Another scorching evening in Dallas witnessed a tremendous match of possession driven football, courageous defending but a difficult 1-0 loss for Toronto FC Academy U17s against Chivas USA at the 2011 Generation adidas U-17 Cup.
"There is no reason to doubt in my mind that we have future young professionals here in this group of players. Tonight we played great football against another footballing side who bunkered in and countered. We knew this was going to be a big challenge, but no-one could imagine what would unfold," said an solemn Academy Director and Head Coach, Stuart Neely.
What unfolded was a penalty claim denied to Toronto, and on the same play, a ball that looked to cross the line not given as a goal.
"The way the players played tonight is a sign that our Academy Program is heading in a positive direction and we cannot loose momentum," said Neely.
"Our young star of this tournament so far is Sergio Camargo, who is a tireless worker and good footballer. He makes everyone around him better.”
RELATED: Toronto 7-1 New England
Neely went on to point out that a single mental lapse from the previous match (a 7-1 victory over New England a night earlier) reappeared when the back line lost its shape at the 16th minute when a deep diagonal ball was played over the top.
[inline_node:7135]Toronto goalkeeper and Canada U-17 World Cup hero, Quillan Roberts, came out to challenge the forward and stopped him in his tracks while the Reds recovered to defend. However, this was followed by a harmless long range shot hit towards goal that Toronto failed to clear off the line. That goal made it 1-0 and made the ultimate difference for Chivas USA.
Chivas had a few key attacks which Roberts thwarted by producing top quality saves, along with some help from defenders challenged by the Goats' counter attacking style.
Toronto wasn't short on chances. Just before the Reds conceded, Camargo rounded the opposition keeper and from a sharp angle hit the post, the rebound was cleared instantly.
Three minutes after the goal, Camargo again broke in and with two defenders on his back, slotting a ball past the keeper that just grazed the outside of the post.
The Young Reds mounted attack after attack and created many opportunities against a compact opponent in the first half. Five minutes from half rising star Omari Morris broke in one-on-one with blazing pace and struck a shot towards the top corner, but the Chivas keeper pulled off a miraculous save.
From the ensuing corner, Brandon John rose above the crowd but his header skimmed the top of the cross bar.
“I still believed we had it in us to score a goal,” said Neely. “We just didn’t stop playing football, it was fantastic to see. No one is more aware than myself that a possession stat means nothing to the end result, but when you talk about development it does mean a great deal. We still have a very competitive appetite, everyone here wants to win.”
The second half began the same the first one ended. Repeated Toronto attacks where somehow cleared by Chivas with balls launched back over the half and again the Reds came back.
Five minutes after restart Camargo broke in behind the line to get on the end of a Jay Chapman ball. The keeper came out to challenge at full speed as Camargo poked it past him while being flattened. It was a clear penalty (not given) and adding insult to injury, Camargo's shot then looked to cross the line before being cleared by the defender. The outcome, an unbelievable “play on” call from the referee.
"It was jaw dropping to say the least," Neely exclaimed. "Make one of the calls, but they didn’t." Annoyed but undeterred, Toronto continued to mount pressure.
The young reds changed to a 3-4-3 system at the 55the minute to keep Chivas pinned in and get more runs into the box. Substitutes Jordan Hamilton, Daniel Jodah, Jordan Haynes, Josh Penello and Dakar Charles all continued to press in the last 25 minutes of play.
"For those that know me," Neely admitted, "we threw everything we had at them and in the last 10 minutes we played with 2 at the back, 3 protecting the space in front of them and a block of 5 upfront creating more chances. Chivas just cleared everything with desperate but effective defending."
On the last deep freekick of the match Toronto won a header inside the box that looped off the Chivas keeper and again bounced off the post and out. At that moment the ref blew his whistle to end the match and a relieved Chivas squad was clearly overjoyed with the result.
Neely felt it was a good brand of football to witness and even though Chivas defended and countered, they did it well.
Toronto's next match is against Colorado Rapids Thursday July 28 at 6:30pm. Colorado has lost both of its games in the tournament so far, while Toronto has one win and a loss.
