May 27, 2022...MLS NEXT Pro Toronto FC II vs Chicago Fire FC II game report (by Rocket Robin)

........................

Results and details of the MLS NEXT Pro game of Friday May 27, 2022 between Toronto FC II and Chicago Fire FC II
played at York Lions Stadium in North York at 7:00pm.

Toronto FC II (gray socks, red shorts and shirts, white names and numbers)

.................1 Greg Ranjitsingh
58 Kobe Franklin...51 Adam Pearlman...65 Antony Curic...81 Themi Antonoglou
.........52 Alonso Coello...72 Steffen Yeates (cpt)...35 Mehdi Essoussi
.........86 Alec Diaz...83 Hugo Mbongue...82 Julian Altobelli

Subs:...90 Luka Gavram (gk)...33 Reshaun Walkes (fwd)...62 rohan Goulbourne (def)...68 Nakye Greenidge-Duncan (mid)
...73 Stefan Karajovanovic (fwd)...74 Kundal Mawoko (def)...75 Luca Accettola (mid)...89 Matthew Medeiros (def)
head coach Gianni Cimini

Chicago Fire FC II (all white uniforms, navy names and numbers, light blue trim)

................70 Aaron Katsimpalis
.......36 Andre Reynolds II...50 Carlo Ritaccio (cpt)...42 Ryan Quintos
33 Victor Bezerra...35 Sergio Oregel Jr...52 Richard Fleming II...48 Charlie Ostrem
.......47 Josh Penn...55 Omari Glasgow...46 Matteo Kidd

Subs:...27 Kendall Burks (def)...32 Missael Rodriguez (fwd)...38 Alex Monis (fwd)...39 Allan Rodriguez (mid)
...49 Erik Kocs-Washburn (fwd)...54 Christian Baumgartner (def)...56 Diegoarmando Alvarado (def)
head coach Ludovic Taillandier

Game officials:...referee Renzo Villanueva...referee's assistants Travis MacIsaac and Twayne Anderson
...fourth official Filip Dujic...(mauve shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game starts 7:05pm...TFC defends south end. A hard rain starts just after a moment of silence is held
for the recent shootings in the USA, then the national anthems are played.
3 min...Just as TFC Franklin gets ready to take a cornerkick, the game is halted because of a streak of lightning going off overhead.
Players and staff retreat to the dressing room and the fans seek cover.
The game clock was stopped, then changed to a 30 minute countdown clock. The game can only be restarted 30 minutes after
the last bolt of lightning in the area. The scoreboard never counts down to below 24 minutes before being reset again because
of more lightning.
It starts raining again at 7:37pm but the lightning appears to have moved on.
8:10pm...The scoreboard has counted down to 0:00 and the teams and game officials come out for a ten minute warm up,
also counted down on the scoreboard. The DJ plays 'Umbrella' by Rihanna and 'Thunderstruck' by AC/DC. It's still raining fairly hard.
8:21pm...the game restarts at the 3:07 mark.
3:07 min...TFC Franklin cornerkick into box is ordered retaken. His second one has CF Rittachio pop up header. A TFC player
chips rebound onto top of net.
4 min...CF Ritaccio on right flubs shot from 18 yards that's easily cleared in box.
5 min...CF Bezerra midair blast from 18 yards on slight right is well over net.
8 min...CF Penn high cornerkick from right has CF Fleming head 8 yarder into ground from left and goalie grabs it on left post
after first swatting it down.
12 min...Chicago Josh Penn GOAL...CF Charlie Ostrem crosses along 12 yard line from 20 yards and Penn
heads 12 yarder down middle into left side of net beyond Greg Ranjitsingh who stood and reached to catch it.
14 min...TFC Yeates cross from 20 yards on far right has defender head wide for cornerkick.
14 min...TFC Franklin high cornerkick from left is whistled down in box for pushing.
19 min...CF player's low cross forward from left that a CF player misses redirection in from 10 yards and defender behind him
kicks away for cornerkick.
20 min...Chicago Josh Penn GOAL...A CF player's cornerkick from the left has the ball headed twice by TFC players
to clear it from box. Penn gets to partial clearance and blasts 18 yarder from slight left between a crowd of players
into top right corner of net.
23 min...TFC goalie is out to 15 yards in middle to catch 35 yard cross from left.
24 min...TFC Altobelli 30 yard freekick from right has TFC Curic called offside on left side of box.
29 min...CF Bezerra rolls cross from right along 8 yard line but sliding defender stops and clears in middle.
30 min...CF Penn 28 yard freekick from slight right is high and wide left of net.
31 min...CF Glasgow is centered pass and blasts 28 yard roller wide right.
8:51pm...the clock stops at 30 minutes maybe because it wasn't reset properly after the storm countdowns.
35 min...Chicago Josh Penn GOAL...CF Omari Glasgow after long run to right end line on edge of box sends low cross
from right and Penn after stepping in between two defenders blasts 5 yarder into right side of net.
35 min...CF Oregel is injured on tackle at center line.
36 min...CF Penn is tapped pass forward and chips cross along right end line from 20 yards that goalie catches on near post
with two CF players waiting for headers.
37 min...CF Ostrem holds off defender on left for long run cutting into box and rolls 15 yarder just wide right of post.
39 min...TFC Franklin 30 yard freekick from right has TFC Pearlman pops header from left at 15 yards across box
and goalie steps forward to make catch.
41 min...TFC player rolls centering pass from right side of box just a step ahead of charging TFC Mbongue in middle.
45 min...TFC Altobelli eludes defenders on left but cross along 10 yard line is headed away by other defenders.
45 min...half ends 9:03pm. (no added time).

