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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
October 1, 2016 |
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Steve Bottjer
On Twitter:
@BottjerRNO
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Toronto FC continued their late season impression of fellow Hogtown sports franchise the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday with another poor result on their home pitch. With the Giovinco-less Reds having been unable to take advantage of a favourable home heavy run down the stretch of their schedule, it will be interesting to see if that lack of momentum heading into the playoffs ultimately results in another early exit from the postseason.
Who's this Jim Mora guy I keep hearing about?
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The Opening 45
TFC looked to be on the way to a strong home performance when they opened the scoring in the 36th minute. The Reds got even the muted supporters in the south end of BMO Field excited when a splendid pass from Cooper was capped off with another stunning Jozy Altidore goal in which the U.S. International beat defender Steve Birnbaum 1v1 before cooly evading keeper Bill Hamid and slotting the ball in the back of the net.
Toronto’s lead was short lived, however, as D.C. evened things up three minutes later when TFC’s inability to clear their box following a corner kick resulted in Lamar Neagle heading the ball into their net.
The Second Half
As was the case midweek against Orlando, Toronto got into good positions and engineered plenty of scoring chances but were unable to put the ball in the back of the next.
The Reds were unable to take advantage of top class cross from Mark Bloom in the 50th minute when none Cooper, Altidore or Dan Lovitz were able to get on the end of it.
On the other side of that equation, D.C. did not create many chances but did well to capitalize on the few they did, with Neagle scoring the winner with a fine finish after receiving a quality defense splitting pass from Lloyd Sam.
Man of the Match
Armando Cooper
TFC's most recent acquisition was the best player on the pitch for the Reds against D.C. The Panama International once again showed that he is potentially a missing piece for the Toronto midfield with his experience, energetic play and ability as a playmaker. His pass to set up Altidore for the opening goal was excellent and suggestive of good things to come when he has both Altidore and a healthy Giovinco to release for scoring chances.
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