The Nutrilite Canadian Championship provides home-grown talent with an opportunity to develop.
As top seed in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, Toronto FC was immediately handed an early advantage to kick off their quest for a third straight Voyageurs Cup. After all, the new four-team format called for them to play the fledgling FC Edmonton side in the opening leg.
As an expansion team playing one level below TFC, they weren't given much of a chance. As it turns out, they weren't able to compete over 90 minutes in the first leg; playing a man down for more than an hour didn't help, but more on that in a minute.
First, give this franchise and owner Tom Fath some credit. They seem committed to doing it right in Edmonton. Here's a perfect example. Before they embarked on the final leg of training camp in Florida which flowed straight into their opening league matches in the American southeast, head coach Harry Sinkgraven met with Fath -- as he does on a weekly basis -- to talk about the trip. Would the team be stripping down and taking just 18 or so players, due to tight budgets and all? You know how it is in NASL. But no, both agreed that to build the squad properly, everyone should go.
There are 26 players under contract; 19 of them are Canadian. Giving 19 Canadians an opportunity to play against MLS competition is not to be underestimated. Where would those 19 be without Tom Fath and FC Edmonton?
Some of these guys are players who would have previously fallen through the cracks in Canada, but that's now changing. Forward Kyle Porter is a perfect example. Once a part of the Vancouver Whitecaps residency program, Porter was without a club until he signed with FC Edmonton just last week. I thought he was their best player in their opening leg loss to Toronto.
Nine of FC Edmonton's starters were Canadian. One of them, Saun Saiko, was sent off for a two-foot challenge on Oscar Cordon. Tough call that one: maybe a bad call; certainly a game-changing call. The home team actually took it to the visitors for a while after that, but inevitably ran out of steam before succumbing to a 3-0 scoreline. That call really took away any chance FC Edmonton had of getting a result.
From Toronto's point of view, head coach Aron Winter selected a nice mix of established regulars and young players trying to break into the mix. Winter is very high on Cordon and the player responded with a solid performance. And it looks as though the trade that brought Alan Gordon to Toronto was the right move as well. Gordon is emerging as an important piece to the puzzle and played what I thought was his best game yet for the Reds.
Winter rested Julian de Guzman and Javier Martina which didn't pose a problem. He has to rotate people through right now. Assuming TFC make the NCC final, it would mean 11 matches between Apr. 23 and May 28. And by then, he'll lose a player or two or more for the Gold Cup.
Oh yes, that's looming as well.
Just as de Guzman is getting back to health and fitness and appearing ready for that breakout season we've all been waiting for, he could be lost for much of the month of June. Bad news for TFC. Good news for Canada.
