July 9, 2016 MLS--Toronto FC vs Chicago Fire (by Rocket Robin)

Result and game report of the July 9, 2016 MLS game between Toronto FC and Chicago Fire played at BMO Field in Toronto at 7:30pm. (by Rocket Robin)

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Toronto FC (all red, white names and numbers)

................25 Alex Bono
33 Steven Beitashour...15 Eriq Zavaleta...3 Drew Moor...2 Justin Morrow
18 Marky Delgado...9 Tsubasa Endoh...8 Benoit Cheyrou (cpt)...21 Jonathan Osorio
..............22 Jordan Hamilton...10 Sebastian Giovinco

Subs:...40 Quillan Roberts (gk)...6 Nick Hagglund (def)...11 Mo Babouli (fwd)...14 Jay Chapman (mid)
...23 Josh Williams (def)...24 Damien Perquis (def)...28 Mark Bloom (def)
team officials:...head coach Greg Vanney

Chicago Fire (all white, navy names and numbers)

................25 Sean Johnson
13 Rodrigo Ramos...4 Johan Kappelhof...16 Jonathan Campbell...3 Brandon Vincent
........26 Michael Stephens...66 Joao Meira...19 Khaly Thiam
.........7 John Goossens...77 Kennedy Igboananike...11 David Accam

Subs:...28 Matt Lampson (gk)...5 Michael Harrington (def)...6 Eric Gehrig (def)...8 Michael de Leeuw (fwd)
12 Arturo Alvarez (mid)...21 Nick La Brocca (mid)...30 Razvan Cocis (mid)
team officials:...head coach Veljko Paunovic

Game officials:...referee Silviu Petrescu...referee's assistants Jeff Hosking and Jason White
...fourth official Caleb Mendez...(yellow shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 7:41pm...TFC defends north end on this mild night with the sun from the northwest after a pregame rain.
1 min...TFC Beitashour long throw-in from left into left side of box is cleared by defenders.
6 min...CF Ramos low cross from 18 yards along right end line deflects off defender for cornerkick.
6 min...CF Goossens cornerkick from right has defender head away. CF Vincent 35 yard sky ball of partial clearance is caught by goalie rushing to edge of box.
7 min...CF Goossens 30 yard shot from left between is players and caught by goalie.
8 min...TFC Justin Morrow GOAL...TFC Jonathan Osorio at 40 yards on left turns and rolls pass forward to TFC Sebastian Giovinco at 30 yards on left who threads pass forward to charging TFC Jordan Hamilton on left but charging Morrow cuts in from left to beat him to ball and at 15 yards and shoots low 10 yarder from left under diving goalie Sean Johnson and into right corner of net.
9 min...TFC Delgado rush up middle and instead of passing left or right to open men takes a 20 yard shot that has CF Campbell slides to partially block shot and ball rolls wide right for cornerkick.
9 min...TFC Endoh cornerkick from right has TFC Osorio make scissor kick from 15 yards on left and ball flies wide right of net.
13 min...TFC Endoh chips short pass forward on left from 28 yards that finds TFC Osorio on left side of box but he's checked off ball ands it's partially cleared. TFC Beitashour on right threads pass from 38 yards to middle for Endoh at 16 yards and his shot has goalie stop with hands at 6 yards and ball deflects high and to right where TFC Delgado heads ball from 15 yards along 6 yard box and CF Ramos bicycle kick deflects off TFC player and bounces out for cornerkick.
14 min...TFC Osorio short cornerkick from left to TFC Giovinco but defender gets to ball first and clears.
16 min...TFC Giovinco shot from 22 yards up middle off back of CF Kappelhof for cornerkick.
16 min...TFC Endoh cornerkick from left is passed upfield to TFC Giovinco at 25 yard line who rushes forward and crosses along right end line and CF Meara pops up header on left post that flies over box. TFC Zavaleta sends high cross from 15 yards on right over to middle of box and defender heads ball away. TFC Morrow at 35 yards on left runs forward and rolls ball forward from 25 yard line on far left over to Giovinco on edge of box who turns and runs towards middle and low 12 yard shot between players and rolls just wide right of post with TFC Moor at 4 yards in crowd of players not able to get foot on it.
19 min...CF Igboananike rolls cross from right at 25 yards near end line has TFC Zavaleta clear from middle of box.
20 min...CF Accam pushes ball over end line trying to beat TFC Beitashour at 15 yards on left.
21 min...TFC Morrow crosses low 25 yarder from left through CF 6 yard box unplayed.
23 min...TFC Cheyrou 45 yard freekick from right is worked in and wins cornerkick on low cross by TFC Beitashour at 25 yards on right that deflects off foot of CF Thiam.
24 min...TFC Endoh cornerkick from right has TFC Moor in crowd of players leaps and heads 8 yarder down middle over bar.
26 min...CF Gooseens 35 yard freekick from right has CF player flick header forward from 20 yards in middle and TFC Moor kicks away at 8 yards.
27 min...CF Igboananike is called offside on receiving short tapped pass at 8 yard line on right .
31 min...CF Ramos chips 35 yard cross from right that's cleared from left side of TFC box with TFC Beitashour dribbling ball out of box.
32 min...TFC Morrow cross from 25 yards on left. TFC Hamilton chests down at 12 yards but CF Meira clears.
33 min...TFC Giovinco wins freekick at CF 22 yard line when tripped up by CF Thiam from behind.
34 min...TFC Giovinco 22 yard freekick is just over top left corner of net.
35 min...TFC Cheyrou threads pass from 40 yards that finds TFC Endoh on edge of box but he overruns ball at 15 yards.
35 min...TFC Osorio can't win Penalty kick for dive on left edge of box.
40 min...TFC Delgado cross from 20 yards along right end line has goalie palm ball forward. TFC Endoh low 18 yard low shot up middle is past goalie at 7 yards but CF Kappelhof clears off line.
41 min...TFC Beitashour cross from 22 yards along right end line but flag was up as he'd ran it out of play.
42 min...CF Accam beats TFC Zavaleta to ball on left and 15 yard low shot near end line has goalie dive forward to save and TFC Moor clears rebound.
43 min...CF player's cornerkick from left is short on left and eventually CF Accam wins freekick when TFC Giovinco trips him.
44 min...CF Goossens 30 yard freekick from left has CF Igboananike leap but can't quite twist header from 10 yards and leaping goalie punches ball from right post out of box on right.
45 min...half ends 8:26pm. There's no added time.

