Toronto FC travel coast to coast as they leave Vancouver to head all the way to Washington for their MLS clash against Eastern Conference rivals DC United. Both teams are coming off of midweek games that saw TFC earn a surprise 1-1 draw with the Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship, and DC take out the Colorado Rapids 2-0 at home.
It is a rematch of the Reds last league fixture, when DC and former Toronto captain Dwayne De Rosario came into BMO Field and left with all three points and a clean sheet. That loss cemented TFC into the history books as the team that has gotten off to the worst start in league history, at 0-8.
Since that loss, however, there has been a noticeable change in tactics and approach the team has employed. The result has been a win over Montreal and an away draw with Vancouver. With the club still waiting for their tournament form to translate into a league result and given the way they’ve shifted back to a more aggressive strategy, a match that would have been all but guaranteed loss is now beginning to look like a much closer result.
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If there is one truth Toronto can take into this rematch from May 5, it’s that this won’t be the same team who came out against DC the first time. That has nothing to do with players, as in a rested Torsten Frings and healed Danny Koevermans and Nick Soolsma, but tactics and strategy. In a match that was going to make Toronto the laughing stock of MLS, Aron Winter came out with a bizarre approach of five men at the back, lead by Frings in the sweeper position, and did not attempt an offensive formation until they were behind in the score.
Since that loss, and subsequent closed door meeting, Toronto have given their supporters something to grasp on to with two results that have been characterized by uninhibited expansive attacking, supported by a resourceful Julian De Guzman in the midfield and determined Ryan Johnson up top. Added to that is the pairing of Adrian Cann and Doneil Henry in the centre back positions, and the team has looked the most complete they’ve been since March 14.
Just over a week ago the timing couldn’t have been worse to head into RFK Stadium, a place where initially a result would have been most unlikely, even though in recent years the Reds have been able to come away with points. DC have been looking like a team that is genuinely able to compete for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a strong corps of forwards in Dwayne De Rosario, Chris Pontius, Maicon Santos and Hamdi Salihi, who are all in form and putting the ball in the net.
DC’s midweek victory over the Colorado Rapids has given them a confident home record that has only one blemish, an opening week 1-0 loss to Kansas City. While Colorado have the reputation for a strong offence, the absence of Omar Cummings and Marvell Wynne no doubt played part in their poor showing against a DC side whose backline are vulnerable with Dejan Jakovic and Emiliano Dudar not appearing match fit.
The biggest hurdle for TFC to get over in this match is to take their approach from the Champions League and tournament play and apply it to the MLS season. A massive mental obstacle has been in the way of the Reds making a single league fixture as important as a game that will knock them out of a competition. If they can apply the strategy that was seen against both Montreal and Vancouver, one that saw them bend but not break defensively and remain composed to take the ball back the other way and return the favour, this could turn out to be a thrilling game.
With Danny Koevermans and Nick Soolsma looking as though they could get the nod to start, and should Torsten Frings be ready to go, Toronto will have not just the players, but the quality to stand toe to toe with a potent attacking opponent. There is no question DC will be clinical in their finishing, as this was already demonstrated two weeks ago, and TFC will need Koevermans to make this game the beginning of him returning to form.
DC will not be solid at the back, and even if Jakovic returns, there will be a degree of rust from being out for over a month. This is a game where the likes of Joao Plata, Ryan Johnson and Danny Koevermans could link up to cause chaos around the 18 yard box. If Frings is ready, his ability to literally do everything, but most importantly no longer be chained down defensively, can allow the much maligned Julian De Guzman the freedom to do the less glamorous work without scrutiny and pop up to deliver a deadly through ball or cross.
In the end
Just over a week ago, on the calendar, this fixture would have already had a big red X through it, a conceded defeat ahead of time for a sinking club against a surging rival. However, two games later and TFC have given supporters a glimmer of hope and shown enough in both those results to legitimately envision the tactics and approach that could finish with points in hand. The real question is whether those results will continue to be the anomaly that is tournament play, or are they a larger sign that the team has begun to regroup and do what it takes to keep moving upward. DC present a difficult challenge in that it is a given that they will score and goals will be a plenty in this game. If Toronto are willing and able to go down swinging, they stand a real chance of finally erasing one of the zeros from their record.
Prediction
DC United 2 – Toronto FC 2
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