Corus Steel 3 v 0 Pontyclun

Saturday 28th May 2011
Welsh League Division 3
Corus Sports Ground, Margam
Admission: £2.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 130 (estimate)
Match Rating: 3

Although I had planned to take in a game in South Wales on this - finally - the last day of the Welsh League season, it was a fairly last minute decision to venture as far down as Division Three for a game. But with little riding on any of the games in the top two divisions, a trip to the outskirts of Port Talbot became the most attractive fixture of all with a simple equation for the home team - win, and they would be guaranteed promotion - anything else and they would be consigned to another season in the bottom division of the Welsh League.

The Corus Sports Ground is located just over two miles, or a 45 minute walk, from Port Talbot Parkway station. Prior to arriving at the ground, it was hard to imagine I would be able to describe a pleasant venue, given that the Port Talbot area is infamously saturated with factories pumping all manner of substances into the air - indeed, there was a strong industrial smell throughout the walk to the ground. However, the Corus Sports Ground happily follows the norm of extremely attractive grounds in the Welsh League, with trees mercifully blocking the views of the factories and instead the background is almost entirely rural, including rugged, sweeping hills close by. The football pitch is part of a large sports complex, with cricket and rugby pitches and a golf course all adjacent to the enclosed football pitch. The ground is extremely neat and well maintained, with a small stand for standing room straddling the half way line and a green portakabin behind one of the goals houses the changing rooms. Hard standing is available from the entrance behind a goal to and the far end of the stand, meaning that three quarters of the perimeter of the pitch just has grass standing.  Thanks to First Great Western and their delayed train, programmes had already sold out by the time I arrived twenty minutes ahead of kick off - clearly the club had not expected such a high attendance well in excess of 100 today, which was swelled by many groundhoppers.

Going into this game, Corus Steel were in fourth place, but both of the teams immediately above them, Goytre and Pontypridd Town, were only two points ahead having already finished their campaigns. So, Corus Steel would be guaranteed second place and promotion to Division 2 of the Welsh League for the first time in their history if they could win today. Failing to win would mean missing out on promotion and could mean they fall to fifth place in the final standings. They seemed to have got the jitters in May though, having previously been on a fourteen game unbeaten run and suffered just one defeat in 25 league games going back to early October - in May, they claimed just one point from three games before beating former League of Wales side Cwmbran Town last time out. There was nothing left to play for for Pontyclun, down in twelth place in the 18 team league and were on a truly dreadful run, having lost their last six league games. Way back in early September, Corus Steel triumphed by two goals to one in the corresponding fixture at Pontyclun.

As might have been expected, the home team forced the pace early on and pressured the Pontyclun goal relentlessly in the opening quarter of an hour, a fizzing shot tipped over by the keeper and a shot hitting the crossbar were the stand-out chances to open the scoring. Pontyclun managed to weather the early storm and started to look farily comfortable, although hardly ever looking threatening going forward. On the stroke of half time, the home team were given the opportunity to steady their nerves when Pontyclun's keeper unnecessarily patted out the ball in front of him, and in racing to retrieve the ball, brought down the onrushing attacker for a penalty, which was duly converted by Matthew Herman, sending the keeper the wrong way.

The second half started similarly to the first, with Pontyclun's goal leading a charmed life, once again the crossbar was hit with a thunderous shot. Just before the hour mark, Corus Steel gave themselves some real breathing space when a cross was finished very well by Rhodri Lewis from 12 yards out and the game was completely put to bed five minutes from time when Craig Baker showed good strength in shaking off a defender en route to goal before poking the ball over the keeper and into the net. Joyous celebrations followed on the final whistle as Corus Steel's promotion was confirmed, a good achievement with this being just their second season in the Welsh League. Whilst the result was predictable, it was harsh on Pontyclun, who played and competed very well whilst very rarely looking like they could score. Incidentally, one must feel slightly sorry for Goytre, who must have been confident of promotion at the start of the day, being in second place and three points ahead of fifth placed Caerau and with a ten goal superior goal difference - only to sit on their hands whilst Caerau won 13-0 to claim the third promotion spot alongside Corus Steel!

