League

NIZHIJIANG
Spectators: 7999 (Terracing: 6000, Seating: 1840, VIP seats: 159) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Karl Felder got the match started through his kick off. Emery Dubois sent away a hard shot on goal in the 3rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Emery Dubois sent away a hard shot on goal in the 5th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Barton Kelley took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 8th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Samuel Melton. NIZHIJIANG's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. 12 minutes into the match, TFC's goal looked a bit too open when Bradly Albrecht came free, but Graham Meyers reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 18th minute, Emery Dubois made a precise shot to the right of Samuel Melton. NIZHIJIANG's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. Samuel Melton showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Karl Felder in the 24th minute of the match. In the 30th minute of the match Barton Kelley sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Samuel Melton skillfully saved the ball. Homer McClendon charged in rather forcefully in the 30th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Homer McClendon the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of TFC booed when NIZHIJIANG was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 30 match minutes in a wonderful position. Homer McClendon didn't get a good kick on the ball. Emery Dubois blasted a shot towards the goal in the 31st minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Samuel Melton having to make a save. When Karl Felder came up free with the goalie in the 36th minute, the TFC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Karl Felder couldn't finish the play. Karl Felder received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 40th minute. Samuel Melton tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Edgar Charpies short, quick shot in the 45thth minute got Graham Meyers to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Edgar Charpie sent away a hard shot on goal in the 47th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After the first half TFC were leading 0-2. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The wind increased when Bradly Albrecht made the kick off in the second half. In the 51st minute Bradly Albrecht shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Graham Meyers saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. If Bradly Albrecht had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 53rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The crowd rose to their feet as TFC's Karl Felder slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Samuel Melton. That made the score 0-3 after 57 minutes of play. Rubin Mercure fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 60th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Graham Meyers having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Karl Felder in the 66th minute of play forced NIZHIJIANG's goalkeeper Samuel Melton to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. NIZHIJIANG's Bradly Albrecht got a good chance for a goal in the 67th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 70 minutes into the match, Edgar Charpie notched a goal, 1-3, to the right of TFC's Graham Meyers. Graham Meyers was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. In the 74th minute, Rubin Mercure hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The supporters of TFC booed when NIZHIJIANG was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 79 match minutes in a wonderful position. Nicolas Merchant didn't get a good kick on the ball. If Bradly Albrecht had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 81st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Edgar Charpie sent away a hard shot on goal in the 82nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Bradly Albrecht came up free with the goalie in the 91st minute, the NIZHIJIANG fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Bradly Albrecht couldn't finish the play. The TFC supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing TFC would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.