So thanks again!!!!

There is no doubt the aesthetics will not be good tomorrow night if a large number of academy players do see the field for Toronto. Were a non-soccer fan or someone new to the Voyageurs Cup happen to be flipping through the channels tomorrow night and see sportsnet showing a soccer game which they decide to watch for a minute they will not be impressed. Vancouver will most likely beat an understrength TFC side and if the academy based team does somehow pull off a result it won’t be through pretty, free-flowing football. Is it in the tournament’s best interests for Toronto FC to play an academy side against Vancouver? Of course not, but it is in Toronto’s interest. They get to give their academy kids a run out in a “competitive” game at BMO Field in front of what will be a decent crowd. The key here is that unlike when Montreal played a weakened side in 2009, Toronto has earned the right to play a weakened side by winning the tournament with a game to spare instead of backing into the situation.

The big event tomorrow will not be the match though, it will be Toronto lifting the cup for the first time at home in the history of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. BMO Field is sure to see one of the smallest attendances in Toronto FC’s history for this meaningless game, but the supporters who are there will get to join in the celebrations of Toronto FC lifting their second straight Voyageurs Cup. The deserved champions have already mentally moved on from the Voyageurs Cup and are looking ahead to the CONCACAF Champions League, but tomorrow night will give them the chance to give the Voyageurs Cup a proper send off.

Photo Courtesy: canadasoccer.com

For the second year in a row the Vancouver Whitecaps have fallen victim to the Montreal Impact in the Voyageurs Cup. This year though the Impact finished off the Whitecaps with a performance on the pitch instead of a decision made off the pitch. After a poor first half Montreal made a few substitutes in the second half including the early introductions of De Roux and Byers which helped the Impact pull off a draw and finish off the tournament a game early.

Dos Santos learned from the events 2009 and although he did not play the strongest possible Impact team the squad he sent out was certainly capable of winning the game and they came close. They did well to pounce on a Whitecaps error in the second half and Billy finished off the move with a very well taken volley. The Whitecaps back four, Janicki in particular, was all over the place and looked very unorganized. The Impact easily could have scored more than one, but one was all they needed in the end to end the Whitecaps Voyageurs Cup hope.

Vancouver had their fair share of chances as well. Although Marcus Haber was very mechanical and ineffective all match his partner Cornelius Stewart offered a bit of pace and creativity. Ansu Touré had the beating of Adam Braz throughout the game and his early work down the left wing could have led to Vancouver getting out on the front foot, but the finishing in front of the Impact’s goal was poor. In the end it was Ansu Touré himself that got on the end of a Whitecaps moved which he finished off from fifteen yards out for the Whitecaps only goal

The biggest positive to come out of the match for the Whitecaps though was the play of debutant Doudou Touré. Who looked very promising. He looked very dangerous and was quicker than anyone out there. Doudou Touré (of no relation to Ansu Touré) surprised even the most optimistic of Whitecaps supporters.

The play of Di Lorenzo in the first half for Montreal was a little disappointing after he was so effective in Montreal’s earlier three matches, but when De Roux came on he looked as dangerous as ever. Together pair make up what has got to be the best left side in Canada. The overlapping runs of De Roux, the ability of Di Lorenzo to cut in and create opportunities, they can be very exciting to watch when on form.

One issue from the match which has spawned a bit of controversy was the Impact players’ decision to  waste time with the score tied in a match where they needed nothing. It’s debatable whether the Impact’s biggest rival is Toronto FC or the Whitecaps, but the team and its supporters certainly won’t enjoy seeing Toronto lifting the trophy next week. Many are saying they should have just ignored the consequences the result had for the other teams and gone for the win regardless. In the end it probably did not make too much difference but the aesthetics of the situation bothered some.

Last night was not only a victory for Toronto FC though it was a victory for the Montreal Impact who showed the tournament the respect it deserves and have returned value to a trophy which they won seven years in a row.

For the second year in a row Toronto FC are Voyageurs Cup Champions! Montreal’s 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps clinched the title for Toronto FC who now have only one match left in the tournament, a dead rubber against the Whitecaps. Toronto FC will become the first team to lift the trophy with a game to spare when they face off against Vancouver next week.

Few can say that Toronto FC don’t deserve the title of Voyageurs Cup champions. In the two previous editions of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship the gap between the USL teams and Toronto FC was little to none. This year it has been much more evident. Toronto put together a dominant performance against the Impact in Toronto against a ten man team to start off the tournament. It was a professional performance from Toronto who were far from brilliant but managed a win over their biggest rivals without much hassle. Chad Barrett’s clinching goal, probably the nicest goal of the tournament so far, was worthy of winning any match and gave Toronto FC the three points.