Olympique Lyonnais 2 v 0 Turbine Potsdam

Wednesday 26th May 2011
Women's Champions League Final
Craven Cottage, London
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 14,303
Match Rating: 4

The showpiece of women's club football in Europe, the UEFA Women's Champions League final, being held in London, together with a bargain ticket price of £5, was more than enough temptation to make a return visit to Craven Cottage, home of Fulham.

Craven Cottage is located about a twenty minute walk from Putney Bridge tube station, with the option of either walking through a park or alongside the River Thames. I bought my ticket on-line, for a seat in the Johnny Haynes stand, although unfortunately I misread the seating plan when choosing my seat, and so I was sat right at the back of the stand, with the stand's low roof and several supporting pillars obstructing the view of the action (for the second half, I relocated to the front of the stand). The Johnny Haynes stand is surprisingly old-fashioned, even having wooden seats, and it is quite interesting how this stand remains, with the charming Craven Cottage located in the corner of the ground where the teams come out onto the pitch, contrasting with the other three modern and characterless stands, although all of which offer good, unobstructed views. Programmes were available for a bargain £2 and was a fantastic publication. A4 sized and 52 pages, it contained all the information you could wish for regarding both teams and the competition, together with many interesting articles.

This evening's game was a repeat of last season's final, which was the first time the final has been played as a one-off game a couple of days before the Men's Champions League final in the same city. Previously, the final was played home and away. Last year, Turbine Potsdam triumphed on penalties after a goalless draw after extra time. It is fair to say that Olympique Lyonnais are the stand-out team in French football - they have won every one of their 21 games so far this season, scoring 101 goals and conceding just five, with just one game left to be played on Sunday. Since losing last year's final, they have won seven and drawn one of their eight games since, defeating Arsenal 5-2 over two legs in the semi-final. Turbine Potsdam have dominated the German league, having just claimed their fourth consecutive title, although they certainly have more competition than Olympique Lyonnais have in France, finishing just a point ahead of FFC Frankfurt. They had a comfortably road to the final up to the semi-final stage, which they narrowly edged by 3-2 over two legs against fellow German team FCR Duisburg.

As for the match itself, it was a terrific advert for women's football, played at a fast pace, competitive and with plenty of skill. The opening exchanges pointed towards a close encounter and that is exactly how the match panned out. Olympique Lyonnais almost took the lead inside the opening quarter of an hour when a corner by Louisa Necib hit the post. They did take the lead on 27 minutes when a Wendia Renard poked home from close ranger after the Potsdam keeper had saved a shot.Both teams fashioned the occasional chance throughout the rest of the half, although Lyon always looked the more likely to score.

The second half continued in a similar vein, with Potsdam having progressively better chances to equalise, and there was an incredible let off for Lyon when Potsdam's Anja Mittag couldn't get the ball under control when just 6 yards out. The game remained in the balance right through to the 86th minute, when Olympique Lyonnais finally put the game to bed with a fantastic goal.created by two subsitutes - Eugénie Le Sommer crossed the ball from right to left, finding Lara Dickenmann just inside the penalty area, who controlled the ball before sending a fizzing shot into the top corner. A superb goal which adequately reflected the extra touch of class that Olympique Lyonais showed, and the excellent quality of the game in general, and the Women's Champions League - and its earlier equivalents - was won by a French team for the first time.

Mountnessing 0 v 0 Galleywood

Saturday 21st May 2011
Essex Olympian League Premier Division
Brentwood Centre Arena, Brentwood
Admission and Programme: Nil
Attendance: 32 (head count)
Match Rating: 2

With an ever diminshing selection of fixtures to choose from, a choice of three in the Essex Olympian League Premier Division appealed most today. Two of the three games involved the top two teams at home, with the race so close between Kelvedon Hatch and Harold Wood Athletic that the title will probably be decided by goal difference. Rarely one to make the obvious choice, I chose the third game which was a dead rubber, but did have the attraction of visiting a senior ground, as opposed to minimal facilities to be found at Kelvedon Hatch and Harold Wood Athletic.

