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June 11, 2022 MLS NEXT Pro...Toronto FC II vs Philadelphia Union II game report (by Rocket Robin)
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Results and details of the MLS NEXT Pro game of Saturday June 11, 2022 between Toronto FC II
and Philadelphia Union II played at York Lions Stadium in North York at 6:00pm.
Toronto FC II (gray socks, red shorts and shirts, white names and numbers)
........................90 Luka Gavran
12 Kadin Chung...34 Klaidi Cela...65 Antony Curic...62 Rohan Goulbourne
52 Alonso Coelo (cpt)...8 Ralph Priso...73 Stefan Karanjovanovic...81 Themi Antonoglou
................80 Paul Rothrock...77 Jordan Perrunzza
Subs:...60 Baj Maan (gk)...35 Mehdi Essoussi (mid)...68 Nakye Greenidge-Duncan (mid)...71 Enric Bernat (mid)
...72 Steffen Yeates (mid)...74 Kundai Mawoko (def)...82 Julian Altobelli (mid)...84 Joshua Gordon (def)
team official: team head coach Gianni Cimini
Philadelphia Union II (light blue socks and shirts, yellow shorts, names and numbers)
..........................1 Matthew Freese (cpt)
39 Francis Westfield...13 Cole Turner...42 Jack Jasinski...24 Anthony Sorenson
52 Boubacar Diallo...20 Jesus Bueno...55 Bajung Darboe...36 Ian Abbey
...................40 Christopher Donovan...32 Jose Riasco Brizuela
Subs:...22 Brooks Thompson (gk)...21 Nelson Pierre (fwd)...37 Carlos Paternina Molina (mid)
...38 Maike Villero Farinez (mid)...78 Anthony Ramirez (mid)
team official:...head coach Marlon LeBlanc
Game officials:...referee Youcef Boumsied...referee's assistants Jason Olinski and Brad Doubrough
...fourth official Fabrizio Stasolla...(all black uniforms)
First Half:...game starts 7:05pm...TFC defends north end on this mild evening with a mild rain falling during parts
of the first half.
2 min...TFC defender head ball from 25 yards back to own goalie on PU player's cross from right on run.
4 min...PU defender stops TFC Karajovanovic centering pass into box from left and clears it at 10 yards.
4 min...TFC Chung cross from right edge of box is over players in box and TFC Karajovanovic midair 12 yard shot
bounces to goalie on near left post.
9 min...TFC Rothrock run up right and cross along 10 yard line has TFC Perruzza one-touch shot over bar.
11 min...TFC Karajovanovic blasts 25 yard roller from left that goalie smothers on left post.
13 min...TFC Karajovanovic runs to left end line and rolls pass to TFC Priso at 15 yards in middle who shoots off defender
at 12 yards and fires rebound wide right.
16 min...PU Brizuela 25 shot down middle is stopped by defender on edge of box but flag was up for offside.
17 min...TFC Karajovanovic shot on edge of box is stopped and play is whistled down for PU freekick.
18 min...TFC Goulbourne heads ball back to goalie in box to break up play.
19 min...PU Brizuela on rush on right rolls pass too ar forward and goalie picks up ball.
19 min...TFC Rothrock rush on right rolls centering pass to TFC Perruzza and he turns and rolls 15 yarder up middle
that goalie smothers.
21 min...PU Abbey chips short pass forward into left side of box and PU Brizuela is checked by two defenders at 6 yards.
21 min...PU YELLOW card...Brizuela earns it for kicking off field ball away aftger no cornerkick call.
23 min...TFC Chung on right centers pass but TFC Perruzza is checked off ball. Later Perruzza has 15 yard shot blocked.
24 min...TFC goalie beats PU Abbey to long chip through ball.
26 min...TFC Priso chips pass in middle too far up left and over end line.
28 min...PU player chips over defenders and goalie has to come forward and punch ball away from PU Abbey who has snuck
behind defenders.
29 min...PU goalie smothers ball at 12 yards on left and TFC Rothrock flips over and injures the both of them.
29 min...PU Brizuela gets in way of TFC Coello pass back to goalie who has to make point blank save.