Halftime Entertainment: There's Tony from Pizza Pizza and Nestle drumsticks giveaway including the ice creams given to three rows in front of us. There's also promos and fan packs given away for the movie 'The Secret Life of Pets'. There's another relay race between contestants using leaf blowers. An oversized Purlolator cheque for the 4750 lbs of food brought in for Daily Break Food Bank. There's a raffle ticket winner for donations.

2nd Half:...starts 8:41pm...the weather now is overcast and cooler.
halftime sub:...CF de Leeuw replaces Stephens.
47 min...CF Thiam rolls ball from 30 yards through middle and CF de Leeuw rushes to 8 yards but goalie dives forward and smothers before he can get to it.
48 min...TFC Endoh cornerkick from left has defender head ball away on left side of box. TFC Giovinco works ball in from right and takes 15 yard shot that deflects off CF Vincent at 12 yards and goalie pushes wide right of post for cornerkick.
49 min...TFC Giovinco cornerkick from right is upfield to TFC Cheyrou at 30 yards on right and he chips ball back to Giovinco who wins a throw-in on deflection. Giovinco throw-in to TFC Endoh wins cornerkick when CF Meara head ball behind end line.
49 min...TFC Endoh cornerkick from right has CF Thiam leap and head away at 10 yards in middle of box.
51 min...TFC Endoh can't get past defender on left edge of box.
53 min...TFC Morrow from 50 yards short pass to TFC Giovinco in middle and his low 35 yard shot up middle bounces wide right.
54 min...CF Thiam rolls pass forward up middle from 30 yards and over end line wide left as CF player fell just outside box.
54 min...CF Accam leading 3 on 3 rush shoots 15 yarder from right that goalie catches low at 6 yards on right side of goal.
55 min...TFC Giovinco threads ball forward from 30 yards for TFC Endoh on left at 12 yards and CF Ramos deflects shot over to right where TFC Delgado chips pass from 22 yards on right that TFC Hamilton pops up on header at 12 yards away from net and out of box.
57 min...TFC Giovinco 30 yard freekick from slight left bounces wide left of net.
58 min...CF Accam gets to loose ball in TFC box and slides to get 15 yard shot before TFC Cheyrou can get to it but show is well wide right of net.
61 min...CF sub...Alvarez replaces Goossens.
62 min...TFC Cheyrou 40 yard freekick from left is rolled forward and TFC Giovinco is checked off ball on edge of box by CF Ramos.
63 min...CF Igboananike rush for ball on left and cuts towards goal from TFC 33 yard line and 22 yard shot is over flying goalie and deflects off bar near top left corner and bounces out right side of box.
63 min...CF Alvarez cuts towards center from right and blasts 28 yarder just wide right of post.
64 min...TFC Giovinco cuts along 25 yard line on from right and low shot up middle is smothered by goalie.
67 min...TFC Giovinco 25 yard shot down middle hits CF Campbell at 12 yards and is cleared.
68 min...TFC Giovinco wins freekick off CF Meira pushing him over.
69 min...TFC Giovinco 27 yard freekick from left has diving goalie not there in time but ball hits left post and deflect over and bounce and hit cornerflag and CF win throw-in.
70 min...TFC Osorio receives backheel threaded pass from TFC Giovinco but has 18 yard shot blocked by sliding CF Ramos.