Mountnessing currently share Brentwood Town's home ground, the Brentwood Centre Arena, which is about a mile and a half or half hour walk from Brentwood rail station via the town centre. The ground is located out of town, adjacent to a sports centre. It also backs right onto the very busy A12 dual carriageway, the constant very loud traffic noise from which unfortunately detracts greatly from an otherwise pleasant place to watch football, although large trees at least block out the sight of the passing traffic.Facilities are, of course, far superior to what one usually encounters in the Essex Olympian League, although they seem rather basic for the Ryman League, in which Brentwood Town play. Along some of one length of the pitch is a small, neat and rather old-fashioned wooden all-seater stand, with the clubhouse located to the rear of the stand. There is a small, modern metallic stand behind one of the goals providing cover for a handful of terrace steps, with just hard standing around the rest of the pitch. The ground has a rather weathered, slightly unloved feel to it, but in fairness, this may be due to visiting at the end of a long season, a few weeks after Brentwood Town last played there - my impression may well have been different had I visited in the early months of a season. As is normal in this league, no programmes were produced and admission was free.

Mountnessing have shown a fair degree of ambition in the last couple of years, now playing at a senior ground which would enable promotion to a senior league and entering the FA Vase for the first time this season, with the club making all the right noises about progressing into senior football. Sadly, they seem to have forgotten they need to do the business on the field as well as off of it, as for most of this season they have been involved in a relegation battle, only pulling clear and ensuring safety in the last couple of weeks. With today being their last game of the season, they are guaranteed tenth place in the fourteen team league. It is clear to see what Mountnessing's problem has been this season - they have been the league's joint lowest goalscorers - along with today's visitors, Galleywood - with just 28 goals from 25 league games - and five of those goals came in one game just over a week ago. The season was also dead for Galleywood, they have already been relegated (barring a reprieve) and will finish second bottom. Back in October, Galleywood triumphed 2-1 in the previous league fixture between the two sides.

With nothing riding on the game and conditions being very warm and sunny, it was perhaps unsurprising that this was an uninspiring game played at a pedestrian pace between two poor teams. The first half was rather forgettable - even considering the intermediate level, it was quite shocking how simple passes were played straight to opposition players, and there was a sloppy, "really can't be bothered" feel to proceedings. The score was goalless at half time, which the visitors expressed delight with. The second half was certainly an improvement, and Mountnessing will wonder how on earth they didn't score at least once - I counted at least four gilt edged chances to score, the pick of which being a beautiful free kick from just outside the corner of the penalty area tipped onto the crossbar, and a shot from about 25 yards out that had the keeper scrambling back to his line to make the save. Galleywood also missed a fantastic chance midway through the second half, firing wide with only the keeper to beat, and in the closing minutes they did all the attacking without ever really looking likely to break down Mountnessing's defence, and so a goalless draw was how it ended. My usual disappointment at witnessing a goalless draw was put into perspective though when I learned that Harold Wood Athletic's game, the one I was most tempted to go to had I followed my head and given Mountnessing's game a wide berth, was cancelled with a home win awarded as Epping, their already relegated opponents, could not raise a team.
 

Snodland 1 v 2 Bearsted

Tuesday 17th May 2011
Kent County League Premier Division
Potyn's Field, Snodland
Admission: Nil
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 64 (head count)
Match Rating: 3

With even fixtures in the intermediate leagues now petering out, at least there were still matches to choose from in the Kent County League, with the final fixtures playing this midweek, and so I headed to mid Kent for a local derby between two clubs based just outside the County town of Kent, Maidstone.

