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Toronto FC 2 Real Salt Lake 3
The Prelude to Battle
The math for TFC heading into this one was simple. Win or draw and Toronto would be well on their way to removing a huge monkey off their backs. Lose and you set a record for the worst start to a season in MLS history. In either case, Toronto FC were going to have their backs up against the wall playing against Real Salt Lake, one the top teams in the league on their home ground. With Rio Tinto stadium being one of the hardest pitches in the league for opposition teams to pick up points, the Reds were likely going to have to deliver a mistake free performance if they hoped to have any chance of ending their losing streak.
TFC Head Coach Aron Winter made three key changes for this game. Team captain Torsten Frings started the game in the midfield, as the Reds went with three holding midfielders in Frings, Terry Dunfield and Julian de Guzman. Eric Avila got his second start in a row after an impressive display as a substitute in Toronto’s loss to Chivas USA two weeks ago. With Frings moving into the midfield, Miguel Aceval returned to the lineup in central defence.
With Danny Koevermans and Nick Soolsma injured, Toronto was clearly aiming to play a more defensively conservative game and hoping to engineer their scoring chances on the counter attack.
The Opening Forty-Five
Unfortunately for Toronto FC, this match opened up by going according to what has now essentially become a script. The Reds game plan of defending in numbers and aiming to create scoring chances on the counter attack looked like it might pay dividends in the early part of the match. Winger Eric Avila in particular looked bright and dangerous.
But as has been the case all too often for Toronto, the Reds were once again undone by their inability to defend set pieces at something approaching a professional level, with a 7th minute Real Salt Lake corner kick leading to a goal by an unmarked Kyle Beckerman.
TFC had an excellent chance to even things up in the 16th minute when Avila was fouled in the penalty area by a sliding Jamison Olave. In just another sequence that illustrated just how much Toronto cannot buy a break, Torsten Frings stepped up and missed on the resulting penalty kick.
In the 27th minute, on a play that perfectly encapsulated the beating that Toronto has been receiving on all levels in recent weeks, Milos Kocic was quick out of his net to shut down a Salt Lake scoring chance and ended up taking a Chris Wingert boot to his face.
Alvaro Saborio almost doubled Real Salt Lake’s lead in the 35th, but was mercifully called off side by the referee.
Toronto had another chance to tie things up in the 40th minute when Richard Eckersley sent a marvellous cross into the Salt Lake box, but Ryan Johnson, who can’t buy a goal these days, headed it wide of the net.
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OK ... burying St. Joseph upside down in your garden sells your house (supposedly) .... what should I do with my @torontofc garden gnome?
- @colinscameron |
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The Second Half
Toronto FC came out of the half-time break with their heads held high and a clear look of determination. In the 48th minute, some nice penetration by Reggie Lambe engineered a half chance for the Reds, but Ryan Johnson was well covered by the Salt Lake back line.
Toronto got on the scoreboard less than a minute later when Ryan Johnson set up Eric Avila for a beautiful goal on a fantastic individual effort.
The Reds continued to press forward in search a go ahead goal, with Frings setting up Lambe in the 52nd minute, but with Rimando standing tall and coming up big.
TFC came oh so close again less than a minute later when Avila rattled a blast off the cross bar.
Real Salt Lake went ahead again in the 57th minute on an own goal by Richard Eckersley, who was subbed off soon after.
In the 77th minute, Rimando came up big again when made a world class save on a Ryan Johnson redirect off a cross.
The Reds broke through again a minute later when Miguel Aceval delivered a corner kick and substitute Doneil Henry got up high and headed the ball into the back of the Real Salt Lake net.
Toronto came close again in the 90th minute when Ryan Johnson set Plata, who ultimately shot just wide of the near post.
With Toronto looking like they were headed for a well deserved road point, Real Salt Lake delivered a dagger in injury time, with Jonny Steele scoring the winner with a blast from the top of the TFC box.
The Final Word: 0-7
First off, it needs to be said that Toronto FC delivered a valiant effort in a match that most would have pegged as defeat regardless of TFC’s record heading into it. The Reds showed fight and character in a performance that suggested Aron Winter’s players are still engaged and that the Dutchman has not lost the dressing room. It’s genuinely hard not to feel for both Winter and his players given the heartbreaking manner in which they lost in injury time. Toronto deserved at least a point on a day in which a point would have meant so much.
Ultimately, Toronto are now 0-7 and have set the league record for the worst start to an MLS season. And while Toronto FC showed character, work ethic and professional desire, this match was also another performance that has to be classified as less than total football.
Once again defensive deficiencies collided with an inability to finish scoring chances and that left TFC as second best when compared to a team that got it right in those two key areas.
It’s pretty much a broken record now, but the defending on the set piece that lead to the opening goal by Real Salt Lake was embarrassing at best. It was mind boggling to see unmarked defenders scoring against a team that should have had every reason and motivation to tear the heads off any opposition player that went anywhere near the ball on the corner kick.
While he has shown himself to be quite useful offensively, Miguel Aceval is clearly out of his element defensively at the MLS level. Simply put, Doneil Henry should be starting in central defence from here on out, or at least until Dicoy Williams returns to challenge him.
If there was one play that symbolized Toronto FC’s 2012 season to date it has to be Torsten Frings penalty kick miss in the first half. The German is a world class player and the best player who has ever worn a TFC kit. When he is missing on penalty kicks you have to wonder if Toronto FC has truly been cursed over the last several weeks. With the loss record now set, Toronto FC and their supporters can only hope that the team will now start fresh against Montreal on Wednesday.
In terms of positives, Eric Avila was a standout for Toronto and Ryan Johnson once again did a lot of good things on another day in which the Jamaican International was very unlucky. Fundamentally, Toronto was also came within a hair of drawing against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on a day in which Torsten Frings was far from his usual high standard.
TFC Line-up
30 Milos Kocic
5 Ashtone Morgan
12 Adrian Cann
3 Miguel Aceval
27 Richard Eckersley
22 Torsten Frings (Captain)
6 Julian de Guzman
23 Terry Dunfield
8 Eric Avila
9 Ryan Johnson
19 Reggie Lambe
Substitutions: Doneil Henry in for Richard Eckersley (59), Joao Plata in for Terry Dunfield (68), Logan Emory in for Ashtone Morgan (76).
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