Second Half:...starts 9:18pm.
halftime sub:...TFC Greenidge-Duncan replaces Essoussi.
46 min...TFC Antonoglou 22 yard shot from left after receiving pass is palmed through box by goalie and out right side.
48 min...CF YELLOW card...Kidd earns it for tackle on TFC Franklin at center line.
49 min...CF Penn cross from 35 yards on left has defender head down and clear.
50 min...TFC Pearlman gets back to stop and clear low cross from right.
51 min...TFC Altobelli low 25 yard shot up middle is between players and goalie smothers.
54 min...Chicago Omari Glasgow GOAL...CF Josh Penn races up left and centers low for Glasgow in box who stops,
cuts around defender, and shoots 10 yarder low to center of net.
56 min...TFC Yeates chips over goalie and CFR Ritaccio on goal line heads ball up and another CF defender heads ball away.
56 min...TFC player's cornerkick from left is cleared in box.
57 min...CF Glasgow hard low shot from 25 yards has TFC Pearlman stop at 15 yard line.
59 min...CF Bezerra chips goalie from 30 yards and ball hits bar. CF Penn blasts low 18 yard shot rebound that defender
deflects away.
60 min...TFC Diaz on 3 on 1 break sends in low cross that's blocked by defender.
63 min...CF Glasgow on break and holds off defender for off-balance 8 yard shot that's stopped point blank by defender.
63 min...CF YELLOW card...Ostrem earns it for hip check on TFC Franklin at center line.
64 min...CF sub...Kocs-Washburn replaces Bezerra.
............CF sub...Monis replaces Glasgow.
............CF sub ...Rodriguez replaces Penn.
............TFC sub...Karajovanovic replaces Diaz.
65 min...CF Kocs-Washburn on give and go with CF player on right who rolls centering pass back to him and he shoots 20 yarder
over net.
67 min...Chicago Erik Kocs-Washburn GOAL...CF Richard Fleming II from own 30 yard line passes forward down left
for Kocs-Washburn at TFC 50 yard line and he runs down wing. He cuts along 20 yard line towards middle eluding
TFC Alonso Coello on edge of box. He bends low 18 yard shot around diving goalie into right side of net.
69 min...TFC YELLOW card...Antonoglou earns it for pull down of CF player running to TFC 30 yards on right.
70 min...CF player's 30 yard freekick from right is headed out right side of box.
70 min...CF Rodriguez on run after getting through ball pass is to near left end line and cross has TFC Curic concede cornerkick
preventing a tap-in.
71 min...Chicago Missael Rodriguez GOAL...CF Matteo Kidd cornerkick from left has Rodriguez leap at 6 yards on left post
and flick header that drops into top right corner of net.
72 min...TFC sub...Cimermancic replaces Yeates. (Coello becomes captain).
..........TFC sub...Goulbourne replaces Altobelli.
74 min...CF sub...Rodriguez replaces Kidd.
...........CF sub...Burks replaces Quintos.
77 min...TFC Franklin blasts 28 yarder down middle that goalie makes overhead catch.
78 min...TFC YELLOW card...Franklin earns it for dissent after he knocks CF Fleming out of bounds in front of CF players' bench
injurying him. It was his swearing that got him the card.
80 min...TFC Franklin high cross from 50 yards finds charging TFC Antonoglou at 15 yards and he shoots over net.
82 min...CF Rodriguez eludes TFC Pearlman who now can't grab him and bends 28 yard shot wide right but wins a freekick.
83 min...CF Rodriguez low 28 yard freekick from slight left is between players and goalie smothers in center of net.
84 min...TFC Greenidge-Duncan receives short pass and rolls soft 20 yarder up middle that's easily stopped.
85 min...TFC Coello shoots 20 yarder that goalie palms over net.
85 min...TFC player's cornerkick has TFC Coello heads 12 yarder wide left.
86 min...TFC Hugo Mbongue GOAL...TFC Stefan Karajovanovic after long run crosses in from the left at 22 yards
and Mbongue heads in 7 yarder to corner of net beyond goalie Aaron Katsimpalis.
87 min...Chicago RED card...Kendall Burks is sent off by referee Renzo Villanueva for pulling down
TFC Hugo Mbongue at the CF 20 yard line on his run towards box. Burks was the last man back.
88 min...TFC Antonoglou 22 yard freekick from slight right bends wide right just over net.
90 min...CF Rodriguez is injured at center line and needs trainer.
91 min...TFC Themi Antonoglou GOAL...TFC Alonso Coello sends long, high cross from 55 yard line on right that finds
charging Antonoglou on the left at 22 yards setting up a 2 on 1 but Antonoglou blasts 18 yard shot into right corner of net.
91 min...game ends 10:04pm.