Potyn's Field, home of Snodland, is about a one mile, 20 minute walk from Snodland train station, via the town centre. It has long since been a source of curiosity for me at how wildly the standard of grounds vary in the Kent County League, and Potyn's field certainly falls at the basic end of the spectrum. Spectator facilities are minimal, with hard standing available along just a section of one length of the pitch, with the Community Centre building located close by. The pitch is only roped off all the way around. Minimal the facilities may be, but the setting is extremely attractive, rural and peaceful, with trees lining each end of the pitch, and rolling hills visible behind one length of the pitch. Behind the other, a five-a-side cage and the car park flank the Community Centre. The pitch was in superb condition. It was, unsurprisingly given the prolonged dry weather, very hard, but very even with predicable bounce,although with quite a pronounced slope from one end to the other. For a club with such basic facilities, one that does not even have a website, it came as a very pleasant surprise to find not only do Snodland (currently) issue programmes, but that they are of very good quality too. 20 pages printed partly in colour and packed with welcome message, history of Snodland and Bearsted, plenty of season and league stats, a challenging quiz and not much advertising, it was a really good effort for a club playing at intermediate level.

This evening's game was between two of the also-rans of the Kent County League Premier Division, Snodland being in eighth place in the 16 team league, two points and one place above Bearsted although this game was Snodland's last of the season, whereas Bearsted still have two further games to play this Thursday and Saturday, Snodland could finish anywhere between seventh and tenth, whereas Bearsted could still finish sixth or as low as tenth. It has been a strange end to the season for Snodland, claiming just one point from their previous three games, including a 0-9 thrashing at Cray Valley, but collecting ten points from four games previously. Bearsted have had a similar vein of form, having not won in their last four games, but had won four of their previous five games, drawing the other. These two sides only played each other last Tuesday in the corresponding fixture at Bearsted, ending in a 1-1 draw

On a chilly and very overcast evening, this was an entertaining game that was hard-fought, but for the most part played in the right spirit. The visitors took the lead with just five minutes on the clock with a simple goal, headed in from 12 yards out following an excellent whipped in cross from out wide. Snodland got back on level terms on the half hour with a rather curious goal, curled in slowly from the edge of the penalty area just inside the post. I can only presume the goalkeeper was unsighted as the shot had little power as it floated in. 1-1 was how it stayed at half time, and it looked like that was how it would stay for most of the second half, with plenty of endeavour but little threat to either goal. However, with ten minutes to go, the home side were awarded a penalty. In my opinion, the referee did not cover himself with glory here, contact looked minimal and certainly looked outside of the box. Then, when a Snodland player raised a hand to a Bearsted player's face, all he received was a yellow card. Justice was done though when the Bearsted keeper made a good save low to his left. Within a couple of minutes, Snodland were made to pay for failing to score that penalty when Bearsted scored what turned out to be the winner with a precise finish from a narrow angle after the keeper came out to meet the Bearsted striker at the edge of the penalty area. After a delay due to the netting coming loose, Bearsted held on fairly comfortably for a victory when a draw probably would have been a more accurate reflection of the game.

Caerau (Ely) 3 v 2 Goytre United

Saturday 14th May 2011
Welsh League Division 1
Cwrt-yr-Ala, Ely
Admission including programme: £4.00
Attendance: 50 (estimate)
Match Rating: 4

With most senior leagues in England having drawn to a close by now, at least there is one of the few certainities in life for groundhoppers that the Welsh League will continue beyond most English leagues, and on that basis, I headed over the Severn Bridge today to extend my footballing travels for the season. My original choice of Aberbargoed Buds versus Llangeinor was scuppered by a late coach arrival in Cardiff - just as well as it turned out, as that game ended goalless - and instead stayed within the environs of Cardiff for what turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant venue as well as witnessing a decent game for an end of season affair.

