Toronto (Home, Playoffs) - Postmatch

The thing that bugs me is that we are clearly the more talented side, and the subpar performances were distributed, and yet the difference was two defensive howlers, one characteristic and one not. Nobody had a an above average match (except maybe SJ) and a few (Parks, Mitri, Maxi, Heber, and for most of the match Isi) were below their own mean. All year various players have stepped up when necessary
And somehow not tonight. I don’t think we were terrible tonight, just slightly below our usually high bar, and only Callens and SJ struck me as playing up to expectations. But I’m still a lot happier with this season than the last two. This was not an abject humiliation such as we often suffered under PV and Kreis. I was Dome out in April and now I’m glad he will be around another year. Our signed core is going to be VERY hungry next year.

Of course I never want to “host” another match at Citi field. I don’t give a crap that the food is better or that beer is way easier to come by. It’s disorienting to be in strange seats far from the pitch
 
Now that I've had the entirety of the 7 local train (thanks MTA!) to process, there isn't a whole lot to say. TLDR version is simply that we were flat, rusty, and out of sync first half and two bad mistakes cost us the game in the 2nd half.

It's easy to blame the 2.5 weeks off for us being out of form, but let's face it, the intensity wasn't there from the start. We were beaten to every ball and TFC won every duel. Our midfield was non-existent and our backline was getting shredded as a result. Mata especially, was getting targetted and for good reason. He was our weak link the entire game. First half alone, he gave away ball after ball when they should have been simple passes a PROFESSIONAL should be able to nail 9 times out of 10 at minimum. There was one time where he took a throw in and gave it RIGHT to a TFC player. I mean come on! I was shocked to see him still on the field after half time but I guess Dome thought since we hadn't conceded yet, then he can't just pluck him. Bad move there. I would have taken Sweat with how bad Mata was performing or bright on Sands so we could play with a 3 back system and move an additional man into our non-existent midfield.

Parks was a shell of the player he's been. That injury basically turned him into a noob. It seemed like every single pass he had was off. Every touch receiving the ball was off. He was also guilty of giving the ball away constantly the 1st half.

As much as I love Chanot, his idiotic headers have cost us the game twice this season. 1st vs LAFC, and now tonight. I think possibly Sean could have come off his line faster and challenged while the ball was in the air, but Chanot was just idiotic with that header. And to not do anything after it left his head too? I mean, he should have realized it was a mistake and immediately turned to address it. But Pozuelo collects and goes in on Sean all alone. I couldn't believe it.

2nd half we clearly had the upper hand. The momentum was clearly in our favor. Mata should have been taken out as soon as momentum slowed down because Dome should know he was a liability when he's tired.

Against a tired TFC side, we were outhustled in the first half. Dome probably should have made more subs with Heber and changed our formation.

I am truly gutted. Yes we lost, but we lost in such a shitty way. I already know the MLS fucktards are gonna be salivating over the panenka and how "TFC's experience" won them the game. To make it worse, while we have a lot of our spine players back next year, we might lose Taty, we might lose Parks. Honestly, the only way I'm gonna feel better is if we win CCL.

and yes - i don't want to go back to citi field anymore. getting home took forever. it definitely wasn't as loud as yankee stadium either. as much as it gives us flexibility in scheduling, it just SUCKS not having a true HOME. we need our own home and we needed it last year.
 
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Not sure if mentioned but two things I'm seeing...

Dome basically saying he's not coming back and Ronald stopping his car, getting out and hugging fans apologizing.


w..t...f...

Dome, seriously? You're just gonna abandon us like that? Yes, travel sucks. Yes, the refs suck. But what the hell? insult to injury....

I honestly felt bad for Mata after the game despite how angry I was. I knew, as a former player, what it feels like to blame yourself for a bad result. It takes some real balls to do that and I respect that.
 
I think Dome is done. Guy is an interesting and talented tactician but he doesn't really want to be here.

