Sure, it's actually Act II, but those of us who count themselves as TFC supporters would rather not remember the season opener back in March.
If I were a betting man, I'd say that Aron Winter feels the same way. Toronto looked exceedingly poor in the first ever MLS meeting between the two sides, giving observers a false sense of reality after the final whistle was blown.
No, the Whitecaps are not nearly as good as they showed on March 19th. And no, TFC are not that bad.
The fact is, neither team is good, and both have shown just that in the MLS matches that followed. The Whitecaps have likely been the most consistent of the two sides in the time since that joyous opening day, although "consistent" hasn't been enough to win a single league match since pummeling their Canadian counterparts two months ago.
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The 'Caps have managed to keep themselves in nearly every game they've played in, but have lacked the ability in the final third to punish mistakes and steal a win or two. Toronto, on the other hand, have been the model of inconsistency thus far in 2011, which is hardly surprising given the sheer amount of turnover that has taken place since Winter et al took office.
The Reds have looked both awful and very promising, sometimes within the same game. One only needs to look at their previous two MLS matches -- a 1-0 loss at Dallas and a gut-wrenching 2-2 draw at home versus Chicago -- to see the very stark reality of a club in transition.
Both games featured some very good play from TFC; indeed, there were some glimpses of the possession-based, attacking football that the Dutch coaches have said is the ultimate goal of their tenure. But both matches also saw some dreadful displays from the Reds, particularly this past Saturday as Toronto pissed away a well-earned 2-0 lead to a dire Chicago side.
It may have been fatigue that contributed to that result for Toronto, and on Wednesday both teams will be battling that problem. Toronto and Vancouver are both mired in brutal schedules for the month of May, with three days' rest likely being seen as a luxury to the weary players.
To that end, Teitur Thordarson elected to withhold big Eric Hassli and defensive dynamo Alain Rochat from the 'Caps 1-0 loss in New England over the weekend, leaving the pair in B.C. to rest ahead of the huge Voyageurs Cup fixture. The Vancouver head coach also kept Terry Dunfield and Brazilian forward Camilo out of the match, and limited Davide Chiumiento to 11 minutes of action on Saturday.
It's an interesting strategy from Thordarson, one that saw him trot out a inexperienced lineup against the Revs. Clearly he and his staff are taking the V's Cup seriously, probably a result of the Whitecaps' desire to finally get the monkey off their back and win this tournament.
Toronto will have to deal with a rested Hassli running amok near the goal, something that was effective in the March 19th encounter (Hassli famously scored two goals that day, of course). Other players who looked very strong for the 'Caps in the season opener were Russell Teibert (who absolutely owned Dan Gargan on the wing), Chiumiento, and Dunfield. Expect all three to make appearances as Vancouver looks to get a big jump at home before travelling to Ontario next week.
On the other side, TFC will still not have the services of Alan Gordon, their very own Bull in a China Shop who has been sorely missed in recent games as he recovers from a groin injury suffered in the nearly meaningless second leg versus FC Edmonton. Gordon was not in Vancouver for the opener, so Winter would have hoped that unfamiliarity played to his advantage as many of the Whitecaps players would be seeing the lanky forward for the first time.
Perhaps for the finale.
Another player who did not take part in the opener was Joao Plata, who has since become something of a star amongst the TFC faithful. Platita has shown a wonderful confidence on the ball that has been a rarity in Toronto throughout the club's existence, and his (lack of) size, blazing speed, and overall fearlessness have caused all sorts of problems for opposing defences. Given that Plata was pulled at the hour mark on Saturday, it's a fair guess to say that we'll be seeing quite a bit of the little Ecuadorean in this match.
Aside from Gordon and Santos, expect many of an influential core of TFC players to take the field as Toronto will try to get a solid result away leading into a final match on home soil. One such player, Julian de Guzman, should see the pitch for the entire match as he will be suspended for the upcoming weekend MLS game in Colorado anyway.
It'll be interesting to see which team has the advantage when the 90 minutes are over. Neither side looks particularly threatening, although both have had their moments.
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Vancouver Whitecaps FC v. Toronto FC
Wednesday, May 18, 2011. 7:00pm PDT / 10:00pm EDT
Empire Field. Vancouver, B.C.
Watch: Rogers Sportsnet (all regions), sportsnet.ca, NCC Official Site
Listen: TEAM 1410 (Vancouver), teamradio.ca, FAN590.com