It is only in Cup competition you can really call a win a disappointment. On a night heavily skewing in Toronto FCs favour, a 2-1 victory over a virtual Vancouver Whitecaps reserve team hardly flatters. The first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship was an opportunity for Toronto to take control of the tie. Mission failed. Vancouver Whitecaps manager Carl Robinson elected to rest his regulars looking ahead to Saturdays game against the Columbus Crew. Even with 29-year-old Nigel Reo-Coker in the lineup, the average age of the Whitecaps starting XI was 21.6, including 17-year-old Canadian goalkeeper Marco Carducci. It was a glimpse of the future for Vancouver. The kids were alright. Toronto FC was less convincing. Toronto, with the week off until the return leg next Wednesday in Vancouver, had the luxury to play a regular starting XI. With only two changes from last weekends loss to New England, Toronto FC began the night heavy favourites. Instead, heavy legs, heavy touches, and heavy lifting were needed to see the game out. The Whitecaps grew in confidence and the manager played his cards right. Robinson, seeing weakness in TFC and his team grow into the match brought on attacking players Kekuta Manneh and Sebastian Fernandez late, pushing for an away goal. Although Vancouver conceded in the 89th minute en route, they found the precious goal in time added on and head home next week as favourite to advance. Manneh scored the goal. Not the prettiest, but a timely and much needed strike in aggregate competition. Toronto FC substitute Dwayne De Rosario was lucky to stay on the field after landing a forearm to the face of the goal scorer amongst a pile of flailing arms as Vancouver tried to get the ball back to midfield as soon as possible. Manneh and De Rosario saw yellow before the game died out and the final whistle blew. The script never seems to be straightforward for Toronto FC. They have seldom been the dominant side in any match thus far this season. Team commitment, work rate and shape remain solid, but interplay, build up, and execution in the final third continue to be issues. It takes time for a team of new faces to come together. With the World Cup break rapidly approaching, time is ticking for the team to click. Here are my five thoughts from Toronto FCs 2-1 victory: 1) Two is not enough - Toronto FC dictated proceedings all night long, rendering Vancouver reliant on the counter-attack. The build-up remained consistent and decent until reaching the final third. In and around the opposing 18-yard box, the team remains a mess, with the exception of Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley. Good thing the big money players are coming through because the rest of the team needs to be much better in dangerous areas. The final ball is often erratic. And when the ball is on a platter, the finishing goes awry. There isnt just one culprit. They are too easily letting defenders off the hook. Its all sloppy, too direct and too easy to mark. Part of the issue is the team playing too narrow. Justin Morrow and Mark Bloom rarely get involved in the attack to overlap in to dangerous areas. The bulk of the attacking play comes down the middle, with even the outside midfielders coming far too inside. More than two goals should have been had against a team of inexperienced kids. Now Toronto has to go out west and get a result. The pressure will be on the Whitecaps to get a goal, which may put Toronto back in their comfort zone playing on the counter. 2) Oh, Gilberto - More of the good and bad on display by Gilberto. Hes not doing himself or the club any favours dispelling the notion he wasnt worth the club giving up Matias Laba. The ups and downs in his game are so pronounced he may as well be called Two-Face. For a player who predicted a 25-goal season, the polish in front of goal is simply not there. Some nice interplay between Defoe and Issey Nakajima-Farran in the 21st minute broke Toronto FC free down the left flank. The Canadian Internationals cross was on point, finding Gilberto wide open on the far post at the six-yard box. The Brazilian headed wide; a brutal miss by any standard. Its now been seven games without a goal for the striker. The good: the work rate remains a plus and glimpses of his ability surface from time to time. Gilberto dropped deep into space to gain possession and played a crafty ball behind the back line, springing Defoe on his goal. More of this kind of positive play will ease the critics. They will ultimately not be silenced until he starts scoring goals. Designated Players must be impactful. Thus far, the returns are subpar. With an injured Bright Dike and De Rosario struggling to find form, a productive Gilberto is essential for sustained team success. 