Cwrt-yr-Ala, home of Caerau (Ely), is located about four miles west of Cardiff city centre, a walk I took on on the way there, taking just over an hour, although as it was not a pleasant walk through some of the uglier parts of Cardiff, I caught the bus back to the city after the match. After walking along busy roads and housing estates, it came as something as a surprise to walk under a bridge and into another world - suddenly before me was a very rural and picturesque ground. It is surrounded by colourful trees with a hill behind one length of the pitch. The ground is fully enclosed although with see through fencing, hard standing around three sides of the pitch, not behind the goal where there is a rubbish tip - happily though, it doesn't become apparent that is what it is unless one walks up to it. There is a small stand staddling the half way line, although quite how health and safety concerns have not condemned the stand I am not too sure, with broken and crumbling steps aplenty and with very unstable and uneven looking gravel covering the steps. However, to be fair, plenty of people did feel safe enough in the surroundings. A shallow clubhouse painted in club colours is located just outside the ground and blends in well with the surroundings. Despite there being other more idyllic venues for football in the Welsh League, this would be a very pleasant venue if only there were a mute button that one could press to turn off the constant loud roar of traffic coming from the adjacent busy dual carriageway which separates the ground from the housing estates. A programme was included with admission (although they did not arrive until half way through the first half) and it just about did the job with league tables, penpics and potted histories of both teams, but there was only enough to pass a couple of minutes reading and season's results would have been nice. It turned out that, in fact, the programme did not really do the job, as all the information about the away team was about Goytre AFC, a completely separate club to Goytre United.

This was both teams' final game of the season, and with this being Caerau (Ely)'s first ever season at this level of football, it has been an excellent achievement that they are guaranteed to finish at least sixth, and could finish fourth but they are mostly in the hands of other teams for that to happen. They have been in excellent form too, winning four straight games before a 3-3 draw at Cwmbran Celtic on Thursday, and have lost just once in their last ten games, that being against probably Welsh Premiership bound Afan Lido. Goytre United have consistently been one of the very strongest teams in the Welsh League, being champions last season and in seasons 2007/08 and 2005/06, and were runners up in each of the other seasons during that period. That they are not plying their trade in the Welsh Premiership is purely their choice never to have applied, a rather curious choice considering they have installed floodlights at their ground, one of the very few in the Welsh League to have them. They have found life more of a struggle this season though, down in eleventh position in the sixteen team league, although they cannot finish any lower than that and could finish as high as seventh - they would be guaranteed tenth with a draw today and ninth with a win, as two teams above them have already finished their season. They have been in very good form too though, having lost just once in their last eight games.

One wondered if fatigue may play a part in this game, with this being the second game Caerau (Ely) have had to play in three days, but such thoughts were quickly dispelled as the home side opened up a two goal lead. They were certainly given a helping hand for the first goal inside ten minutes, when a Goytre United defender looped a ball in the air from out wide back to his goalkeeper. The Caerua (Ely) forward had anticipated a potential backpass although the ball made it back to the keeper. However, he couldn't get the ball under control quickly enough and was dispossessed by David Vincent, who had the easy task of racing towards goal and slotting into the empty net. They doubled their advantage about five minutes before half time when a cross was headed firmly into the roof of the net by Liam Beattie. 2-0 was how it remained at half time, slightly harsh on the visitors who were possibly slightly the better team. However, they pulled a goal back on about ten minutes into the second half when a sloppy tackle resulted in a penalty, and Jason Thorne sent the keeper the wrong way. The comeback was complete ten minutes from time when it was time for the home keeper to make a howler, having raced off of his line to make a challenge he could barely hope to succeed with, and the ball was played towards goal from about the outer corner of the penalty area. It looked like the ball was going in, but the ball was nodded in by Richard French to make absolutely sure from a couple of yards out. Suddenly it looked like the visitors would find the winning goal if it were to arise, but within a couple of minutes, the home side scored what turned out to be the winner when Tyrrell Webb sprinted forward from the half way line and his initial shot was blocked, with the ball bouncing out close to the touchline - full credit to Webb for showing superb accuracy and composure to find the net from an extremely narrow angle. And so Caerau (Ely) rose to fourth in the table this evening, although they could still fall back to sixth as both Bridgend Town and Pontardawe Town still have games to play, whereas Goytre United must settle for a final placing of eleventh.