30 min...PU Abbey cornerkick from right has TFC Perruzza on near post clear ball away.
31 min...TFC Rothrock cross on run down left. PU Jasinski stops ball in middle and clears.
32 min...PU Donovan dribbles and blasts 12 yarder from left off right post.
34 min...TFC Priso passes to TFC Perruzza whose shot from 12 yards is pushed wide left of post.
34 min...TFC player's cornerkick from left is over players and out right side of box.
35 min...PU Bueno is injured at center line and needs trainer.
37 min...PU Diallo pokes away TFC Chung long run on edge of box.
37 min...TFC Karajovanovic cross through 6 yard box on right is unplayed and out left.
39 min...TFC YELLOW card...Chung earns it for trip on PU Diallo turning at TFC 35 yard line on left sideline.
41 min...TFC Antonoglou cross from left has TFC Perruzza pop up header at 10 yards on right into 6 yard box
but ball is cleared.
42 min...PU Donovan pass from left end line has defender block and clear in 6 yard box.
42 min...PU Abbey cornerkick from right is bent well behind net.
45 min...TFC Priso is centered pass and 25 yarder down middle is caught by goalie.
46 min...half ends 6:52pm.
Halftime: I moved back down to the seats as it had stopped raining. I noticed that PU only had five subs
including a goalie like their lineup tweet said!
Second Half:...starts 7:08pm.
46 min...TFC Rothrock bends 25 yard cross from 10 yard line over two TFC players and over right end line.
47 min...TFC Karajovanovic gets to high cross on right edge of box but can't beat two defenders.
49 min...TFC Antonoglou eludes one deffnder on run into box but second checks him off ball at 12 yards.
49 min...PU Abbey cross along right end line drifts behind net.
50 min...PU goalie out to 22 yards to beat TFC Karajovanovic to through ball.
51 min...PU Brizuela and TFC Curic suffer head injuries in collision at TFC 40 yard line and both need trainers.
54 min...play finally resumes.
57 min...TFC YELLOW card...Priso earns it for something, maybe a delayed call.
............TFC Cela is injured and needs trainer inside own box. The TFC goalie had punted the ball out of play
and it hit the press box window which was about four stories up.
59 min...PU Turner long chip from center line on right and TFC goalie at 15 yards drop then pick up.
59 min...TFC sub...Gorden replaces injured Cela.
............PU sub...Pierre replaces Brizuela.
............PU sub...Molina replaces Darboe.
62 min...TFC Curic makes big poke away on PU Donovan stopping breakaway on left at 40 yard line.
64 min...TFC Antonoglou run up left and cross into 6 yard box has defender pop up header away from TFC Perruzza.
64 min...TFC YELLOW card...Goulbourne earns it for bashing over PU Abbey.
65 min...PU Bueno takes freekick from 45 yard line on right that's headed away in crowd of players on left side of box
but TFC Curic goes down with a head injury and needs trainer.
67 min...TFC sub...Greenidge-Duncan replaces Chung.
............TFC sub...Maoko replaces Karajovanovic.
............TFC sub...Yeates replaces injured Curic.
68 min...PU Molina beats defender to ball and 22 yard shot down the middle is over net.
68 min...TFC Greenidge-Duncan long run down left and cross is over players in box.
71 min...TFC Antonoglou cornerkick from left is low and cleared by nearest defender.
73 min...PU Pierre rush to 15 yards on left and low shot has defender deflect wide left.
73 min...PU Abbey cornerkick from left is short and PU Sorenson crosses over to right and TFC Priso heads behind
own endline.
74 min...PU Molina cornerkick from right is caught by goalie.
76 min...PU YELLOW card...Molina earns it for complaining about a call or something earlier near the center line.
77 min...TFC Greenidge-Duncan dekes defender and run to near left end line and 10 yard shot has goalie push wide left
on near post.
78 min...TFC Rothrock cornerkick from left is headed away in box in two moves.
78 min...PU Abbey shoots 22 yarder from left well over net.
78 min...PU Diallo can't win Penalty kick call on fall in box.
81 min...PU YELLOW card...Bueno earns it for kicking ball away after checking TFC Perruzza over for TFC freekick.