Dome spent the entire second half of the season telling us how the playoffs could be defined by one mistake. That mentality always annoyed me (however true it may be) but I didn't expect us to commit two such mistakes in the same half.

I've never seen a player melt down like Mata did in the last 10 minutes of that game, in any sport, in any context. To give away the penalty is one thing, to spend the rest of the game with your head in your hands makes me question your mental aptitude for professional sports. If we move on from him, I'm not upset.

For all the pros and cons of Citi Field, I wanted to be able to walk away from our last game of the season in familiar surroundings. It's a sad night.
 
So was there any stadium announcement? For what it’s worth I enjoyed Citi field much more the atmosphere was much better , I can’t tell if that was because it was a playoff or due to the venue
 
I think Dome is done. Guy is an interesting and talented tactician but he doesn't really want to be here.

Dome spent the entire second half of the season telling us how the playoffs could be defined by one mistake. That mentality always annoyed me (however true it may be) but I didn't expect us to commit two such mistakes in the same half.

I've never seen a player melt down like Mata did in the last 10 minutes of that game, in any sport, in any context. To give away the penalty is one thing, to spend the rest of the game with your head in your hands makes me question your mental aptitude for professional sports. If we move on from him, I'm not upset.

For all the pros and cons of Citi Field, I wanted to be able to walk away from our last game of the season in familiar surroundings. It's a sad night.

have to remember, Mata is still young. professional or not, it's a big occasion and some of that immaturity and lack of experience got to him I guess.
 
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So was there any stadium announcement? For what it’s worth I enjoyed Citi field much more the atmosphere was much better , I can’t tell if that was because it was a playoff or due to the venue
No. And I’m not sure how the idea that they would announce it at the game ever took hold.
 
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Damn, dome is gone? Oof I was right, we peaked and next year gonna be another “adjustment” year.
 
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I am happy I did not took that long trek to Citifield. A tepid season ending . While playing at Yankee Stadium , the team did so well.
Lalas was very rough with our team with his comments when he was interviewed by FSI after tonight’s game.


Oh quién podrá ayudarnos?
We need Chapulin Colorado!

Don’t mind me folks for trying to be lighthearted.

I will try to explain the above Spanish comment
Chapulin Colorado ,is a popular TV, Mexican superhero character .
Everything goes wrong with him,
WHen the characters’s on the comedy , are in trouble, their SOS calling card phrase to Chapulin is,

Oh, ahora quien podrá defendernos (oh who can defend us now ?)

And like magic Chapulin appears shouting “ Yo el Chapulin Colorado! And you can imaging everything that can go wrong goes wrong with Chapulin

This why i’m Laughing . Trying to find some humor on today’s game.
 
Not sure if mentioned but two things I'm seeing...

Dome basically saying he's not coming back and Ronald stopping his car, getting out and hugging fans apologizing.
All that crow that I ate the end of the season, with the success that Dome led the team to in 1st, got puked up tonight.

One, that presser definitely shows his mind was already out the door... so he’s a mofo just like Vierra.

And two, as I’ve already mentioned, because I’m really disgusted with this facet, his tactics were amateurish trash from selection of the bench, to unused subs, to implementation. He literally made one change all match, subbing Heber, but otherwise no formation shifts, no protecting tired players, nothing.....

I’ll be happy to see him go - I want a manager that wants to be here, not somebody looking down the road to what’s next.
 
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So was there any stadium announcement? For what it’s worth I enjoyed Citi field much more the atmosphere was much better , I can’t tell if that was because it was a playoff or due to the venue
The atmosphere is way better than YS, except that the TFC fan were literally adjacent to our section (hello, why weren’t they shoved behind home plate in shitty seats). And the food is so much better by multiple factors - it’s sad how awful YS/Legends is.

What really sucked was the 80min train ride home on a local 7. Won’t be doing that again midweek if we split with Citi next year.