Toronto, Wednesday 7 March 2012.– The CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal between Toronto and the LA Galaxy had just about everything: goals, crowd, noise, color (a lot of red) - except a win for the home fans.
The match at the Rogers Centre drew a club record crowd and the second largest in tournament history - but most of the 47,658 went home disappointed when Landon Donovan scored in the 88th minute to force a 2-2 draw and deny Toronto a victory.
"It was amazing, everyone enjoyed it," TFC striker Danny Koevermans said. "It was fantastic playing in front of a big home crowd and of course it was a shame for us and for the people that they tied it in the last minute. If you ask me we should make BMO bigger or move here so we can always play in front of 40,000 people."
The game was moved from BMO Field, Toronto FC's regular, outdoor 21,859-seat stadium, to the Rogers Centre, home of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays, due to potential weather issues.
Despite concerns expressed by the Galaxy about the artificial surface, players were still amazed with the atmosphere generated by the capacity crowd.
"It was great," Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said. "I'm glad the game was staged here. Obviously I knew it was a bigger stadium and I knew these fans would fill it out.
"Overall I think everyone had fun. Obviously the fans saw their team score two goals, I'm sure they didn't like seeing us score two goals. Overall it was a great atmosphere to play in."
TFC Senior Director of Business Operations Paul Beirne prepared for months to stage the game at Rogers. Although the preference was to play the game outdoors and at BMO Field, he was impressed with the final scene.
"The supporters were spectacular - they've been working on this for months. They came in last night and did a lot of setting up and that set the tone for the atmosphere…the overall atmosphere was off the charts.
"It was another great moment for Toronto FC and our short history. It's another milestone for us and we're really pleased."
*With information from the CONCACAF
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