Toronto Blue Jays 7 v 4 Detroit Tigers

Friday 6th May 2011

Major League Baseball, American League

Rogers Centre, Toronto

Admission: 11 C$

Programme: 5 C$

Attendance: 19, 711

Match Rating: 4

On the final evening of my stay in Toronto was the sports game I was looking to most of all, as I had a real desire to attend a top North American sports game for the first time, to experience all the hype and razzmatazz that sports matches on the other side of the pond can offer.

The Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, is located very close to the centre of Toronto and adjacent to the CN Tower, and is an impressive if slightly dated stadium. I bought my ticket on-line prior to arriving in Canada, so all I had to do was have my e-ticket scanned to gain entry. I chose a seat which, although very high up, was directly behind the batter, which I considered to be the best vantage point of the game. Before making the long hike to the top floor, I walked around the bottom floor, taking in a variety of entertainments which were laid on for what is dubbed "Fan Fridays". I had my photo taken with two World Series trophies that the Blue Jays won back in 1992 and 1993., and there were various other competitions to take part in with a DJ on hand. The Rogers Centre offers three tiers of seating with corporate boxes between the second and third levels behind the batsman and along the first and third base lines, whilst behind the pitcher are hotels rooms surrounding a giant electronic scoreboard, with a row of boxes beneath. The Rogers Centre has the claim to fame of having been the first sports stadium to have a fully retractable roof when it opened in 1989. Programmes were available to purchase outside of the ground, and are a better purchase for the occasional visitor rather than the regular one. Most of the A4 size publication remains the same for each game, with only an 8 page insert specific to the series in question in the middle.

Coming into this game, the Blue Jays were not in the best of form, losing two of their three game series at the Tampa Bay Rays and before that, at the New York Yankees, and were in fourth position in the five team Eastern Division. Tonight’s visitors, the Detroit Tigers, came into the game in a great run of form, winning their previous three games at home against the New York Yankees, after losing the opening two games of the series, and were lying in third place in the Central Division.

In front of what was eventually a decent sized crowd of just under 20,000 – many people only arrived after a few innings had already been played  - and with a reasonable number of supporters from Detroit, the home team opened up an early lead, which they were never to surrender. They were 3-0 up after the first innings, adding a further run in the third innings, with the Tigers not getting a run on the board until the fourth innings, at the end of which the Blue Jays led by 4-1, with the Tigers struggling to even make any bases let alone runs, thanks to some excellent pitching from the Jays’ Jesse Litsch, who allowed just the one run and struck out nine in six and a third innings. A couple of innings without any scoring for either side followed in the fifth and sixth innings, before Adam Lind hit a home run in the seventh innings. The Jays added a further two runs in the eighth innings to open up a thoroughly dominant 7-1 lead, and although the Tigers finally managed to find some form in the final ninth innings, scoring three runs, all they managed was to make the final scoreline more respectable, at 7-4.

Toronto FC 1 v 0 FC Edmonton

Wednesday 4th May 2011
Canadian Championship Semi Final Second Leg
The BMO Field, Toronto
Toronto FC won 4-0 on aggregate
Admission: 27.00 C$
Programme: 5.00 C$
Attendance: 17,937
Match Rating: 2

Having booked a trip to Toronto last year before the Major League Soccer fixtures for the season had been announced, it was something of a gamble that I would be able to watch Toronto FC game whilst in the city, a gamble that appeared to have backfired when the fixtures were announced and Toronto FC would not be playing at home during my stay. However, to my great relief, the second leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final was scheduled during my stay, and so I was assured of watching what I know best, a football match, in between watching games I knew little about, lacrosse and baseball.