Final Score:...Toronto FC II.......2........Chicago Fire FC II..........6..........

Attendance was about 220 at the start of the game then about 75 left during the delays—mostly those
parents and siblings of some of the ball boys. The sidelines were laid out with enough balls on tees
every 15 yards so ball boys were really unnecessary. The ball boys that stayed just sat together
in the first row and watched as fans.

Wow. It wasn't to say that every shot Josh Penn took was magic, scoring all the first half goals
to just about put the game away by halftime but when he left at 64 minutes, his replacement
Erik Kocs-Washburn scored three minutes after coming on.

The TFC defence was being constantly shredded with Fire players breaking in from 40 yards out.

The night pooped the celebration of Hugo Mbongue signing with TFC II earlier in the day. He has played
in previous TFC II games last year and this year (in fact Wikipedia says 10 last season) so I expect
it was about time they signed him. Even the TFC II twitter account was slightly subdued (from their
usual) when he scored as it made the score 6-1, woo hoo! Actually he didn't look good at all until
the final 10 minutes of the game as his shots and passes were off no different than the other
TFC forwards with them either not running forward for passes or burned six times on offside calls.
Good shooting could have netted them four more goals although the Fire also could have had four more.

Kobe Franklin was the exception with his pinpoint 50 yard crosses (a few of Chicago Fire were doing
that too).

