On not beating Toronto FC
By: Jim | May 30th, 2007Well, at least they didn’t lose.
And to be fair, there’s more to be excited about than just that. For a good bit of the game (about one-third even!) the offense played with some degree of competence. Balls are being played through and out of the midfield with purpose, and the concept of shooting the ball being a necessary component to scoring is no longer quite so alien to many of our forwards. OK, fine – one of our forwards. But when Andy Herron limped off the field in the 38th minute with strained quadriceps, our offense limped off the field too.
I suppose this is something of an improvement from what I had been anticipating last week. I mean, we scored. We actually scored two goals, bringing our season total into double digits. And for four minutes at least, Sigi Schmid looked like a freakin’ genius. When Grabavoy delivered a nice through ball to Moreno, who did the job he was brought in for and calmly held it until releasing it to Andy Herron coming in from the wing, who promptly scored, you could almost imagine all the lines and arrows on Sigi’s dry erase board over in Obetz prognosticating the whole play. It was a joy to behold.
Even Herron’s second goal, from a rebound from a shot by Ned Grabavoy, was nice – well-struck, decisive, and emphatic. There is no question about it, the first half against Toronto FC was the best offensive display Columbus has presented in a long time.
But let’s put it in context. Toronto are an expansion side. They sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. If we can’t beat them, at home, and with the 11 men our coach has groomed as his, then exactly who can we beat, and when? Yes, Toronto are improving game by game. Yes, they now have Jeff Cunningham, a genuine goalscoring threat. But it’s still a team that had never played together before a few months ago. It’s less a team and more a group of strangers wearing matching laundry. And we couldn’t beat them.
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Comments
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I feel sorry for Crew fans. This year’s version is about as boring a team as you will see in MLS not named Real Salt Lake.
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United States
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Jim Brennan’s goal from midfield was as fine a goal as you’ll see this year; TFC has some real assets. The six game away series due to the U-20 Cup is going to be a huge challenge, but if the team can come together through that, our prospects are excellent for the balance of the season.
Posted from
United States -
Yeah boy, you watch what you say about my boys now. I still think we can make the playoffs this year.
Posted from
Canada -
Jesus, Sam, even I’m starting to buy in…scary thought.
By the way, Jim, love what you’ve done with the space…and the line on Herron is priceless.
Posted from
United States
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