Montreal Impact v Toronto FC
18/6/09

My plan was to sit down last night while watching the impossible game against Montreal and write about last Saturday’s victory over New York. I attended the game against New York so it would be the one worth writing about. I mean Toronto had to beat Montreal by four goals to qualify for the North American Champions League and while Montreal were already eliminated and were fielding a weakened team it still looked like an impossible hurdle to overcome. I had some faith that something could happen, I know all to well that Football is a funny old game and two goals by half-time and anything is possible, but when Toronto fell behind 1-0 to an early penalty even the most positive of fans must have considered opening a beer to what might have been.

That’s what I did, I went and opened a beer and thought about what I should write about from the New York game. I had a chance to go to the game in Montreal but couldn’t get three days off of work and so I sadly had to decline the invite, but by now in the game I was beginning to think I made a good choice given that Toronto were losing and it was lashing down on the open stadium and hundreds of TFC fans who had made the trip.

I grew a frustrated; Dwayne DeRosario had misplaced a few passes and the tackle that lead to the penalty for Montreal that lead to the lead was stupid and unnecessary. I seen a shot of the Vancouver coach and his players in the stand, getting wet from the rain but looking content at the fact that even though the team they were due to play in a league game this weekend had fielded half of their reserve team, they were still putting one over on the mighty Toronto FC.

Toronto needed someone to step up and step up quick, if even to avoid complete humiliation. At least get the four goals required and then rue the stupid penalty they had given away, do not go out with your tails between your legs boys. Then Toronto grabbed one from DeRosario who was really starting to pick up his pace and starting to pull his team-mates along with him. By the half they he had scored another and at least given the Toronto fans something to cheer about and at least give the team a victory.

For the first half of the first half Toronto had played well, they had controlled possession, not been troubled in their own end too much and played some very nice football in the middle third. It was breaking into the final third were things had fallen apart and not because of the Montreal defense, but their own incompetency to string the all important passes together. Then suddenly it started to come together when they grabbed the two goals that put them into the lead of the contest but no closer to their goal than they were at the start of the game. Back then they needed four goals in ninety minutes. Now they needed three in just forty-five.

It was those words that brought me right back to 25 May 2005. “They now need three goals to win”. Back then I was referring to Liverpool FC, tonight it was Toronto FC. Back then I had been recording the Liverpool game until half-time when they went in 3-0 behind. I ordered the DVD recorder to be switched off, that it was worthless recording something we’d never watch again anyway. Not a good move I know, but it could have been worse, I could have been one of those fans that left the ground in disgust at half-time … I at least kept the game on the TV, waiting to see my team get thoroughly embarrassed … And then it all turned on its head: Liverpool scored a stunning three goals in less than ten minutes and sent me rolling around on my living room floor. I dived for the DVD recorder to start recording again, but of course it was all to late. The legend had been created and all that was left was to see out the game and watch them win the tournament in a penalty shootout.

If it wasn’t for the lessons learned that night in my living-room in Bangor, Northern Ireland, I might well have just turned on a re-run of Seinfeld and left those at the game to suffer out the ‘we won but we didn’t win by enough’ speech. No, the lesson I had learned was that it was never over, that there was always a chance. So I opened another beer, put off writing about the NY Red Bull’s game, sat down on the sofa and waited to see what Toronto could do with the wind in their sails and forty-five minutes left to save their Champions League dreams.

For me there was more than just the Champions League for Toronto up for grabs. There was less than half-a-dozen games left at home this season already and qualifying for the next stage of the Champions League created the hope of nearly doubling that number of games and giving me much more to watch over the summer.

Then it was 3-1, early in the second half, after just 49 minutes to be exact and it was a DeRosario hat trick, the first hat trick in the history of TFC and timely one at that.

O.K. just two goals now required and a healthy 41 minutes plus added time in which to get them. Toronto were in absolute control, coming forward in droves, playing with just two at the back, creating some golden chances that were being squandered, leaving the Vancouver coach in the stands looking much more nervous now, and the only thing to worry about was being caught on the break and conceding another goal.

Open another beer.

4-1.

What on earth is going on here? I said earlier on that a 4-1 victory would be nice in that they had their four goals and could just blame it all on the stupid penalty that cost them … No, no, that would be way to much pain to come so close and blow it like that. With 21 minutes left on the clock this was very much on. It wasn’t quite the Champions League Final that May night in 2005, but it was turning into one hell of a comeback, regardless of the opposition.

“FIVE-BLOODY-ONE”

I was talking to my girlfriend on the phone, she was on her way home from downtown and had called to see what I was up to and the above were the words I screamed into the phone as the ball hit the back of the onion bag. They had done it, against all the odds, on the back of Dwayne DeRosario and with the momentum of a fantastic set of fans getting soaked to the skin from the Montreal rain. And then it dawned on me. “Why in the name of Danny Dichio was I not there”. Three days off of work was all it required, heck Swine flu is pretty fashionable, that would have got me the required time off and maybe even another week to boot, slash, recover. This was history in the making for Tornoto FC, their biggest win, their first hat trick, a huge comeback, qualification to the North American Champions League preliminary round AND their first trophy — the Canadian Cup.

For a moment I grew a little depressed with myself amid all the glory and excitement and turned to another beer, until Guevara scored his second of the night and Toronto’s 6th to absolutely confirm the victory and the championship and the depression disappeared and I delighted in the moment.

Fair play to the Vancouver coach, he was still standing there while the Toronto players were taking turns lifting their first ever trophy up to their celebrating fans, but I couldn’t tell whether it was the rain dripping down his cheeks or tears? It was definitely fury on his face though, directed right towards the Montreal coach for fielding such a side in what was such a vital match for his club. The morals of that are always up for debate, but this wasn’t the time for a Toronto fan to worry too much about it. No doubt his team could take it out on their rivals during their league matchup in a few days — these scores are better settled on the field anyway.

So I turned off the T.V., finished my beer, dreamed of being in Montreal for a few moments, decided against writing about the New York game last Saturday and headed to bed. It was too wonderful at the moment to put pen to paper and describe this game right away … I’d leave that until tomorrow when I would also check prices for flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico … Toronto FC’s first destination in the North American Champions League.

Read more about: Dwayne DeRosario, MLS, Montreal Impact, My TFC Story, TFC, Toronto Sports | ALL SUBJECTS |

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