That seems to raise a point about the TFC II poor play tonight. I think the fluctuating lineup played
a factor with guys being promoted to the first team (good for them) but others being 'called up'
for a game during fixture congestion or an injury to a first team player then being sent back down.
The constant changes to the roster must hinder the consistancy of the lineups leaving guys not knowing
if they should run for a pass that won't be sent. Besides that, in the stands were another six
to eight guys that are on the TFC II roster as well, just not in tonight's lineup. Never thought
I'd admit the team misses American forward Paul 'Rocky' Rothrock but he's currently on the MLS squad.

You know who would be happier than Mbongue tonight? CFII goalie Aaron Katsimpalis who was just given
a Fire II contract earlier in the day.

Referee Renzo Villanueva gave out two Yellow cards to each teams besides the direct Red. There were
a few sliding tackles but not as many as I expected on such a wet night. I thought this official was
from the US but a search revealed although he was born in Peru, he was raised in Brossard Quebec
as listed on the CSA site. He was fair, like not giving a Yellow at 78 minutes for TFC Adam Pearlman
knocking over CF Richard Fleming II, injurying him right in front of the Fire bench. It was Pearlman
yelling “Get the F*** up” after that that earned him the card. Don't worry the eight year old ballboys
in the front row were already corrupted by the warm up music not playing the 'clean' version
of the rappers' lyrics.

Interesting that tonight's game was TFC II vs Fire II the night before their MLS parent teams face off.
This would be the kind of game that you'd expect would be run after the MLS game with unused guys from
that game squeezed into the lineup. However TFC are pinned into a TV contract that their game has
to be at 7:00pm so TSN can then run the Whitecaps game at 9:00pm. Afternoon MLS? Nahh TSN has other
sports contracts. Also they can't play here Sunday as the CPL York United FC are playing in the
afternoon and now they've added a League1 Ontario game right after to promote the partnership agreement
they have.

The Fire II players arrived in a bus with 'Dennys' marked on the side. I wonder if they had to bus
from Chicago while the MLS players flew in? There are a few Denny's restaurants in Canada but it's
not a chain advertised much. Hey 'The Big Slam (breakfast)' sure happened tonight.

This was only the second TFC II game I've attended this year. The other one was on April 17th when
they also played Chicago Fire FC II but won 4-2. With the league divided strictly into East and West,
their are no crossovers so many teams will meet three times this season.

My questions about going to the last two at BMO Field when I didn't have a ticket to the MLS game
went unanswered so I went to League1 Ontario games instead. Officially I was told MLS NEXT Pro games
are closed to the public, except that doesn't answer the photos from St Louis CITY2 (which will start
playing an MLS schedule next season) bragging about having a sold out 6012 fans in the stands for their
home opener. Must be a TFC II policy.

The result flips the teams in the Eastern Conference standings. TFC II drops to 3 wins, 6 losses,
no overtime shootout wins/losses for 9 points and good for eighth of the ten teams. Chicago improves
to 2 wins, three ties (with a bonus point for a shootout 'win'), 4 losses for 10 points and seventh place.
[Note: A game later in the evening knocked both teams down one position.]

TFC II's next game is Thursday June 2nd in Rochester who are never going to get an MLS team which raises
the question of this league being formed as a straight up rival to the USL system?

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01

Game statistics (from MLS NEXT Pro websites)
.............................TFC II........Fire II.......
possession                   43.9%         56.1%  
shots                        13            18    
shots on goal                 7             9    
blocked shots                 1             2    
total passes                381           492  
passing accuracy %           77.7%         80.3%  
corners                       4             3    
crosses                      11            15                        
offsides                      6             1    
duels won                    42            68   
tackles won                   7            23   
saves                         3             4   
clearances                   13            13   
fouls                        14            10   
Yellow cards                  2             2  
Red card                      0             1

Toronto FC II starters