Argonauts unable to overcome self-inflicted mistakes in near comeback
Going up against the reigning Grey Cup Champions, the Toronto Argonauts put up a fight in the second half but come up short after a missed point after.
It was a tense ending for the Toronto Argonauts as they had a chance to take the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to overtime but were unable to get the extra point they needed to tie the game.
After a rough first half with Toronto trailing 17-3, the team was able to generate some momentum but it was those mistakes that made the hill too tough to climb. The frustrating part was that the errors made by the Argos were mostly self-inflicted and Winnipeg took advantage of them.
On the sidelines, it was clear the player’s emotions were getting the best of them as Brandon Banks and Trevon Tate got heated after a promising drive led to an interception on the goal line.
Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie wasn’t willing to brush aside the incident and made it a point to say that it was unacceptable given that he thought the team cut the players they deemed bad characters.
“I’ve got to sit down and talk to those guys, we’ve got to get more disciplined and grow up and be men and find ways to fight through the frustration,” Argos Dinwiddie said after the game. “We can’t act like that. It looks like Junior College.”
The Argos coach also pointed out that it shows how much the players care about their performance on the field. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson echoed that sentiment saying that the team should be pissed off considering the missed opportunities.
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However, when things like that happen, there has to be a leader stepping up to get everyone in line and keep the fight against the team on the field and not against themselves.
“Guys get frustrated and they show their frustration, but it’s not conducive. Guys don’t have to be leaders, but be positive influencers,” Dinwiddie explained.
“I know he cares, it’s important to him. He wants to win, but is that going to help us win? We were only down by a score. He’s got to be better than that. I’ll sit down with him.”
This is a game the Argos can build off of when you look at what they did in the second half. Bethel-Thompson said that the team needs to figure out how to put in a 60-minute effort.
“It drives us crazy,” Bethel-Thompson said. “It’s been three weeks now and we haven’t seen the real Argos.”
When asked about Boris Bede missing the extra point, the Argos quarterback made it a point to say that it wasn’t the missed kick that cost them the victory. A team that has four turnovers against one of the best teams in the league will struggle to come away with the win.
That is what made the loss even more frustrating because Andrew Harris put in a trademark performance and the defence limited Winnipeg to six points in the second half.
“That’s the best team in the league and we were right there, it’s unfortunate we lost but there are some positives outta that,” Harris said postgame.
“We started off behind the eight-ball — other than the BS on the sideline, we gotta mature as a team and cut that nonsense out — but when it mattered we came together and put a drive together, our defence shut ’em down and we had a chance.”
Now they have their sights set on a road trip to Halifax where they will meet the Saskatchewan Roughriders who are coming off a dominant performance against the Montreal Alouettes.
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What are your thoughts on how the game went for the Argos? Is there any reason to panic about where the team is? Let us know in the comments below.