Then it was time for Toronto to hit the road a place they’d struggled all season, but against Montreal once again Toronto FC looked like potential champions. They didn’t play well but held off the Impact all night and forced a scrappy goal through the industry of Chad Barrett and an easy finish by Dwayne De Rosario. Toronto had won their first home game of the season and they were on the brink of the Voyageurs Cup.

A win in Vancouver would have won the title for Toronto FC, but they were heading into their third away match of the week and expectations were probably a little high. Still Toronto FC managed to pull out a 0-0 result at Swangard putting them in the driver’s seat heading into the final stretch. Vancouver needed to win their final two matches in Montreal and Toronto in order to win the Voyageurs Cup anything less would not be enough. Of course any Vancouver hope was ended with the 1-1 draw at Saputo.

Preki came to Toronto FC with the goal of making them a team that was difficult to score against. So far he has clearly done that. In the Voyageurs Cup this season Toronto FC have not conceed a goal on the road to becoming champions. With Attakora, Cann, Garcia, Gargan, Harden, Usanov, Gala and Hscanovics all getting time at the back during Toronto’s three matches it was the team mentality that really ensured the run of clean sheets. They were well-organized and contained dangerous opponent players like Peter Byers and Marcus Haber well. Adrian Cann being the constant at centre back for Toronto FC has to be a candidate for the George Gross Memorial Trophy for MVP of the tournament.

Many Toronto FC supporters were worried that Preki would not regard the tournament as highly as they did. Preki silenced the doubters by starting De Guzman and De Rosario in their opening game even though it meant resting the pair in the following league match against Real Salt Lake. Although Preki did manage to give a young Canadian a few opportunities to play in these matches with Gabe Gala who was very good throughout. His man management was planned to perfection.

Last year Toronto FC’s championship was overshadowed by the controversy of Montreal’s weakened squad which Toronto dismantled 6-1. This year Toronto can thank the Impact for getting a result against the Whitecaps, but there is little doubt that Toronto FC deserved this years title. Toronto were consistent solid and ruthlessly effective. So congratulations to the 2010 Voyageurs Cup Champions, Toronto FC .

The Montreal Impact have been eliminated and have nothing to play for in what is their final game of the competition. They are coming off a high-profile friendly against Fiorentina this weekend and have a full week ahead of them with a league match against Carolina and another high-profile friendly at Stade Olympique against AC Milan. So this match against Vancouver has to take the lowest priority. Montreal found themselves in a similar situation last season when they had a meaningless game against Toronto FC sandwiched between more important league matches. The Impact chose to field what can be called a “B” squad at best and lost the match 6-1 giving Toronto FC the title over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The decision to play a weakened squad sparked mass anger among the Impact supporters many of whom protested by arriving at their following match after half-time. Now Montreal have a chance to redeem themselves and show respect to the Voyageurs Cup that they didn’t show in 2009 by playing a full team against the Montreal Impact. But this could lead to more complications.

The Whitecaps really would be getting screwed by the situation if the Impact fielded their best roster. The Whitecaps did not win the Voyageurs Cup last season thanks in part to the Impact’s decision to field a weakened team, and now they could get the short end of the stick again if Montreal go the other way with this decision. For the sake of the competition Montreal should field a quality squad but could fielding one lead to more controversy?

On the other hand Toronto FC supporters will have very little to be upset about if the Impact chose to play a weaker starting XI (considering how they benifited in 2009), but if they lose the tournament because of it next week at BMO Field they won’t be pleased with Montreal’s decision either.

The Impact have found themselves in a very tough situation. The Impact fans would clearly like to see their team beat Vancouver and it would look better on the tournament in general, but one could argue what would be fairest for the tournament would be to see the Impact field a weakened side. In the end it’s a never-ending vicious circle, but on looking neutrals will hope that all of this can be avoided if the Impact field their strongest possible XI but the Whitecaps pull out the victory. Whatever happens tomorrow night you can be sure that their will be someone shouting victim.

The Vancouver Whitecaps kept their Voyageurs Cup dreams alive with a 0-0 draw at home against Toronto FC. In Vancovuer’s first match at Swangard they were lucky to escape with a 1-1 draw against the Impact, but last night the Whitecaps were probably a little unlucky not to take the full three points against Toronto. The first half was fairly even but Vancouver started to dominate as the second half went on.

