This game was supposed to be all about the return of Danny Koevermans, and although he did make a cameo towards the end of the game, the two main talking points were undoubtedly the performance of Jonathan Osorio, and yet another late goal that ripped two points from TFC’s grasp.

In the early running, TFC looked decent and certainly had most of the possession (63% in the first half according to the official stats), but that superiority in possession did not translate into goals as the shot shy Reds seemed to prefer playing it wide and crossing the ball in rather than taking any direct shots at goal. [singlepic id=11761 w=320 h=240 float=right]Indeed, despite the imbalance in possession, it was Philly who had the best chance of the first half when Le Toux rattled the woodwork in the 20th minute. The job of ending a winless streak at BMO that had gone on since July 18th 2012 (13 games, or 321 days) was made even more difficult when Doneil Henry picked up two first half bookings and was ejected in the 41st minute.

Ryan Nelsen made a change at half-time, sacrificing Luis Silva and bringing on Ashtone Morgan to shore up the defence, and although TFC looked fairly solid at the back, up front, we just could not score. Jeremy Brockie replaced Robert Earnshaw on the hour mark and barely 6 minutes later, it was his pressure and a great cross that led to the TFC goal. Jonathan Osorio got his head to it in the box ahead of Okugo and directed it past a helpless MacMath. 1-0 to the good guys, and cue delighted celebrations from local lad, and recent Canadian international debutante Osorio.

[singlepic id=11778 w=320 h=240 float=left]This was Osorio’s third TFC goal of the season – all at BMO Field – but he has yet to taste victory after scoring. His other two goals have come in matches where TFC let in late goals. He scored what looked to be a 78th minute winner against LA, only for Villareal to equalise in 92 minutes and tie that game up 2-2, and against New York he got an equaliser in 83 minutes but was thwarted when Tim Cahill scored his second of the game in 89 minutes to take the game 1-2. And so it was in this game …. with TFC leading 1-0 going into the final few minutes, the crowd got a lift from the introduction of Danny Koevermans. [singlepic id=11808 w=320 h=240 float=right]The Koev was returning to action for the first time since tearing his ACL on 14th July 2012 but the joy and excitement of Danny’s return soon turned sour as Jack McInerney hit a low shot past Bendik with the clock sitting at 89:59 !!!! Despite the 5 minutes of injury time, TFC could not manage to grab what would have been a deserved winner, and once again, the inability to see out the last few minutes of a game without conceding had cost us points.

Lets start with a few negative stats so we can round of this post with some positives for a change !!!

Late Goals
We have played 13 MLS games so far this season. We have conceded a late goal (or goals) in 7 of them (54% !!!). Of those 7 games where we have conceded late, you could argue that 4 of them turned potential victories into draws (8pts dropped), and that two of them turned draws into defeats (2 pts dropped) … at this stage, those additional 10 points would only see us into 7th spot in the east and the ‘P’ word slips further and further out of our grasp.

• [singlepic id=11827 w=320 h=240 float=right]Game 13 – TFC 1-1 Philly (90)
• Game 12 – Revs 2-0 TFC (93)
• Game 11 – TFC 0-1 Columbus (42)
• Game 10 – San Jose 2-1 TFC (81)
• Game 9 – Colorado 1-0 TFC (86)
• Game 8 – TFC 1-2 New York (89)
• Game 7 – TFC 1-1 Houston (93)
• Game 6 – Philly 1-1 TFC (93)
• Game 5 – TFC 2-2 Dallas (59) – (TFC score in 85 & 90 to tie it)
• Game 4 – TFC 2-2 LA Galaxy (92)
• Game 3 – Montreal 2-1 TFC (45)
• Game 2 – TFC 2-1 Kansas (77) – a WIN !!!
• Game 1 – Vancouver 1-0 TFC (59)

Streaks

• 13 games since our last MLS win @ BMO Field (July 18 2012) – 321 days
• 11 MLS games without a victory (last victory 9th March, Vs Kansas @ Rogers Centre) (record = 14)

Referee

Geoff Gamble is the most experienced referee to have officiated a TFC game in quite some time. Prior to this game he had officiated a total of 21 MLS games and his average was 23.3 fouls per game, 3.2 yellows per game with 3 reds in total and a very high stat of 10 penalties called.  In this game, he called an above average 30 fouls, issued 5 yellows and a Red but awarded no pens.

[singlepic id=11766 w=320 h=240 float=left]Overall, he seemed to have a decent enough game and looked willing to try and let it flow for the most part. This may be a biased opinion, but hey, this is a TFC fan site so that’s how it is, but I feel he got the Doneil Henry ejection wrong. The second booking was correct, and Doneil has to take responsibility for coming in from behind, knowing it would more than likely draw a second card. He may be only 20 but he is now a full International player and also has 53 games under his belt for TFC so lack of experience is no excuse !!! However, the first yellow was questionable. Henry and MacMath did have a bit of a tussle in the box, and it looked (from distance) as if the Philly keeper raised his hands. that’s a red and he should have been off, but in the end the ref took the easy option and yellow carded both players. Would it have made a difference? perhaps not, it is hard to say, but playing nearly 50 minutes down a man certainly makes it tougher. Ref score: 7 out of 10

Gamble may have been a more experienced ref than some we have had, but incredibly, in his now 22 games for MLS, almost a third of them have involved TFC !!! He has now reffed TFC 7 times in MLS plus once in Voyageurs. Our record with him in the middle is not that great, a single victory away in Montreal, 3 home draws, and 4 defeats – 3 away, 1 at home.  

Danny Koevermans

[singlepic id=11821 w=320 h=240 float=right]Danny last played for TFC on 14th July 2012. We won that game 0-1 in New England courtesy of a Luis Silva goal. We also won the next game (18th July) at BMO against Colorado with goals from Ryan Johnson and Andrew Wiedeman. However, since then we have played a further 27 MLS games without Danny and won only once !!! (Kansas at Rogers Centre this year).

The return of Koevermans is a big lift to TFC fans if he can recapture that 2011/2012 form and he certainly looks fitter than at any other time in a TFC uniform. 

• 2011: MLS Starts =9 + 1 sub. Goals = 8
• 2012: MLS starts = 12 + 4 sub. Goals = 9
• Total MLS: 21 starts + 6 sub. 17 goals

Jonathan Osorio

[singlepic id=11809 w=320 h=240 float=right]For me, the return of Koevermans was not the big story on Saturday, it was the performance of Osorio. The youngster (20) has exploded onto the scene this year. He made his MLS debut for TFC as a sub on 9th March 2013, and his starting debut on April 6th. So far he has made 2 starts +10 sub appearances in our 13 MLS games, as well as starting both of our Voyageurs Cup games. He was worthy of a start on Saturday and throughout the game looked like our most inventive player and the one player whose spark might ignite the game. He thoroughly enjoyed his goal, something his play deserved, and we look forward to seeing a lot more of him in red, both for TFC and for Canada.

Its a bye week next week, followed by away games in DC and Houston, so likely no galleries or commentary until after the June 29th game against Salt Lake at BMO so its nice to end this piece with the positive thoughts about Koev and Osorio …..

Gallery for this game: HERE