71 min...TFC Delgado blasts low 25 yard shot from right that's smothered by goalie.
72 min...CF Acccam bends 30 yard freekick from far left over leaping CF players on right post and out for goalkick.
73 min...TFC goalie to edge of box on right to smother ball.
74 min...TFC Giovinco rolls ball forward from 25 yards down middle unplayed so goalie picks up.
75 min...TFC Osorio passes through to TFC Giovinco who shoots low 12 yarder wide right of post. TFC Giovinco runs over to sideline to replace ripped shirt.
77 min...CF sub...Cocis replaces Thiam.
77 min...CF player's cornerkick from right is through box between players and deflects off CF de Leeuw at 8 yards wide left for goalkick.
79 min...TFC Hamilton is given short pass by TFC Osorio and he turns quickly and rolls 15 yard shot between defender's legs and diving goalie pushes wide left of post.
79 min...TFC Endoh long cornerkick from left is over to 30 yards on right for TFC Giovinco who pass over to TFC Cheyrou who touches to TFC Morrow who chips 40 yarder from left that TFC Moor in crowd of players at 10 yards pops header wide right of net for goalkick.
80 min...CF Ramos 45 yard chip from right is caught by goalie at 15 yards in middle.
80 min...CF Igboananike intercepts goalie clearance and blasts from 35 yards down middle but well over net.
81 min...TFC sub...Chapman replaces Endoh.
82 min...CF Vincent low cross from 35 yards on left has TFC Zavaleta make diving header to stop at 12 yards in box.
82 min...TFC Giovinco 18 yard shot up middle is blocked.
83 min...CF Vincent cross from left is over leaping players wide right of net but play whistled down for TFC freekick.
84 min...TFC sub...Babouli replaces Hamilton.
84 min...CF Igboananike cross from 25 yards on far left has CF de Leeuw blast midair 10 yarder up middle well over net.
86 min...TFC Babouli and TFC Giovinco on give and go from 35 yards has Babouli shot blocked at 12 yards.
87 min...TFC Giovinco low 20 yard shot from right deflects off defender for goalie to smother on right post.
87 min...CF Alvarez sharp angle 15 yard shot from right end line is caught by goalie on right post.
88 min...TFC sub...Hagglund replaces Osorio.
89 min...CF Vincent long throw-in from left has TFC Cheyrou pop up header and ball cleared by another defender on right.
90 min...CF Igboananike can't win cornerkick on deflected ball from 20 yards on left.
92 min...CF Vincent chips 40 yarder from left that TFC Hagglund heads away. CF Alvarez recovers ball on right and rushes to center and blasts 25 yarder down middle well over net.
92 min...TFC Giovinco has 15 yard shot from right blocked by sliding CF Vincent.
93 min...CF Accam on run blasts 30 yarder down middle just wide left of net.
93 min...game ends 9:29pm.

Final Score:.......Toronto FC.........1...........Chicago Fire............0.............

Attendance was announced as 27334.

TFC really needed to win tonight to climb back above the playoff line and take advantage of a home game against the league's worst team. They now go on a two game road trip and return home July 23rd for a game against DC United. They have now won or tied their last seven home games in league and Canadian Championship competitions. (four wins, three ties).

