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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
July 15, 2012
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Email Steve Bottjer
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@bottjerRNO
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Toronto FC 1 – 0 New England Revolution
The Prelude to Battle
Fresh off their most dramatic and uplifting league win of the season, Toronto arrived at Foxborough, Massachusetts looking for their first ever win against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium. While morale among the squad was likely positive coming on the heels of their midweek win over the Vancouver Whitecaps at BMO Field in Toronto, the main question for TFC was likely how tired their legs would be due to the team’s brutal recent match and travel schedule.
Furthermore, a bench that was already depleted by the recent departures of Nick Soolsma and Joao Plata (on loan) was made even thinner on Friday when Designated Player Julian de Guzman was traded to Dallas. Amid that lack of options, TFC Head Coach Paul Mariner made two changes to his starting eleven, with Reggie Lambe returning to the lineup and Doneil Henry taking the place of injured right back Jeremy Hall.
The Opening Forty-Five
Toronto came out of the gate looking energetic and ready to take the game to the Revolution. The Reds would open the scoring early in this one. Some nice passing by TFC would end with midfielder Luis Silva putting in his second goal in as many games.
Toronto had an excellent chance to double their lead in the 14th minute when Danny Koevermans went in alone on New England keeper Bobby Shuttleworth but could not get his shot on target.
The Reds would out chance the Revolution significantly in a first half in which the visiting team looked organized and cohesive.
In the 31st minute, Ryan Johnson got in behind the New England back line and went in alone on Shuttleworth, who cut down the angle well and made a good save.
Things took a turn for the ominous for TFC in the 38th minute when Koevermans was tackled by A.J. Soares and went down clutching his left knee and looking to be in considerable pain. The Dutchman would end up being stretchered off and looking very much like he could be out for a significant period of time.
Toronto’s newest player, forward Andrew Weideman, came on place of Koevermans and made his debut as a member of TFC.
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I apologize for the"f" word that I said on tonight's post game interview. We lost one of the best players + 12 minutes of stoppage time in
- @MilosKocic30 |
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The Second Half
While Toronto had somewhat dominated the run of play in the first half, the second half would be a completely different story, as the second half was all New England.
TFC would essentially spend the entire half defending their one goal lead, as they generated very little offensively and the majority of the second forty-five minutes would be played in the Toronto half of the pitch, with New England earning corner kick after corner kick.
In the 51st minute, New England midfielder Lee Nguyen looked to be in on Milos Kocic, but Richard Eckersley recovered well for TFC and blocked the shot.
In the 64th minute, Milos Kocic showed very quick hands when he made a difficult save on a shot delivered by Benny Feilhaber.
Toronto’s best chance of the second half came in the 74th minute when Silva set up Johnson for a shot, but the Jamaican International shot high.
Kocic came up big again with two huge saves in 84th minute prior to New England stalwart Shalrie Joseph putting the ball in the back of the TFC net with his hand and earning a yellow card.
Following the end of the regulation the referee added seven minutes of extra time, but TFC were able to play this one out amid a Revolution onslaught.
The Final Word: TFC still in dire need of reinforcements
With the victory, Toronto FC have earned another three points on the road, as well as their first ever win at Gillette Stadium. It wasn’t an especially pretty performance, as TFC were holding on for their lives for pretty much the entirety of the second half. However, given the fact that the squad is currently undermanned and the players are undoubtedly exhausted from a very heavy recent schedule, this was a very gutsy and character laden effort, especially considering how TFC bent but never broke under the pressure of a relentless New England attack in the second half.
In terms of the positives, there were plenty outside of the result on the road. First and foremost was the play of the clear Man of the Match, Milos Kocic. The TFC keeper made countless game winning saves throughout the second half and once again proved his worth in spades. Kocic has to be one of the most underpaid players in the league and he fully deserved a shutout on this day. While it wasn’t always positionally perfect, the back line got the job done in this game, Richard Eckersley made several key plays and Logan Emory delivered a solid performance, maybe his best of the season. Doneil Henry and Ashtone Morgan had instances where they struggled defensively, but both used their pace and athleticism to make up for the fact that they are still learning the finer points of defending at the highest levels. And if Milos Kocic was Batman in this game, Luis Silva was Robin, scoring the game’s only goal, setting up his teammates for the team’s other scoring chances and delivering a strong two way game in a midfield that really needed some young legs to step up and deliver.
In terms of the negatives, the obvious one is the injury that Danny Koevermans suffered. While how serious the injury is probably won’t be disclosed until Sunday or Monday, it did look like he could be out of for a while. The impact his leaving this game had on TFC’s performance was pretty much instant and Toronto could be in serious trouble if the Dutchman is out for any significant length of time.
Koeverman’s injury and the team’s overall performance also once again highlighted how badly the team requires reinforcements. All the recent talk around the team has been about TFC’s need for an experienced central defender or two. The manner that Toronto played in this game did nothing to dispel that notion. Make no mistake, if Milos Kocic had not stood on his head throughout the second half, Toronto would have not escaped with three points. Furthermore, the injury to Koevermans really highlighted just how thin Toronto is up front. Toronto FC supporters can only hope that Paul Mariner will be successful in bringing in some quality reinforcements in the coming days.
TFC Line-up
30 Kocic
4 Henry
27 Eckersley
2 Emory
5 Morgan
22 Frings
9 Lambe
11 Silva
23 Dunfield
9 Johnson
14 Koevermans
Substitutions:
(41) Wiedeman in for Koevermans; (69) Maund in for Lambe; (90) Stinson in for Silva.
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