82 min...TFC Perruzza 30 yard freekick is into player wall and cleared.
84 min...TFC Yeates rolls through ball pass from 25 yards up middle and goalie slides out to smother and TFC Perruzza
falls over him and is injured.
86 min...PU Sorenson 28 yard freekick from right has TFC Priso head ball through box and out left. PU then wins cornerkick.
87 min...PU Abbey cornerkick from left has TFC goalie windmill swat away ball in crowd of players at 12 yards and start
fast break out.
88 min...PU YELLOW card...Jasinski earns it for pull down of TFC Rothrock at PU 50 yard line.
88 min...TFC sub...Altobelli replaces Perruzza.
............PU sub...Ramirez replaces Abbey.
89 min...TFC YELLOW card...Yeates earns it for knocking down PU Pierre from behind.
90 min...PU Bueno 50 yard freekick is cleared.
91 min...TFC Nakye Greeenidge-Duncan GOAL...TFC Paul Rothrock is on break down middle from 30 yards
when a high ball is chipped behind defender. Rothrock rushes to 12 yards and gets foot to it as he
is still trying to control the ball and the shot is stopped point blank by sprawling goalie Matthew Freese.
The ball deflects to the left along the 12 yard line. Greenidge-Duncan charges in and takes 10 yard shot
that a sliding defender on the left post gets a piece of on left post but the ball deflects up and rolls into
the right corner of the net. Rothrock had run out of the way so there would be no offside call. The defender
pounds the ground in frustration while the goalie was out of the play.
92 min...PU Bueno 22 yard roller has goalie smother.
92 min...PU YELLOW card...Diallo earns it for something he said after the whistle.
95 min...game ends.
Final Score:...Toronto FC II.......1........Philadelphia Union II...........0..........
Attendance to this game which is still officially closed to the public was about 250 people, all family members on a guest list. Just before the game started there was yet another bout of rain which we'd had at different times during the day. It wasn't as bad as the Chicago Fire II game which was a thunderstorm with a 1+ hour delay. This one the sun was shining in the distance with clouds just over the stadium...lucky us! I remembered that other game I watched the game from the covered landing level which is the walk to the pressbox so watched the first half from the railing as I can't write in the rain. All clear by about 30 minutes. This game I'd read beforehand wasn't going to be the 'best' players from each team because TFC had defender Kobe Franklin and midfielder Hugo Mbongue called up for the Canadian U-20 team plus goalie Adisa De Rosario and defender Adam Pearlman on their U-20 training squad. Philadelphia had three midfielders called up for the USA U-20 team: Jack McGlynn, Paxten Aaronson, and Quinn Sullivan. None of those players played or were on the bench for today's game. Oh boy! Canada and USA are both in Group A and meet each other on Monday June 20th. The other teams in their group are Cuba and St Kitts & Nevis. However with the Concacaf Nations League taking place during this week's FIFA break, there are few MLS games so both teams could play some contracted players from the main teams to show off for the coaches. TFC coach Bob Bradley was watching from one of the seats in the stands. Forward Jordan Perruzza, defender Kadin Chung, and midfielders Themi Antonoglou and Ralph Priso-Mbongue, all from the main team, were starters today. Philadelphia had goalie Matthew Freese and midfielders Cole Turner and Jesus Bueno from the main team. What they didn't have was a huge choice of substitutes with only four outfielders and a spare goalie and all 21 or younger. They eventually made three substitutions while TFC made the maximum of five from a choice of eight players with a triple sub at 67 minutes which included goal scorer Greenidge-Duncan who immediately looked faster than the tiring defenders as he bombed up the wing. TFC looked like they had more chances but crosses in the box were often behind the players charging into the box or a defender got to the ball first. Best non-scoring chances were at 9 minutes when TFC Paul Rothrock ran up the right and crossed along the 10 yard line and Jordan Perruzza one-touched a shot over the bar. 19 minutes had Rothrock rush up the right again and rolled a centering pass to Perruzza who turned and rolled a 15 yard shot up the middle which the goalie smothered. 