Toronto FC Academy coaches have been talking of their pride at witnessing the young Reds draw 4-4 against Chilean giants Colo Colo in Waterloo on Tuesday night.
Academy Senior Team Head Coach Jason Bent:
[inlinenode:4101]"Tonight was a well played and very entertaining match that I am sure even the most ardent Colo Colo supporter would have been pleased to have witnessed. Our young players showed a really high level of football and to see just how far they have come over a relative short period of time is fantastic.”
“We are so very proud of how they fought for each other, worked hard and passed the ball. After a bad start it would have been very easy for them to hide but on the contrary they continued to play and demand the ball from one another.”
“In those environments you cannot have footballers hiding, you need brave players that want to get on the ball and make things happen which is certainly what we had in abundance tonight. I am delighted that Toronto Football Club trusted in both the Academy players and staff to play this high caliber match against a very good opponent in Colo Colo and even happier that our young players were exposed to that type of occasion which can only aid their football education."
Academy Senior Team Assistant Coach Anthony Capotosto:
"This match presented us with an opportunity to test ourselves against a top professional club from South America. Not only were our players competitive, they showed enough quality and ability to win the match. The performance was a reflection of how hard the players have been working in training. Last night, the entire Academy program took a massive step forward. At the conclusion of the match, there emerged a new belief that as young Canadian footballers...anything is possible!"
The story of the game:
The Young Reds’ resolve was tested early in the game when the South American visitors pounced on a TFC Academy error in their own defensive third after only three minutes when Lucas Wilchez dribbled past Garrett Cyprus in goal and scored into the empty net.
[inlinenode:4100]TFC bounced back and started to find their way back into the match. Oscar Cordon was instrumental in everything Toronto did and he set up the Academy’s equalizer. Cordon got to the byline and cut the ball back for Nicholas Lindsay to redirect past the opposition goalkeeper.
The end-to-end match continued only a minute later as Colo Colo showed their class with movement and technique to open up the TFC defence when Wilchez made a great run in behind the backline and unleashed a well placed strike into the top left corner of the goal to grab the lead 2-1 after only 11 minutes played.
Young Sergio Camargo showed quick thinking to take a clever short free kick to Josh Janniere on the flank and the winger delivered a perfect cross to Nicholas Lindsay who rose well to head in his second of the match in the 24th minute and TFC Academy took the lead four minutes later when Ashtone Morgan showed excellent pace and footwork to dribble beyond his opponent to the byline before cutting back onto his right foot and delivering a ball that Keven Aleman did well to reach and slot past the Chilean keeper to give TFC a 3-2 lead going into the half time.
The second half began inevitably with Colo Colo coming more into the match but credit TFC Academy as they continued to press forward in search of more goals, which eventually came in the 70th minute when Nicholas Lindsay completed a his hat trick in the 70th minute after a quick run found him in space beyond the Chilean defence and he calmly slotted into the corner for the 4-2 lead.
Colo Colo threw players forward in an attempt to get themselves back into the game and they found an opening on the counter attack and ruthlessly punished Toronto team with a quick and decisive move finished by Jose Fuenzalida to make it 3-2. The comeback was complete when Colo Colo were awarded a corner kick deep into injury time. A driven ball to the back post saw a header blocked and then drop favorably for a Colo Colo attacker to sweep into the net from point blank range to level the game at 4-4. A score line that the paying public would not have expected at the start of the match.
