Nutrilite Canadian Champions!

For the second time this week Toronto FC were taking on the Vancouver Whitecaps.  Having beaten them 1-0 in a fairly dull league match thanks to a penalty earlier in the week TFC were feeling confident that they would be able to get the result they needed in the second attempt at the second leg of the NCC final.  In case you have forgotten, it was a good while ago, Toronto FC were totally outplayed in Vancouver but managed to steal a 1-1 draw in the first leg.  Then the second league again saw Vancouver being the better side by a clear margin but heavy rain and thunder storms had other ideas as the unsafe weather conditions led to the match having to be abandoned a rescheduled for the next time Vancouver were in town.  That meant that Canada's club championship was now set to be fittingly decided on Canada weekend.

The weather on saturday was once again calling for rain and a good chance of thunder storms but thankfully it held off and we can finally say that this seasons Nutrilite Canadian Championship is in the books.  The two teams made their agendas for this match fairly clear earlier in the week when you looked at the teams that they selected for the MLS match.  TFC, who are currently ravaged by injury, fielded a fairly strong side as they looked to end their 10 game winless run while the Whitecaps rested several players as they were seemingly willing to give up 3 points in the league in exchange for improving their chances at winning the Voyageurs Cup.  The move on Vancouver's part was a bit of a tricky one since giving TFC the win in the league was sure to restore some of their battered confidence and give the players increased hope that they would be able to win again on saturday.  After all this week was one of great optimism around TFC as they finally ended their winless run as well as announcing the signings of two former internationals.

Toronto FC came into the second leg with a lineup that was almost the same as it had been on Wedensday night as only Julian De Guzman and Maicon Santos were brought in.  Vancouver on the other hand made a drastic 7 changes from midweek.  The match kicked off in a fairly lively fashion with the first real chance falling to Santos after a quick counter attack and some ver questionable decision making by the keeper left him in all alone chasing after the bouncing ball.  By the time Santos was able to catch up to the ball he was almost on the goal line and was unable to hit anything but the side netting with his effort.  In the 20th minute though it was the Whitecaps who would open the scoring thanks to a beautifully taken free kick by Sanvezzo who stepped in with his right and fired a shot in to the top corner that gave Frei no chance of making the stop.

Toronto almost found an answer only 5 minutes later as a lively run from Plata opened up the Whitecaps defence and his ball allowed De Guzman to fire in a shot that was well save by Cannon but came back off the post to Martina who's effort had to be cleared off the line.  That chance was followed up with more scrambling and more chances for TFC but in the end they could not convert and the ball eventually went out for a corner.  It was clear that TFC were going for the win in this one and the signs of life were encouraging for the home fans having seen their side already go down 2-1 on aggregate.

Just before the half there was another moment where the Whitecaps were left wondering what their keeper Cannon was thinking.  He came well out of his box to claim a long through ball but the ball bounced off of his chest and ended up landing at the feet of Martina who was then staring at a wide open net.  Martina slid his shot in goal wards but some great hustle by Jay Demerit allowed him to get back and just barely clear the ball from off the goal line, or did he?  This one will go down as yet another case for goal line technology as the ball was definitely most of the way past the goal line before it was cleared but the question was whether or not it was completely across and personally I can not say having watched the replay a number of times.  I think that the right call was made in this case though as it was far to close to tell and awarding a goal would have been very harsh for Vancouver.  The Whitecaps went into the halftime break leading the game 1-0 and the final 2-1 so the job for Toronto was a simple one.  If they wanted to win the NCC then they had to find a way to come back and win this match in the second half.

The signs of life that TFC had shown in the first half carried over into the second as they again came close to levelling the score in the opening minute of the half.  Once again it was a lively run by Plata that got things started as his low cross into the box eventually ended up at the back post where Soolsma turned it toward the back of the net but it ended up being picked up by Cannon.  Cannon once again looked shaky as he failed to deal with the low cross.   The pressure continued for TFC and only a few minutes later a ball into the box ended up at the feet of Plata who was brought down and awarded the penalty.  This time Cannon did not look the least bit shaky as he got across well to push Plata's spot kick up and over the bar.  Unluckily for Cannon though the assistant referee caught the fact that he had taken several steps off of his goal line before the shot was taken which meant that the penalty was going to have to be retaken.  Cannon was absolutely furious at the decision and was only going to be made more angry by the fact that this time Plata stepped up a sent him diving the wrong way.  Plata who had been right in the middle of most of TFC's chances was rewarded with the goal that made it 1-1 on the night and all even at 2-2 on aggregate.

The 2-2 scoreline would have meant extra time and maybe penalties but with Toronto on top in terms of the run of play they looked to press their advantage.  A lovely ball over the top once again opened up the Vancouver defence and once again it was the pace and skill of Plata that got on to the end of the ball allowing him to bring it down at the top of the box before running in and sending a low cross into the middle past several defenders before it eventually wound up at the feet of Yourassowsky who fired it home giving Toronto its first lead of the match.  The Whitecaps tried to find some fight back but the couple of chances that they did create were well dealt with by Frie and after 93 minutes of play Toronto FC were hoisting their third straight Voyageurs Cup.

The win gives Toronto FC a date with Nicaragua's Real Esteli in a 2 legged qualifier from which the winner moves on to the group stage of the 2011-2012 CONCACAF champions league.  For TFC, who are already thin thanks to injuries, the Champions League is probably one competition more then they can afford to be worried about and I expect them to make a swift exit as they have other priorities.  The win also gives Toronto back-to-back wins for the first time in ages.  Yes they may both have come against the Whitecaps who are also struggling along at the bottom of the MLS but they have done enough to at least give the fans back some hope that the team is heading in the right direction.  At the very least TFC and its fans can now claim that they are the best club in Canada still but barring some sort of incredible second half turn around in the MLS they will once again be missing out on the playoffs.