Toronto Lynx: 3, Portland Timbers: 0
Starting Lineups:
Toronto: Theo Zagar, Marco Reda, Mauricio Vincello (SUB, Adrian Serioux: 61st min), Joe Mattachione, Lyndon Hooper (SUB, Darryl Gomez: 66th min), Brian Ashton, David DiPlacido (SUB, Chris Pozniak: 69th min), Robbie Aristodemo, Gregory Messam, Waldo Sponton (SUB, Kristian Grzetic: 73rd min), Juan Arango (SUB, Aaron Benjamin: 66th min).
Portland: Matt Napoleon, Brent Sancho, Gavin Wilkinson, Matt Chulis, Jeff Clarke, Brian Winters, Michael O'Neill, Vadim Tolstolutsky, Scott Benedetti, Mark Baena (SUB, Tony McPeak: 62nd min), Greg Howes.
(Varsity Stadium, Toronto) As stinging as it will be to Portland fans, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. The Timbers are one mighty oak, and the Toronto Lynx cut through them like a revving chainsaw on this humid Friday night. At the helm of this hack job were strikers Juan Arango and Waldo Sponton; both played with unbridled intensity in the visitor's end, and were virtually uncontainable with every touch of the ball. If not for the mastery of 'keeper Matt Napoleon, the decisive defeat would've resulted in a wholesale Oregon slaughter.
The crowd of 2,591 was brought to their feet a mere 30 seconds in, when Juan Arango crept behind a crisp through-ball and released a screamer at the top left corner. Napoleon showed his stuff early, and knocked the strike wide of the post with a deft, skillful leap. The Portland defense amazingly seemed overwhelmed with the repeating waves of a recently rejuvenated Lynx attack, and another solid attempt from Robbie Aristodemo 12 minutes later had Napoleon diving to the right on a tenacious grounder he dribbled in from the center line.
Over the ensuing 15 minutes of play, tempers flared and 4 yellow cards were handed out (a trend that would continue in spades in the 2nd half). While both sides worked to keep their focus on the job at hand, Toronto hit the scoreboard with a well-placed kick from Arango. David DiPlacido punted the ball through to the 35-yard mark, and the Juan Arango Show took over. Pumping at full stride, he crossed the last line of defense and hammered his shot into the left side of the net.
11 minutes later, a solo effort by striking partner Sponton beguiled the Portland backline with dogged resound and craftiness, and the Argentine skidded in his first of the season.
Electricity shot through the stands, and the chants of the Toronto superfans, The Ultras, came through louder than they had so far this season. Before the final refrain of "we love you To-ron-to" was completed however, phoenix-reborn Arango netted another at the 42-minute mark. A tricky feed from Sponton was one-timed by his Colombian teammate, and dealt the deathblow to the increasingly sinking visitors.
"It was nice to get three goals, three great goals" said Aristodemo shortly after the game, "especially against a team like this. We're fighting for a playoff spot, and we're in our turnaround. The whole team is optimistic about their playoff chances and these past few games, especially tonight, have been quite an achievement for us."
Despite having scored more goals in the first half than they had in a single game all season, the Lynx came out hungry for more. Portland seemed to have a touch of a wake-up call during the break, and fought back more than they had in the first 45 minutes. Scott Benedetti worked well with an awkwardly rolling pass, and was able to chip it over rushing GK, Theo Zagar. Stalwart defender Joe Mattachione, however, denied the Timbers their only real opportunity of the game by clearing it off the line with a definitive swipe.
Then the Timbers fortunes took an even worse turn with a red card to a disagreeable Tolstolutsky in the 60th minute. Down a man and three goals (not to mention facing opposition going through a seemingly unstoppable resurgence), the best they could really hope for was midfield containment; the Lynx would have none of it, and a wave of substitutions kept their attack fresh and dangerous. Just before being subbed off, Arango gave the home fans one last cheer with a curling lob from 35 yards out that rang off the crossbar. His exit from the field at the 66-minute mark brought cheers and respect from the Toronto supporters.
The sides were evened out again in the 79th minute when towering Croatian Kristian Grzetic chalked up a red card of his own for an apparent malicious kick on a felled Portland midfielder. Having only been on pitch for a mere 6 minutes, the 6'3 striker left the field furious and dejected. "When I see the tape afterwards, and he didn't do what the ref says he did", stated Coach Peter Pinizzotto, "we'll definitely appeal it."
The remainder of the match was simply possession and containment on both sides. Each squad refused to allow the other any further entry. Yet again though, tempers escalated and, at the final whistle blast, a shoving match of several players ensued. The sweet victory was a little tainted with such a degenerated finale (Michael O'Neill was also red carded for allegedly fanning the flames of instigation), but the team and fans were ecstatic with the no-contest result.
"We have a real confidence now", Pinizzotto also added. "We can make a playoff run, and there's no reason we can't get those goals on the road." (Toronto is winless on all road games this season, of which they are about to embark upon four in a row). "We have a real depth on a fully healthy bench. The boys are young, fast, and strong. There's no room for mistakes like the slow start we had."
Adrian Serioux, who was surprisingly returned to his familiar fullback role tonight after such impact up front 24 hours ago, said "we have to capitalize now. This is the time to do it. We're creeping in for a fourth place spot, and we can take Montreal (Sunday August 5th, 4pm) if we keep going like this."
Toronto does not return to the familiar grounds of Varsity Stadium until August the 25th, when the pair off against rivals Rochester. With tonight's 5-point victory over Portland, they climb over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds for a tied 4th place spot (27 points) with the recently struggling Montreal Impact. Portland remains in second place in the Western conference with 42 points.
Card Infractions: Toronto- David DiPlacido (YELLOW, 20th min), Kristian Grzetic (RED, 79th min), Chris Pozniak (YELLOW, 81st min). Portland- Michael O'Neill (YELLOW, 9th min), Brent Sancho (YELLOW, 12th min), Jeff Clarke (YELLOW, 29th min), Vadim Tolstolutsky (RED, 60th min), Matt Chulis (YELLOW, 81st min).
Colorful Comment Of The Match: This evening's outburst goes to a regular gamegoer companion of mine, Dale Summers. In the middle of the second half, a high Portland ball came dangerously close to the top of the Toronto goalbox. With no fullbacks around to control the possibility of an attack from an oncoming Tony McPeak, Theo Zagar came way off his line, followed the ball out of the box, and hammered it over the touchline to kill the play. The powerful kick ricocheted heavily around the visitor's bench, and took a few moments to roll to a stop. This particular over-zealous fan offered, much to the amusement of the sitting Timbers roster, "come on Theo, INTO the bench! Not around it, hit it right INTO the bench!" (Now, now, Portland fans, it's all in fun.)