The home of Toronto FC, the BMO Field, which was only opened in 2007, when the new Toronto FC franchise played their first match, is located about two miles west from Toronto city centre. Trams and buses are available, however I chose to make the pleasant walk along the shore of Lake Ontario to the ground, which took about three quarters of an hour. The setting is not attractive, located in an urban entertainment complex and with a busy expressway passing close by. The ground is completely open, with no cover available on any side, which certainly made conditions this evening feel cold, with no protection from a stiff wind off Lake Ontario. Behind one of the goals and along one of the lengths is single tier seating constructed to an identical height and inclination, a theme which is continued along the other length, although this side has an additional tier, with a fairly small number of boxes along the top, with a small roof above. Behind the other goal is a fairly narrow stand but with steeper inclination of seating - this was constructed in 2010, after the original capacity of the stadium proved insuffucient..The BMO Field is neat and attractive on the eye, and benefits from being "soccer specific" unlike some MLS venues, ensuring the fans are close to the action and has a compact feel, although the open nature of the ground would make generating a good atmosphere difficult. The 66 page programme was similar in format to English league programmes and was a very interesting read printed on glossy hardened paper. However, and quite surprisingly, programmes did not seem to be that popular, with few people appearing to purchase one, and apparently only 1,000 are printed per game.

The Canadian Championship is only contested by the four top teams in Canada, all of whom play in either the Major League Soccer or the North American Soccer League, and the winner qualifies for Canada's one entry into the CONCACAF Champions League.Toronto FC have won the Canadian Championship for the last two seasons, whilst tonight's visitors, FC Edmonton, are new entrants in the competition, having only been formed last year and this being their debut season, playing in the North American Soccer League, one level below the MLS but with a large gulf in class between the two leagues with no promotion or relegation. Having previously been contested as a three team mini league, this season's competition is being played as knock-out, two leg affairs. Tonight's game was the semi-final second leg, and the tie looked as good as over already, with Toronto winning 3-0 in Edmonton last week, although by all accounts, FC Edmonton had given a good account of themselves before have a player sent off after just half an hour. Neither team came into this match in much form in the league, with Toronto FC having only won one game all season, not won in six games and been defeated by Seattle Sounders 3-0 at the weekend. FC Edmonton had made an excellent start to their inaugral season, winning their first two league games but then losing their next two, including a 0-5 home defeat to Montreal Impact at the weekend. Only two names involved this evening were familiar to me, both within the Toronto set-up - Richard Eckersley, the former Manchester United youngster currently on loan from Burnley, and Aron Winter, the former Dutch international, is currently head coach

With the scoreline from the first leg, I feared for a lacklustre match, and unfortunately this is exactly how the game panned out. In the opening minutes, Toronto played keep ball, and their intention to coast into the final of the competition whilst expending as little energy as possible was clear. However, midway through the first half, they did make repeated attacks towards Edmonton's goal with little resistance, and on 21 minutes, the home side extended their overall advantage to four unanswered goals, when the excellent young Ecuadorian, Joao Plata, whose silky skills were a rare highlight throughout the match, jinked around several defenders before dinking a ball over to a completely unmarked Alan Gordon 10 yards out from goal, who had time to control the ball before firing past the Edmonton goalkeeper. Shortly after the goal came a rather interesting moment, as the crowd chanted for Danny Dichio on 24 minutes - a ritual that the Toronto fans perform during every match to mark the when Dichio scored Toronto's first ever goal in the 27th minute of a match. The rest of the half, and indeed the rest of the game, was a dull affair, with Toronto playing for the most part at a pedestrian pace, but losing possession regularly with stray or predictable passes, whilst Edmonton were extremely limited, electing to shoot when within 25 yards of the goal, never testing the goalkeeper. And so, predictably, it was Toronto who comfortably progressed to the final, where they will meet the Vancouver Whitecaps, who triumphed after extratime aganst Montreal Impact, although Toronto's fans enthusiastic cheering of their team at half-time and full-time was interesting considering the poor quality of football from their team as they laboured to a narrow victory on the night against a poor team, but maybe this is what supporting your team should be about, in contrast to the ridiculous readiness of English football fans to turn on their own team.

 Video highlights of this match can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or1bHg162gI