvenir pen with the TFC II logo. The other choice from what I could see was a nylon tote bag. After the game, game day staff brought out a few cartons of mini balls (about the size of tennis balls but much softer). Players first autographed some with Sharpies and threw them to the crowd (those who hadn't bolted to the exit). Ooh I'm glad I stayed. I got one autographed by Mark Fisher! Hard to read but once I made out the #72, I could read the M and F. Later I caught a blank one thrown by a game day staff member...or let me say I followed it as it rolled under six rows of steps/seats before settling. My cat loves these balls. The last ones I had must be from their time at the Ontario Soccer Centre. The loss drops TFC II's record to 9 wins, 12 losses, 6 ties, and 1 bonus point (for finally winning one of those Penalty kick contests held after a tie game) for 34 points. That leaves them in twelfth place in the fifteeen team Eastern Conference. They finish their schedule with their 'Decision Day' game next Sunday against Crown Legacy FC who play in Matthews North Carolina. They are the reserve team of MLS Charlotte FC. The win improves Chattanooga's record to a symmetrical 9 wins, 9 losses, 9 ties, 7 bonus points for 43 points. That boosts them to eighth place...the last playoff spot for now with some games to be played later tonight. They are an 'independent' team meaning they are not a '2', 'II', nor 'B' reserve team of an MLS franchise. Hmm they aren't restricted like other clubs with having to play draft picks or rehabbing players from MLS teams. This will be the way ahead I've read for new teams coming into the league as MLS teams are already here. In the fight in American soccer, they are trying to crush the rival USL league. 29 teams now in. That would mean they'd have to more than double in size to take in all the USL clubs. Chattanooga looks like they're a success story in only their first year easily surpassing the one-year-and-done Rochester New York team of 2022. I was trying to get an answer to the question of where TFC II will play next season. “See you next season” flashed on the scoreboard at the end of the game is reassuring but they didn't say 'here'. The Toronto AFC team of the Northern Super League (the new Canadian Women's pro league) that starts next year will be using this stadium. York United FC of the Canadian Premier League has played here since their league started in 2019. The university obviously has some say in when their varsity teams play in a variety of sports. If TFC II stays somebody may be playing games on Tuesday mornings! A TFC official I've seen here during every game answered me before today's game started. “A decision has not been made yet”. With a fan base of maybe 400 people, moving back to the BMO Training Centre in Downsview (like their USL days) makes economic sense but the MLS NEXT Pro league is supposed to have fussy standards for broadcasting and expects their cameras to be in a concrete structure like a building not on mechanical risers or that's what I heard when they first joined the league. Oh and the 'owners' who were going to be here today were not from MLSE who now effectively own all the big pro teams in Toronto but from Chattanooga FC and were among the travelling fans. Rocket Robin.
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