Marcus Haber and Cornelius Stewart ran the show for the Whitecaps up top. Haber was playing well with his back to goal, getting in advanced positions beyond the Toronto FC backline and was creating opportunities. Adrian Cann had been solid in his first two matches of the tournament but up against Marcus Haber he struggled last night. Cann who normally wins everything in the air was getting beaten to balls by Haber who was probably the man of the match. Alongside Haber, Stewart offered the Whitecaps an extra dimension of pace and angle of attack. Despite the two carving out bucketloads of openings the final ball just wasn’t there for the Whitecaps as they failed to consistently test the Toronto FC back up keeper Jon Conway.

Where Vancouver really missed out is converting chances from set pieces. Ricardo Sanchez was playing in perfect balls from corners and free kicks. He whipped in crosses from all different angles and had Vancouver won more of these balls first time they could have finished with more to show for their efforts. Considering how effective Sanchez’s set pieces were for Vancouver it was a surprise that he was subbed out for Martin Nash so early in the second half. On the other side of the ball Nick Labrocca’s set pieces were very wasteful for Toronto who failed to create much.

They could have used the presence of Chad Barrett earlier in the match to open it up for Toronto who’s only real chances came from De Rosario pouncing on Whitecaps miscues. De Rosario did manage to carve out one very good chance late in the match after a Vancouver giveaway, but Jay Nolly parried it away. Other than that the performance from Toronto left a lot to be desired although little more could be expected after Toronto were heading into their third road game of the week.

Toronto will de disappointed with how this match finished, as they had a chance to win the tournament last night, but they have to be happy with the road trip overall. The team had yet to pick up a road point all season and they went undefeated playing three games on the road with a win in Montreal and two 0-0 draws against the MLS league leading LA Galaxy and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Vancouver have had trouble scoring goals recently with three straight 0-0 draws and it certainly didn’t help the Whitecaps last night. A win would have been huge for the Whitecaps in the context of the tournament, but a draw keeps them alive as long as they can turn around this goal slump by next week when they head to Stade Saputo. As for Toronto they have to hope that the Impact can do them a favour and get a result against the Whitecaps finishing off the tournament before Vancouver make the visit to BMO Field.

What does this mean for tonight’s clash? In my mind, it could give the Whitecaps an advantage. For one thing, they’re quite used to how the Swangard pitch plays when wet; it may be a more difficult adjustment for Toronto FC. For another, Vancouver may not be able to start a couple of key players, Martin Nashand Marlon James, thanks to injury. Head coach Teitur Thordarson told me and other journalists Saturday that Nash and James were both still questionable for today’s game, and Marc Weber of The Province reported today that James will likely come off the bench, but Nash may not even see the field. With a weakened midfield and strike force, as well as their well-defined inability to score (but strong defensive presence), Vancouver will be hoping for a low-scoring game, and that’s what it looks like the conditions will favour. Swangard is still playable in the rain, but pools of water do tend to form, making creative passing and long build-ups difficult.

The other element that could help Vancouver here is their focus on set pieces. In Saturday’s USSF Division II clash against Montreal, the Whitecaps collected seven corners and gave away only two, and they also earned several free kicks in dangerous positions. They weren’t able to capitalize on any of those chances, but they did create scoring opportunities and were foiled several times by Impact keeper Matt Jordan. By contrast, they created next to nothing from the run of play. If that carries forward, it could be another good sign for Vancouver; soggy pitches often create unexpected slips or bounces off set pieces, but make it tough to do much from the run of play. If you’re building a side that will do well in wet conditions, you’d want a strong defensive lineup that can take advantage of set pieces. That describes this Vancouver lineup perfectly.

There are a few drawbacks for Vancouver heading into tonight, though. For one thing, poor weather may discourage some fans from attending, which could reduce their home-field advantage. They also haven’t played particularly well this year, especially on the offensive end, while Toronto has been rounding into form lately. Their decision to not bring back Charles Gbeke in the interests of long-term stability may pay benefits down the road, but their younger strikers haven’t stepped up to the plate so far. This is a huge game for Vancouver, and perhaps the most important of their season [Duane Rollins, The 24th Minute], but it isn’t going to be an easy one to win.

I’ll be live-blogging the game from the Swangard Stadium press box tonight, at both Sporting Madness and The 24th Minute; feel free to stop on by. We’ll start around 7:30 Pacific (10:30 Eastern). Kickoff is at 7:37. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to follow along on TV or a webcast terribly easily; the game is being shown on Sportsnet West (Alberta/Prairies) and East (Quebec/Atlantic), but not Ontario or Pacific, and it’s apparently tape-delayed until 8:00 p.m Pacific thanks to Memorial Cup coverage. Still, I’ll try to provide a good description of what’s going on. Hope to see you then!

