SoccerGood fortune favours Toronto FC

Beginning of Story Content

I nervously handed my ticket back to the attendant and waited for him to scrutinize the information. The wait seemed like an eternity. I was old enough to know there was a chance I might not actually win the bike, but there were plenty of other tempting items on display – I’d happily take a Scalextric set, an Action Man doll or even one of the huge soft teddy bears if all else failed.

“You’re a winner young man!” shouted the attendant, snapping me out of my daydream. He reached below his counter to reveal my prize. My heart was thumping like a drum in anticipation as he re-appeared bearing my gift.

A Tupperware sandwich box. Abruptly, the thumping stopped and was replaced by a heavy, sinking sensation.

‘Rub of the green’

From that day to this I have never ‘won’ anything, which leads me to conclude I’m just not a lucky person. The usual suspects turn up at Christmas parties and charity functions and always seem to bag the swag. You know the sort. Are they therefore ‘lucky’ people to whom the law of averages seem not to apply?

In soccer, it is a commonly held belief that luck can play a not insignificant part of a particular game and thus have a bearing on what evolves during the season. From time to time you’ll hear Toronto FC head coach John Carver talking about his team getting “the rub of the green” which is of course a golfing expression for good fortune.

I think they got it at Columbus.

According to Crew coach Robert Warzycha “flukes happen.” Gino Padula’s late header was inch-perfect, or at least it would have been at the other end of the field. Consider the facts: only twice before in franchise history had Toronto FC benefitted from an own-goal – once in 2007, once in ’08 and now once in ’09.

The stats suggest Warzycha has a point – his opposite number would argue his team deserved it. But Carver’s been in the game long enough to know you don’t always get what you deserve. Deprived of two of his more capable midfielders due to international commitments, the Toronto coach must have known his team would face an uphill battle to get anything from the MLS Cup holders.

There were shaky moments at the back and unfulfilled promise up front, but fine goalkeeping from both Stefan Frei and his replacement Greg Sutton helped the glue stick together just long enough to frustrate the 2008 champions.

In the final analysis, whether good fortune or good management led Toronto to the point they started with is frankly irrelevant. What is important is the team remains unbeaten.

Expectations have risen

It’s in the books as a tied game, but do not underestimate the power of the point. Toronto FC, which lost its opening four games in 2007, and its first two a year later, has raised the platform a little higher heading into an itinerary which promises five of the next six matches on home turf.

The players, particularly the rookies, now know they can compete and will draw confidence as a result. A team which believes in itself and trusts its coach’s methods is more likely to succeed than one where the seed of doubt is sewn early in the year.

Inevitably expectations will rise, but all of us, whether players, fans or broadcasters, need to keep a lid on them. Toronto FC will take us through a rollercoaster of emotions over the next few months – the team will make our hearts jump for joy – then leave us with that empty feeling at the pit of our stomach.

And if Lady Luck should smile again, the team will take that too, which reminds me ... I wonder if Gino Padula plays the lottery?

End of Story Content

Back to accessibility links