Fern Mc Costigan: October 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

Toronto aiming for the final

How about those Boys from the Toronto FC, after decades of frustrations, now their best is yet to come from this squad plagued with a spectacular and hungry initial eleven.

From one feat after another, and sporting their second back-to-back postseason appearances, this time the FC Boys came prepared to put on a show in front of their faithful in BMO Stadium.

Lucky is the word to describe how the TFC opened their first match at home, after coming from a knockout round win over the Philadelphia Union, after this win, the Canadian squad is displaying a wondrous football.

Playing against a fiery NYCFC, a squad labeled as an overall favorite and having all the elements to win the league as the new kid in the league and in its second year the Big Apple Boys finished first in the Eastern Conference.

Considered as an all-time challenge and aware of the rival in front of them, the TFC Manager Greg Vanney out on a very defensive 3-5-2 formation to counter the New York Boys offensive might despite missing several key of its starters.

This time for the New Yorkers Manager Patrick Vieira, making all types of moves in his initial eleven, he sent a 4-3-3 formation and without Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard in the bench as a possible substitute.

The NYCFC was ready to make its debut after their bye and with a rival of the likes of the TFC, their Boss was ready to put a stand and try to generate an upset at home over the home squad that had all of its starters.

With the TFC starting the hostilities and putting a certain touch of dominance in this match with several attempts to beat the posts defended by Erik Johansen who earned its pay after stopping in the first half the Reds barrage.

With the match going to zeroes into halftime and later on continuing with the same score despite the TFC efforts, it is when a jubilant and opportune Jozy Altidore took matters into his own and scored the first goal of the match with a cannon of a shoot.

With a 1-0, score the whole of BMO went into a nonstop frenzy and a match that its referee Silviu Petrescu let go and became indifferent to several fouls and calls not made to David Villa with a flagrant kick over Armando Cooper worth a red.

The game went on, the dominance of the Toronto Boys was very evident, and in stoppage, time it’s when came a peculiar play when Tosaint Ricketts put the go-ahead goal for to wrap up a wonderful and meritorious afternoon for the locals.

However the 2-0 lead going to the Bronx and play the NYCFC and possibly these will have in their lineup their trio of aces in Pirlo, Lampard and Villa, maybe we will have a much contested and one of a kind match between these two.

Also the TFC will have its trio of aces in Altidore, Bradley and Giovinco and this latter one even though he did not score, still his presence created a lot of open spaces for his teammates and hence the results.

By opening the prospects of a match back south in the Big Apple to try to seal the deal and continue with their momentum and seek their first ever all around conference final that can be leaning into an all Canadian final in the East.

Still we have second legs to play and these to decide who will be the one that will advance to the next rounds and this will come from their ambition and drive to excel in this edition of the 2016 postseason.

At the end will the TFC prevail or be a bust at the end in New York and fell prey into the Sky Blues strategies that its Boss put on the first leg and these displayed all of their energy, but will a 2-0 lead continue or the New Yorker's overcome.

For Greg Vanney and his TFC the heat is on, these shall overcome the odds and take advantage of the yellow card accumulations from the New York squad totaling five, and this can be a shoot in the arm for the Canadians.

Photos Credit, Courtesy and Property of © Nick Turchiaro- USA TODAY 2016

Photos Credit and Property of © Copyright Major League Soccer. com 2016

Score one for Seattle

How can that be, for a squad seeing its luck going from bad to worst in the campaign, very well looking like there were no prospects of making it into the grand fete of the playoffs.

All of a sudden, this club makes some drastic changes in its helm and voila, all of a sudden we have a contender!

This is a squad considered as a sort of comeback kids, after their one of kind accomplishments lately in league play and in the playoffs.

Including a streak that uplifted this squad above the red line in their conference and in the last match of the campaign, they earned their pass with a notable win over a hardened Real Salt Lake.

Suddenly the Boys of Emerald City are playing like there is no tomorrow, after barely beating a tough foe in Sporting Kansas City in the knockout rounds.

After their first feat, their pass to semifinals was sealed and to play with one squad labeled as an all-around favorite to win it all- after its regular campaign achievements in the US Open Cup and winning the league utmost trophy in the Supporters Shield.

Dallas FC came as one difficult group to put down easily, after sporting an initial eleven not so easy to tango with and these looking so hungry, that many put Oscar Pareja and his chaps to deliver the big shield into its halls in Toyota Stadium back at Frisco, Texas.

So far since their inception in league play in 1996, dubbed as the so-called originals in Major League Soccer as the Burn, and since their time in league play, Dallas the closest they have to come to the MLS Cup was in 2010.

After losing the cup to Colorado, Dallas is looking forward to bury the past as they did with the Supporters Shield in 2006 and 2015 and in this campaign they finally broke the curse and won this prestigious award second to the MLS Cup.

In game one for the Western Conference Semifinals, Seattle had the joy and enjoying their good fortunes of opening this difficult and challenging series against the American version of the Hoops at Century Link Field.

For the Sounders new Boss Brian Schmetzer, still considered as an interim, the former assistant under Sigi Schmidt since this club came to life in MLS play in 2009, this man has seen it all and now he is putting his experience to work.

So far doing a magnificent job at the helm of this Cascadia club and looking like his Rave Greens can make a run into the league title as their neighbors down south the I-5 did in last campaign, with the prospects of the MLS Cup can continue its stay in Cascadia.