3) Defoe does it again - Defoe looked much sharper in his second game back returning from a nagging hamstring injury. His quickness and superior movement was on full display in the win. Defoe was cool in front of goal, composed as ever beating Carducci for his 28th minute opener, his fourth wearing red. Defoe played provider on Bradleys 89th minute winner, drawing two defenders to him before playing a diagonal ball finding Bradley in space. Whenever he gets the ball in and around the box, he is a threat and has the ability to create on his own. Thats why its so important for the Englishman to be more involved. There were stretches in the game where he faded out of the match when Toronto FC was too sloppy in possession. He needs the ball played to his feet and his teammates to do better moving off the ball, finding space. Defoes touch is sublime and distribution is spot on. As long as Defoe stays fit, Toronto FC will remain a threat in every match they play. Hes far too dangerous. 4) Hail Cesar - Toronto FC goalkeeper Julio Cesar was named to the Brazilian squad for this summers World Cup in his home country. Cesars inclusion doesnt surprise with a resume second to none and showing good form since his arrival in Toronto. He has fit in with the team exceptionally well, on and off the field. Last years starting goalkeeper, Joe Bendik, will be called upon as stand-in upon Cesars World Cup absence. Bendik got his first start Wednesday and picked up where he left off last season with strong play. Bendik came to the rescue in the 44th minute, making a big save on Russell Teibert who found space inside the Toronto FC 18-yard box. It was instinctive stuff, with Bendik reading the play, coming off his line and staying big. Doneil Henry helped out Bendik seconds later, clearing Nicolas Mezquidas effort off the goalline. Bendik came up big again in the 75th minute with a pair of timely saves on Omar Saldado. The goal conceded was a mess with the defending all over the place. The blame hardly falls on the goalkeeper. There was enough on display Wednesday to alleviate any worry about a significant dip in goalkeeping when Cesar is gone. But theres no question who remains the number one. 5) Not your average Joe - Linesman Joe Fletcher manned the west-side touchline for the match. Much bigger games lay ahead for the Niagara Falls native in the not-so distant future. The 37-year old will be running the touchline at this summers World Cup, just over a month away. The assistant referee will link up with an American duo to form one of the 25 officiating crews in Brazil. The last Canadian official to participate at a World Cup was Hector Vergara who was part of the 2002, 2006, and 2010 competitions. Wishing Joe the best of luck and safe travels this summer. Next up for Toronto FC is the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal tie in Vancouver against the Whitecaps, Wednesday May 14 at BC Place. <a href=“http://www.barcelonafcteamshop.us/Jordi-Masip-Barcelona-Jersey/">Jordi Masip Barcelona Jersey</a>. The 12th-ranked Haas served well throughout the match at the Ibirapuera arena, allowing only one break point to the 152nd-ranked Italian. Both players held serve until the first-set tiebreak, when Haas stepped up his game to easily clinch the set. <a href=“http://www.barcelonafcteamshop.us/Samuel-Umtiti-Barcelona-Jersey/">Samuel Umtiti Barcelona Jersey</a>. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. http://www.barcelonafcteamshop.us/Jeremy-Mathieu-Barcelona-Jersey/. “It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. <a href=“http://www.barcelonafcteamshop.us/Luis-Suarez-Barcelona-Jersey/">Luis Suarez Jersey</a>. PETERSBURG, Fla. <a href=“http://www.barcelonafcteamshop.us/Neymar-JR-Barcelona-Jersey/">Neymar JR Jersey</a>. Rookie Christian Vazquez got his first three major league hits and drove in three runs, while David Ortiz had three RBIs to break open the game in the sixth inning and lead Boston over the Houston Astros 8-3.VANCOUVER -- If the Calgary Flames were looking to provoke Vancouver head coach John Tortorella into losing his cool again, this time he wasnt taking the bait. Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. It was the first meeting between the teams since a fierce line brawl broke out two seconds into a game on Jan. 18 that saw 150 penalty minutes assessed. Tortorella had a meltdown that night and went after Flames head coach Bob Hartley by storming Calgarys locker-room during intermission. Tortorella, furious at Hartley for icing his fourth line to start the game, served a 15-day suspension and the struggling Canucks have been in free fall ever since. Hartley started tough guy Brian McGrattan again on Saturday night, but this time the gloves stayed mostly on. “We didnt even talk about it in our locker room," Tortorella said of Hartleys starting line. “We needed to play. We have to