A very English day for a game of football–sorry soccer–with plenty of rain and wind made Sunday’s match against Laurentian a very chilly affair for all observers.

Off the back of a four-game undefeated streak, the Blues looked fairly confident in the prospect of a fifth straight victory. However, they came up against a tough and well-organised Voyageurs outfit, whose physical approach and pace on the break proved too strong.

The game was close and fiercely fought, with neither set of players backing out of the fifty-fifty challenges. On occasions it looked as if it may even have boiled over, but this was mainly due to the questionable nature of the referee’s calls. He failed to stamp his authority on proceedings and handed out several extraordinary bookings. Blues forward Kwaku Yeboah was inexplicably yellow-carded for the heinous crime of jumping in the penalty area.

The first twenty minutes was a seesaw affair, with both teams counter-attacking effectively. However it was the Voyageurs who struck first. A clever slide rule pass allowed Guiseppe Politi to finish coolly from 12 yards out.

Toronto was struggling to find any real momentum, despite the intelligent prompting of midfielder Oday Khaghani. Many promising moves broke down in the final third when it came to supplying the final pass.

The only significant opportunity of the first half for the Blues came from a clever passing sequence between Khaghani and Pierre Grossi. Forward Sean Myers eventually headed Grossi’s cross just off target.

The second period started brightly for the home team. Good work from Mike Bialy set up Myers who blazed over from a tight angle. This also failed to result in a goal.

The Laurentian defence was coping comfortably with everything the Blues threw at it. Despite large amounts of possession, the Blues midfield could not get enough of the ball in the right areas to really hurt the visitors. Yeboah miss-kicked when right in front of the goal, wasting perhaps the best chance for an equaliser.

The Voyageurs continued to pose a threat on the counter-attack, and almost went further ahead, but for a brilliant sliding block from Blues defender Faiz Karim, who had a particularly solid game.

A quickly taken short corner late in the contest almost led to a Blues score, but Mike Bialy’s shot was blocked on the goal line. It was unfortunately the Voyageurs who struck again before full time. A cross from the left found Voyageur Ryan Baker at the back stick and he finished firmly from close in. Two-nil with three minutes to go and no way back in to the game for the Blues.

The Blues have two more games left this season. They will host Guelph at Varsity Field this Saturday and will travel to York for a game on Sunday afternoon.