With one of those, amazing rainy afternoons the Pacific Northwest known for, it was ShowTime for both squads and the pressure was not only for the local Sounders but also for the visiting Hoops, these showing off a paramount campaign once again.

The Texans Boss Oscar Pareja sporting a 5-3-2 formation with five defenders, with two of those used in the offensive attack as as wingers accompanying three midfielders to distribute some game to its two strikers in Maxi Urruti and Michael Barrios.

Still the formation and use of five defenders that later could involve the offense sent a message to the Sounders, after its Boss sent a traditional 4-3-2-1 formation with a lone Nelson Valdez in the attack but supported by a trio composed of Lodeiro, Morris and Frieberg.

Since the early start of the match, the Rave Greens became a menace into the Dallas backfield and its keeper Chris Seitz, who made some heroic saves to prevent a prolific of a goal fest in favor of the locals.

After the first half ended, it when the Sounders started their usual attacks at Dallas backfield and in a matter of eight minutes after Nelson Valdez opened the score in the 50^th minute then followed by a double by Nicolas Lodeiro in the 55 and 58.

With this goal fest, the Dallas FC squad once again saw its usual playoff meltdowns as they are on the brink of elimination if they do not score three goals or more back at Toyota Stadium, as they can kiss their amazing campaign goodbye.

Very well, with an away goal the Sounders score against the Texans, the feat will be complete for the Emerald City squad and advance once again to another conference final to face either LA or Colorado.

One down and one more to go at Dallas, will the Sounders complete the feat, will the defense hold on for Brian Schmetzer squad, who will score, these questions will be answered on November 6 at the colossus in Frisco, Texas.

Photos Credit, Courtesy and Property of © Logan Riely Seattle Times 2016

Photos Credit and Property of © Copyright Major League Soccer. com 2016

Sunday, October 30, 2016

An awful project named Sunderland

Not again, are the clamors around the Stadium of Light, after seeing their squad submerged once again in a crisis so deep, that this time they may not be as lucky, to get off as easily, like in the past campaigns.

Still for David Moyes with no solutions to remedy and to try, putting a stop to these series of odd results for his club, by the looks of it, he is running out of ideas and solutions to stop the skid.

So far, in nine matches played, the Black Cats offensive attack has only managed to score six goals in their favor and seventeen against, no wonder this Tyne- Wear squad is going through such a crisis.

With just a couple of draws against Southampton and West Brom and hitting the bottom of the overall league table with just two points, no wonder their followers are singing of their club mediocre campaign.

As the crowds in the Stadium of Light, in their last meeting against almighty Arsenal, the crowds after seeing the disinterest from their initial eleven, suddenly the whole stadium started signing in unison the words of How awful we are!

In addition, I do not blame them, after all the Sunderland faithful has not enjoyed or cherished in the previous campaigns a winning one, just being in the edge of their seats and praying for their squad to not going to the infamous championship league.

On this weekend, the Black Cats were to host a tough and resilient Arsenal FC, playing like a contender and seen as a strong candidate to win the league shield.

For the locals it was the right time and an opportunity to try to score an all-around upset to one of the leagues foremost of squads and with a win over the league leaders, this would come in the right moment.

As the match progressed both squads put on a display of their best football, still the wisdom of the Gunners Manager Arsene Wegner was seen immediately, when he saw how feeble the Sunderland defensive core could not defend against his aerial game.

Despite the Tyne- Wear squad, its Boss displaying a 4-5-1 formation, in his quest of reinforcing his backfield and prevent that the posts defended by his keeper Jordan Pickford not beaten.

For David Moyes seeing his troubles once again falling flat and his strategies and squad not putting a dent on the Londoners momentum, after these managed to score the equalizer in the 65^th minute via Jermain Defoe.

Many though in the Stadium of Light that the game was going to finish with a lone goal when Alexis Sanchez beat the defense and scored the first goal of the match in the nineteenth minute with the game staying put in the Londoners side.

After the penal that the Gunners players argued, these saw their lead blown away after 64 minutes of pure dominance, but the path of victory is paved in making all the right moves and at the end for Manager Arsene Wegner his moves paid up.

With both Alexis Sanchez and substitute Oliver Giroud putting his squad ahead in 71^st minute and five minutes later he put the score at 3-1 and later Sanchez put the icing on the cake in the 78^th to seal the deal for Arsenal.

Poor is the adequate word to describe a squad that so far has not displayed a simple piece of brilliant or dynamic football that can make them into a contender and with upcoming matches against Bournemouth and Hull City.

The upcoming matches for the Black Cats are vital if not crucial for them, to consider their salvation a bit more seriously, but in the eyes and minds of this club top brass the outcome will be grounds to make a drastic decision.

Especially in their club helm, if Moyes does not deliver in his project, as the Cherries will be a tough foe to beat but not impossible, as for the recently promoted Tigers, currently in the relegation spots.

Maybe that elusive and long awaited win may arrive, but in the case of the Black Cats, they will have a tough fight against the Hull City squad, with these looking forward to use the Tyne- Wear Boys as their stepping-stone out of the relegation spots.

For David Moyes to turn things around at Stadium of Light will be a bold endeavor in his quest of getting off from that negative streak that seems to haunt him since his days at Old Trafford and Anoeta.

Can he turn the tide in favor of his Black Cats and maybe salvage this odd campaign all the way to its conclusion and shake off his so-called Trafford curse or will he endure another fracas to overshadow his long won accomplishments during his time at Merseyside.