scratch, claw and grind and find pints anyway possible." Darren Archibald also scored for the struggling Canucks, who snapped a four game slide and came into Saturday as losers of 11 of their last 12 games, including Thursdays dispiriting 6-1 drubbing in Texas that defenceman Kevin Bieksa called “rock bottom” for the team. McGrattan had the only goal for Calgary, which had won its last two and three of its last five games. The teams played nice until six minutes into the game when Vancouvers Bieksa got the better of Calgarys Mark Giordano with a mean right hand after the two dropped gloves. Giordano headed to the dressing room after, but returned later in the period. “I could tell that Gio was good," said Hartley. “It was just a gash that needed to be fixed." The Canucks had their chances early, including a 2-on-1 against Flames goalie Joni Ortio, but David Booth fired the puck wide to keep his goal drought in tact. Booth hasnt scored since Dec. 17. The absence of Canucks stalwart goalie Roberto Luongo -- traded on Tuesday to Florida -- was sharply felt at 2:13 of the second when a harmless looking slap shot by McGrattan near centre ice somehow eluded new No. 1 Eddie Lack. The crowd groaned and Tortorella shook his head in disbelief. “I just wanted to throw one on net. I was at the end of my shift and fortunately it went in," said McGrattan. “It was a muck and grind game. A lot of sloppy plays at both ends; the puck was bouncing everywhere. Those are good tests to see what youre made of." Lack says he didnt let the bad goal take him mentally out of the game. “I am just telling myself to get going agaain, and try to focus on the next save," he said.dddddddddddd “And the guys got a goal really quick and that took the pressure off." Vancouver evened the game three minutes later with a goal almost as ugly. With three Canucks crowding Ortio in the crease, Archibald whacked in the puck for his first career NHL goal. It breathed some life into the Rogers Arena, which didnt have much to cheer with only eight Vancouver shots compared to the Flames 14 through two periods. “Its never a bad play to stuff it and crash the net and get a greasy one," said Archibald. “Thats part of my game -- win battles down low -- and I kind of won a battle and stuffed it from behind the net and pitchforked it in." Action picked up in the third as Canuck Ryan Kesler was stopped by Ortio on a point-blank shot in the slot, while at the other end, Lance Bouma missed on a wide-open net with Lack way out of position. Bouma has seen increased playing time lately as Hartley grows more confident in young winger. “Im gaining confidence every game," said Bouma. “The coach is putting a lot of trust in me and playing me in key situations. Im just trying to learn as much as I can, and I feel like its been going pretty well." Weber scored the go-ahead goal five minutes into the third when he banged home a rebound off a shot from new teammate Shawn Matthias, who came to Vancouver from the Panthers in the Luongo trade. “Maybe it wasnt the prettiest goals, but thats how we have to get out of our slump," said Weber. “We played a gritty game, and got some ugly goals and thats the way we have to play." Calgary had a chance to tie the game with two power-play chances thanks to Vancouvers Chris Higgins in the final five minutes, but the Flames couldnt capitalize. Higgins had three straight penalties in the third period. Despite Vancouvers recent hard times, the team is still only four points out of a playoff spot after Dallass 4-3 win against Minnesota on Saturday. Calgary (25-32-7) remains second last in the Pacific Division. Lack finished with 22 saves, while Ortio stopped 12 at the other end for Calgary. The Canucks (29-27-10) eclipsed their season-low of 20 shots. Notes: Saturday night marked the 10-year anniversary of former-Canuck Todd Bertuzzis on-ice attack on Steve Moore. The former Avalanche forward, who never played again in the NHL, filed a $38-million dollar lawsuit against Bertuzzi and the Canucks. A trial date has been set for Sept. 8. ... Canucks forward Zack Kassian served the first game of his three-game suspension after boarding Stars defenceman Brenden Dillon on Thursday. ... Attendance was 18,910. <a href=“http://www.wholesalejerseyschinaauthenticstore.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a>　 <a href=“http://www.nfljerseyscheapfromchina.cc/">Cheap NFL Jerseys</a>　<a href=“http://www.factorycheapnfljerseyschina.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a>　<a href=“http://www.cheapjerseyschinaespn.com/">Authentic Jerseys From China</a> <a href=“http://www.wholesalejerseyschinagate.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a> <a href=“http://www.cheapjerseysnflchinasupply.net/">Wholesale NFL Jerseys</a> ' ' '

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