Thursday, July 22, 2010

Youth and mystery - Preki plays with Bolton

So, just who were those guys in red? This was a night of squinting, head scratching and wondering if TFC has found some gems or if Bolton was still three weeks from truly caring.
Coach Preki gave the night off to the following - Frei, DeRo, Deguzman, Gargan, Sanyang, Attakora, Cann, Garcia, Labrocca and the Chad. Yet the team did not suffer, mostly due to the play of Mista and Maicon Santos.
The regular players who saw some time were Usanov, Gala, Hscanovics, Ibrahim, Peterson and White, plus the keepers Conway and Kocic. Kocic had the save of the game in the second half, a twisting dive to his right.
I think the Academy players all saw some playing time. I would list them if I could find their names.
Call ups and trialists were Mirko Medic - central defender (he looked solid and capable), Drazen Vukovic - midfield, Miodrag Andjelkovic - forward and Bas Ent - winger.
There were so many players that I may be mistaken on a name or five, but if the player tearing down the right wing all second half was the trialist Bas Ent, then sign him up. He was the controlling the attack and crossing with authority. I want to see what he brings to the first team. Second half also saw some solid play from Miodrag Andjelkovic at striker and left winger Henry also looked good.
The first half play of Mista and Maicon Santos was of excellent quality. Mista was willing to come back and get involved in developing play. He could be the attacking focus of the midfield that has been missing since the departure of Guevara.
Since Saturday has an important game vs Dallas and the CONCACAF home and home starts next Tuesday, resting most of the starters was a wise move for Coach Preki. It was a fun night out, but did not compare to the Aston Villa friendly a few years ago.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of the best academy players i saw out there was Nicholas Lindsay playing Midfield/Forward role wearing number 16, he debuted with Toronto against our Vancouver match in the pouring ran and failed to live up to the hype. Tonight he looked much more solid, running after balls, jumping for headers, going right around the Bolton defense.

Trout said...

I'm not one to subscribe to hype placed on who is given the captain's arm band, but is it telling that Mista had it in the first half and Gala in the second?