There really was no way to win last night if you were TFC. The Reds had to win and had to win big just to keep people satisfied. Getting the natives excited, well, that would have taken something Messi-like times 11.
That didn't happen, so the instincts are to find the faults. Even at 3-0 there were some -- a shaky back-line, some struggles to finish and the continued difficulty of finding anyone that can play fullback (both ways, so far we've seen guys that can go forward, but that can't defend to save their life).
And those are legitimate issues to be concerned about. However, they won 3-0. If ever there was a time to relax, even if it was against a weaker sister, this was it. A berth in the Voyageurs Cup final is all but assured. For the fourth straight year the V-Cup will be presented at BMO Field. Toronto fans hope the team dancing isn't wearing white.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
A word on Edmonton: they weren't bad. Over matched, but not bad. There are some nice pieces on the team and they can grow into something good. The worry remains as to whether Edmonton will embrace the club in a way that allows the club to grow, but those are worries for another day. No one should take anything away from only 5,700 fans braving the rain at 6 p.m. local on a Wednesday night. The story of whether Edmonton can grow to love soccer won't be told for a while yet.
There was one talking point from the game. Midway through the first half Edmonton's Shaun Saiko received a straight red for a challenge on Oscar Cordon. Writing on Eighty Six Forever (while channelling his inner Lord Bob), CSN's Benjamin Massey called the red...well, let him tell you himself:
They suffered a grievous setback early as Shaun Saiko was given a straight red card, unjustly, for a fifty-fifty tackle.
Grievous. Unjust. Pretty clear where Ben stands.
Writing on MLSsoccer.com (and doing so as part of a straight gamer) I saw it a bit differently:
The game changed dramatically in the 23rd minute when FC Edmonton’s Shaun Saiko was given a straight red for a studs-up tackle on midfielder Oscar Cordon. Both players were aggressively going after a 50-50 ball, but Saiko chose to leave his feet and was accordingly given his marching orders by referee Paul Ward.
You can probably read between the lines.
It's at 1:41 of the clip below. You decide.
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