The Fire had few chances and missed their best shots while TFC goalie Alex Bono only had a to make a few routine stops to earn the shutout. Fire have now not won a game away from home in their last 33!

TFC could have used some more accurate shooting. Sebastian Giovinco was mostly closed down when he got the ball and the set ups he gave to teammates except the Justin Morrow goal were not finished properly.

Giovinco was announced before the game as being named to the MLS All Star team which will play Arsenal from England at the end of the this month.

With such a quick start I expected TFC to score a few more times as the Fire had to open up but they never pressed and left themselves open at the back right up until the end.

TFCs first sub was not made until 81 minutes. It's hard to judge the current bench as so bad they are kept out of the game for so long?

Best sub was at 88 minutes when defender Nick Hagglund replaces midfielder Jonathan Osorio and within three minutes he proved his worth by heading away a cross into the TFC box.

The TFC defence greatly restricted the Fire's chances.

Referee Silviu Petrescu gave out no cards today. The game had no real hard checking and he wasn't convinced of any lame Penalty kick claims by either team.

I found out the hard way that my seventh row seat wasn't covered by the roof and I had to keep my notebook closed for a time before the game but by the time the game started it was quite sunny. Oh well, the special side box restaurant seats along the east side were also soaked.

For the first time in my ten years here my Section 108 won something. The fans in the fourth row won an ice cream cone at halftime. I can't remember any of them here before the rain had stopped.

Another bad night for transportation. I waslked all the way to Union Station so I could catch the subway out of the downtown. That took almost an hour to get over there.

The CNE gounds by this week have been transformed into the Indy motorway complete with concrete and fencing to separate the cars from the fans. It made quite an obstacle course to walk through. There was also a Keith Urban concert at the Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place and a WWE wrestling shot at the Ricoh Centre a few lengths of the field away and much of the parking areas had disappeared as race track area for next week's car races.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

stats from MLSsoccer.com
Match Information

Goals and Assists
9' TOR  Justin Morrow         Assisted By: Sebastian Giovinco, Jonathan Osorio 

Disciplinary
None

Lineup

Toronto FC 
22 F Jordan Hamilton   (85')
10 F Sebastian Giovinco 
25 G Alex Bono 
33 D Steven Beitashour 
15 D Eriq Zavaleta 
 3 D Drew Moor 
 2 D Justin Morrow 
18 M Marco Delgado 
 8 M Benoit Cheyrou 
 9 M Tsubasa Endoh     (82')
21 M Jonathan Osorio   (90')

Bench
40 G Quillan Roberts 
24 D Damien Perquis 
23 D Josh Williams 
28 D Mark Bloom 
14 M Jay Chapman       (82')
 6 M Nick Hagglund     (90')
11 F Mo Babouli        (85')

Manager  Greg Vanney   

Chicago Fire 
 7 F John Goossens        (62')
77 F Kennedy Igboananike 
11 F David Accam 
25 G Sean Johnson 
13 D Rodrigo Ramos 
 4 D Johan Kappelhof 
16 D Jonathan Campbell 
 3 D Brandon Vincent 
26 M Michael Stephens     (HT)
66 M Joao Meira 
19 M Khaly Thiam          (78')

Bench
28 G Matt Lampson 
 5 D Michael Harrington 
 6 D Eric Gehrig 
30 M Razvan Cocis        (78') 
21 M Nick LaBrocca 
 8 M Michael de Leeuw    (HT)
12 F Arturo Alvarez      (62')

Manager  Veljko Paunovic 

Officials
Referee  Silviu Petrescu 
Assistant Referee  Jeff Hosking 
Assistant Referee  Jason White 
Fourth Official  Caleb Mendez 

Match Information
MLS at BMO Field
Toronto, ON
Attendance 27934
Weather Cloudy
 
Team Statistics

TOR                        CHI
 23     Shots               11 
  6     Shots on Target      2 
  9     Shots off Target     8 
  8     Blocked Shots        1 
  8     Corners              3 
 14     Crosses             18 
  0     Offsides             1 
 14     Fouls               17 
  0     Yellow Cards         0 
  0     Red Cards            0 
437     Total Passes       396 
 84 %   Passing Accuracy    78 % 
 52.3 % Possession          47.7 % 
 49     Duels Won           51 
 13     Tackles Won         17 
  2     Saves                4 
 14     Clearances          22

Toronto FC starters