29 minutes had PU Ian Abbey get in the way of TFC Alonso Coello making a pass back to his goalie and he had to make a point blank save. 32 minutes had PU Christopher Donovan dribble in a blast a 12 yarder from the left off the right post. Two minutes later TFC Ralph Priso-Mbongue passed to Perruzza whose shot from 12 yards was pushed wide of the left post. Not as many near misses in the second half with TFC Greenidge-Duncan at 77 minutes deking a defender and ran to near the left end line and his 10 yard shot had the goalie push wide on the near post. The referee was Youcelf Boumsied who I'd never seen before but online I deduced he was from Quebec. He started by giving out a reasonable one Yellow to each team in the first half but by the end of the game he'd given out a total of four to TFC and five to the visitors including three to them for dissent. Best thing he did was to stop the game immediately when collisions caused head injuries. The trainers were rushed on. Worst incident of this was when both PU Jose Riasco Brizuela and TFC Anthony Curic collided at 51 minutes. Play didn't resume for at least three minutes. Curic suffered another head injury at 65 minutes and was quickly subbed off. The win improves Toronto's record to 4 wins, 1 tie, and 6 losses for 13 points which is good for sixth place in the ten team Eastern conference. Philadelphia remains in fifth place with a record of 4 wins, 2 ties, 4 losses for 15 points. Yeah, well a win is not always three points in this league because if you win in a shootout you only get two and the loser gets a 'tie' of one point. TFC have avoided those shootouts (taken immediately after the regulation 90 minutes) all season until their last game in Rochester last week where they earned a tie by losing in Penalty kicks. Hmm the MLS TFC won by this method over CPL Forge FC just last week to win the 2020 (Covid delayed) Canadian Championship. TFC's next home game is Friday June 24th at 7:00pm against Inter Miami CF II. Interesting the PA announced that but didn't say something like “See you all here”. I was allowed in while the teams were still warming up for the first time once again by a 'Tiger Woods' lookalike. “You know the routine” he said. It's don't ask the players for autographs. Easy as I have no interest. I saw a guy who has that for a hobby for the first time this season (I better leave his name out of it) but he said he nabbed who he wanted before they got into the stadium. I asked a TFC II player in the crowd ie not in today's lineup (better leave his name out of it too) after the game about travelling by bus or plane. It depends on the distance is one consideration, also if the MLS team and the NEXT Pro team is going to the same city, they may fill the charter with both squads. A nearby city like Rochester is obviously by bus. Looking at next week, both teams play New York Red Bulls so I'd guess they will cram onto the same plane. On the way out I told the bus driver driving the Denny's coach for the visitors (yeah thanks to the guy on the message board who said it is a bus charter bus company and not an ad for the restaurant) that the guys wouldn't be in a good mood with that late loss. He answered me he was just driving them to the hotel tonight and tomorrow they would fly back to Philadelphia. Tonight I kept my options open because it might not be such a nice guy at the gate. I had lined up two possible League1 Ontario games I'd drive to if I was not allowed in to watch this game.
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01
Game statistics from MLS NEXT Pro website:
TFC II Phil U II
Statistics
Possession % 63.6% 36.4%
Shots 13 10
Shots on goal 7 3
Blocked shots 4 3
Total passes 574 318
passing accuracy % 86.9% 77%
Corners 3 5
Crosses 11 9
Offsides 3 2
Duels won 42 51
Tackles won 13 14
Saves 3 6
Clearances 9 12
Fouls 15 14
Yellow cards 4 5
Red cards 0 0
Toronto FC II starters
Philadelphia Union II starters
TFC Joran Perruzza (77) takes opening kickoff.
TFC Kadin Chung (12) takes throw-in.
Philadelphia defender works ball out from own box.
TFC Alonso Coello (52) looks to pass forward.
Philadelphia Ian Abbey's (36) high cornerkick has bent behind net.
Philadelphia Jose Riasco Brizuela (32) takes second half kickoff.
These are just two of the head injuries in this game. Both Philadelphia Jose Riasco Brizuela (32) and TFC Antony Curic (65)
are down receiving treatment.
TFC Themi Antonoglou (81) sends in cornerkick.
Philadelphia Ian Abbey (36) crosses into TFC box.
TFC players congratulate TFC Nakye Greenidge-Duncan (68) for his injury time goal.
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