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The Good
The boys are back… the boys are hungry… a win and two away goals to warm the night… Sebastian Giovinco and Auro’s link-up in the fifth minute. A sign of things to come?... the gold star at the top of the TFC crest. Almost brought a tear to my eye… Alex Bono’s save on Dominique Badji... nice to see Jonathan Osorio’s socks pulled up (literally)… Steven Caldwell the prophet: “they (Colorado) will be punished if they keep allowing Giovinco space.” And, they were punished — repeatedly… the Nike Pitch ball. It took a beating in that cold, but it never gave up… icicles on beards… the “JR” (Junior) on the back of Auro’s jersey. If he keeps this up, we will be seeing a lot of 96s in the stands at BMO… Seba. A goal, an assist, and eight shots… Michael Bradley’s defensive stop on Jack McBean in the 61st minute (sloppy giveaway by VV, though)… 650 passes and 61% of the possession for the good guys… no horsing around on defence. Toronto cleared the ball 25 times during the match, instead of tempting fate with cutesy passes in their own end… the collection of ten TFC fans in the far corner of the stadium… Nick Hagglund’s defensive header in the 72nd minute. Seconds later, Toronto had goal number two… speaking of that second goal, Auro’s cutback pass was magical. My jersey order has already been placed… brave decision by the referee to not call a penalty on Hagglund late in the game… the real G, B & U is back!
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The Bad
Badji repeatedly getting behind TFC’s defense early in the game… the off-side call on Justin Morrow in the 6th minute… Jack Price with his arms raised in celebration. Don’t count your chickens… Badji trying to convince the referee that he was fouled just outside the penalty area… cruel irony: the referees were all from some of the warmest places in the region (St. Kitts & Nevis, Jamaica and Haiti)… Edgar Castillo’s foul on Auro… Victor Vazquez making a meal of the foul by Tommy Smith. I am consistent in my disdain for unnecessary theatrics… CONCACAF can’t attract sponsorship for their premier club tournament. Outside of Scotiabank, there were only four other companies on the advertising boards… Luke Wileman staying away from pronouncing “Ager Aketxe.” Someone has to make the first attempt. Mr. Caldwell? Bueller? Anyone?
The Ugly
Let’s get this over with: the weather. It was the coldest game since Santa’s Reindeer kicked the icicles off Jack Frost’s Snowmen in the 1931 North Pole Cup… Jozy Altidore’s miss in the second half, especially after that great give & go with Seba… the yellow card to Bradley for “time wasting.” As good a match as the referee had, I guess his brain finally froze… the Caldwell Clock: Steven spoke for 34.4% of the 94 minutes (approx. 1,941 seconds).