San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Toronto FC: The good, the bad & the ugly

The Good

We won the Canadian Championship. Oops, wrong game... the match actually started on time. Maybe TFC home games can follow suit... the IPA ad at Avaya Stadium: “Beer Speaks. People Mumble. Speer Beaks. Meople Pumble”... the line of the match — Steven Caldwell describing Lucas Janson: “He looks pretty tasty.” Tasty?!... Toronto FC played very well, and held their defensive lines tight during the first 21 minutes... Alex Bono’s two saves in the first half... the build-up and passing that led to Janson’s goal... another shout-out to Caldwell: he made much of Michael Bradley’s great pass that started the move leading to TFC’s lone tally... Seba’s great attempt to chip the keeper from midfield... the entire play that led to Oso’s shot off the post (we really needed that to go in!)... the television scoreboard in San Jose. It’s bloody huge!... while Caldwell and Wileman marvelled at everything Janson did, Terry Dunfield summarized Lucas’ performance best: “He looks promising”. That’s it in a nutshell. No more. No less... now we can focus all of our attention on the Campeones Cup. I’m being serious! One day this will be a big deal and it would be great to claim the inaugural title... at least we didn’t lose.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad

We didn’t win... Greg Vanney’s starting lineup was a complete joke... Nick Hagglund and Jason Hernandez (H & H) could have passed for Catholic priests on the night — they were very “holey”... the incessant drumming throughout the entire match. My head is still throbbing... “Wondolowski” is Polish for “ageless pain in TFC’s arse”... Vako having his way with our backline for most of the night... Drew Moor playing at right centre-back, especially given how H & H were playing... Seba getting blindsided at the top of the box, but no call from Silviu Petrescu... did Vanney lose his luggage? What’s with the TFC leisure suit?... Justin Morrow’s pull-back pass to no one in the 71st minute. It snuffed out a solid build-up... the tiny Supporters’ Section at Avaya. Looks more like a Supporters’ Hovel... San Jose’s mascot. What is that thing?... no Victor Vazquez... no backup for Victor Vazquez... still no backup for Bradley. We need one before next year’s Champions League... Hagglund and Morrow were MIA on Wondo’s goal... if I hear the excuse of “three games in six days” one more time... Terry Dunfield’s pocket square did not match his tie... how did Philly beat NYCFC? How did Daniel Lovitz score? Too many things working against the Reds.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Ugly

No more talk of Toronto FC making the playoffs. It is over. I hope that I am proved wrong. But, it is over... those picnic benches at Avaya Stadium. Do they have a CFL team too?... too much Dominic Oduro... TFC recording only one shot on target against the worst team in the League... this season really is looking like 2011: on pace for 34 points and a Canadian Championship. Hope next year is better than 2012... that single square of grass midway through the Supporters’ side of the pitch. At first, I thought that there was a problem with my TV... speaking of the grass, it was wetter than the deck on Noah’s Ark (another religious reference to remind us how “holey” TFC’s defence was on the night)... the Caldwell Clock: 1,819 seconds (32.25% of the 94 minutes). That’s within Steven’s range, but it’s a long time to only hear the word “quality” six times. Speaks to the play.