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With Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley away on International duty and Tosaint Ricketts injured, an undermanned Toronto FC were unable to extend their 8 game undefeated streak against New England while playing away from home on a challenging plastic pitch.
That dotted one was always overhyped - bring back the pink shirt!
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The Reds suffered several glaring defensive breakdowns and clearly missed TFC captain Bradley in this match. With both Altidore and Ricketts unavailable, Toronto Head Coach Greg Vanney elected to start Raheem Edwards up top alongside Giovinco. That combination failed to generate much, as the Italian superstar endured a frustrating evening in which he received little support and service from his teammates.
The Opening 45
With Toronto having endured an extremely busy match schedule in recent weeks, New England smartly pressed the relentlessly and took control of the match right from the opening whistle. While New England passed and moved like a well-oiled machine, Toronto looked tired and unable to cope with an artificial surface that adversely affected their passing game.
The Revolution took the lead early when an unmarked Benjamin Angoua got on the end of a corner kick and delivered a powerful header into the back of the Toronto net.
Toronto almost bounced back with an equalizer a few minutes later on a nice passing play that ultimately ended with an unlucky Justin Morrow hitting the post.
The Second Half
New England continued to dominate the proceedings in the second half, as the movement, pace and interplay between Diego Fagundez, Kei Kamara, Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe made Toronto look like a team playing in a lower gear.
Fagundez was rewarded for his dynamic play in the 66th minute when he scored and all but sealed the match. Second half substitute Juan Agudelo put the match beyond reach with an insurance goal in the 85th minute.
Man of the Match
Alex Bono
On an evening in which pretty much the entire TFC roster was below par, Alex Bono was the best TFC performer, even in a game in which he conceded three goals. Ultimately, Bono was let down by poor defending on all three goals. However, the Reds keeper made a number of key saves that kept the final score line was looking truly ugly.
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