TFC 1 – Houston 1 - Clouds have silver linings?

“Get a haircut and get a real job. Clean your act up and don’t be a slob. Why don’t you, get a haircut and get a real job.” - George Thorogood

Please, could someone tell Kei Kamara that a shark fin looks good on a BMW, not the top of his head.

My apologies to Stillkicking for the deviation from his usual high standard of journalistic integrity. I will now return to the standard that he has set for us all.

One of the joys of attending a soccer game is the ability to look away from the play surrounding the ball and focus on the actions of a single player. Quite often, when I attend a TFC match I choose one player to focus on, whether he is playing on the ball or off it. After a number of consecutive starts, this past Saturday I finally got around to watching Nana Attakora play in the centre of the defence. As you all know by now, he was voted TFC player of the Month, so what I’m about to say of his performance will come as no surprise. He was fantastic. He marked well and seems to be quickly forming a good partnership with Nick Garcia, his centre back partner in crime.

Back to Kei Kamara. I really don’t mean any disrespect to him (aside from the hair thing, of course) he seems to be at most times a dangerous striker, fast and agile with a nose for goal (and, apparently the mouth to go with it). Attakora made him look like a big whiny baby, with no chance of even getting near the net. He was shadowed consistently, and was constantly being watched for any sign of threatening attack.

On the offensive side for TFC, it was back to the same old same old. Chad Barrett missed a number of chances, and Pablo Vitti looked ordinary, after his best performance in TFC red last week. The glimmer of hope that these two would rise to the challenge of Ali Gerba taking their spot in the starting line-up faded very quickly. Barrett may have a chance of assuming a wide midfield role, as he dropped back to fill in for Jimmy Brennan when Danny Dichio was subbed in for an injured Adrian Serioux. Vitti on the other hand may have finally run out of chances. I’m excited by the prospect of seeing O’brien White and Ali Gerba play against River Plate on Wednesday, but alas, it’s the one game all year I will miss.

Overall both teams played really well, marking on both sides was tight, and the passing was crisp. For me this game falls into the “should of” category. TFC were the better team on the afternoon and should have taken the three points. The defensive lapse that led to Bobby Boswell’s goal should just be taken as a reminder to maintain focus. Really, a disappointing result, but with a lot of positive play and team work. It might not feel like it right now, but I think they’re headed in the right direction.

Trout