- Andrew Bucholtz

Tomorrow Toronto FC will look to do something that’s never been done before. Win the Nutrilite Canadian Championship with games to spare. They had a chance to do it last year in a similar situation, they were going to Vancouver with the clear objective; win and you are Voyageurs Cup champions, but Vancouver went on to win 2-0 and Toronto had to wait a week for their dramatic 6-1 win over the Impact. Tomorrow’s situation is the same, and Toronto FC are going in with massive confidence. All that’s in their way is a Vancouver side that is looking towards their biggest game of the season tomorrow as well.

Whitecaps coach Teitur Thordarson said tomorrow’s match will be the most important of the season so far. Even though Montreal has already played three times, Vancouver have only played once and it was a poor 1-1 draw against the Impact so their tournament is just getting started. Toronto played so well in their first two matches that many are predicting a bit of a walk in the park for Toronto. However they seem to forget this is a Toronto team without a point on the road until a week ago and a team that is playing its third away match in a week. This will be a very tired Toronto FC side.

The Whitecaps are coming off a 0-0 draw with the Impact in USSF Div 2 play in which they once again failed to really impress, but there is still a lot of talent on that Vancouver team that is yet to really show its best in the tournament. Marcus Haber is yet to score from open play in his return to the Whitecaps, but indications are that if he were to get some better service the chances and goals would follow closely behind. Others like Gage and Edwini-Bonsu who have shown promise in the past really need to step it up in big matches and try to make a difference coming off the bench.

The key for the Whitecaps will still be how they contain Dwayne De Rosario who has been a menace for Toronto this season. This task will most likely fall to the fullback Greg Janicki who has looked a little shaky in recent weeks. He will have to be perfect if Vancouver are to stop Toronto. The other main threat from Toronto FC in Voyageurs Cup play has been Chad Barrett. Barrett scored a beauty at BMO against Montreal and set up DeRo’s goal in Montreal. Keeping him quiet will also be key for the Whitecaps.

Toronto FC will look for more of the same if they are to wrap up the championship tomorrow. The back four of Toronto FC have yet to give up a goal, and the central defensive pairing of Nana Attakora and Adrian Cann (Interviewed by Fighting For Canadian Supremacy) were near perfect against the Impact.

Tomorrow could be a massive match in the course of both of these teams’ seasons. If Toronto FC win they will successfully defend their Voyageurs Cup title, and if Vancouver wins they will be in a great position to challenge Toronto for it on the final day of the competition.

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Enjoy!

Watching the FA Cup this weekend reaffirmed to me that the Voyageurs Cup needs a final match. I have little emotional investment in either Chelsea or Portsmouth but I found myself totally encapsulated by the FA Cup Final. It wasn’t a great match, but the importance, the drama, the supporters everything made it an exciting match to watch as a neutral and it encapsulates all of England. I think a Voyageurs Cup final could do the same for Canada. Now I can hear the skeptics already saying “you’re comparing a soccer final in hockey-mad Canada to one in the birthplace of football”.

I respond to this with the Grey Cup comparison. How many people outside of the CFL hardcores in local markets watch CFL games? Very few. Now how many people watch the Grey Cup? It’s a Canadian tradition, sports fans who could care less about the CFL have Grey Cup parties yearly and get behind which every city they like more. A Voyageurs Cup could be this event for Soccer.

Put it on Canada Day every year. Easy to remember, everyone has the day off work and will have the opportunity to watch. Make it a national event, put in on CBC with a week of build up. Start the pregame show three hours early and dissect the match to nauseum. Sports fans love that kind of thing, by making it appear extremely important you’ve immediately made it important to the average Canadian. The Voyageurs Cup is already massive for the supporters of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. It’s the every day Canadian or occasional soccer fan that they need to suck in. Making the final a massive event will do so.

With Edmonton joining USSF Div 2 it won’t be too difficult to make a one off final that the entire country can enjoy. Have eastern and western semi finals with Toronto vs. Montreal and Vancouver vs. Edmonton two-legged home and home ties. The two winners play in the final with the host city switching back between the east winner and west winner annually.

If Toronto beats Vancouver this week the Voyageurs Cup will have already been decided with two games to spare. This isn’t the kind of drama that will bring in average sports fan. Since Toronto FC don’t look like they’ll be making the MLS Cup final any time soon and Vancouver and Montreal will likely take their time as well the best chance to get this high pressure winner takes all match is through a Voyageurs Cup final.