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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
July 5, 2012
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Toronto FC 1 – 1 FC Dallas
The Prelude to Battle
The dog days of summer continued for Toronto FC on Wednesday on the road against FC Dallas. With the Reds entering play on a four game unbeaten streak, the confidence of Paul Mariner’s squad had been building over the last several weeks and Toronto likely went into this one feeling pretty good about their chances of earning their second straight road win.
FC Dallas entered play in last place in the Western Conference and on a twelve game winless streak in all competitions. TFC had also had the Texans numbers in their most recent matches and were actually in the rare 2012 position of being the team with the momentum for this midweek fixture.
Even with Toronto’s very heavy recent fixture schedule, Paul Mariner chose to go with the exact same starting eleven that drew against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday in Toronto.
The Opening Forty-Five
The first half kicked off with Dallas getting off to an early lead, with Toronto once again struggling with their marking in the box and Zach Loyd heading one past Milos Kocic.
However, as has been the case in the still young Paul Mariner era at TFC, the Reds bounced back after that mistake, tightening up the defense and taking the game to FC Dallas in the offensive end.
For a last place team, FC Dallas did continue to look dangerous throughout the first half, with Brek Shea and Fabian Castillo using their pace and technical skills to test the Toronto back line.
In the 26th minute, TFC striker Ryan Johnson tested Kevin Hartman with a shot from distance that the veteran MLS keeper got down low on to save.
Toronto equaled the proceedings up in the 31st minute with a true poacher’s goal, as Danny Koevermans hung around onside in the Dallas box while TFC applied pressure and eventually redirected an Eric Avila cross past Hartman for his fifth goal in five games.
Two minutes later, Kocic came up with an outstanding save to keep the score level when he got a hand on a blast from Castillo that had goal written all over it.
After a hard fought opening half, the two teams went into the break tied at a goal apiece.
The Second Half
With the oppressive Texas heat surely playing a role, FC Dallas came out in the second half looking like a team that was more used to playing at the temperature this game was contested at. However, Toronto FC managed the game and the heat well and kept their shape and defended well.
In the 53rd minute, Castillo made a breathtaking run into the TFC box, but was ultimately stopped by an excellent block by TFC centre back Richard Eckersley.
2010 Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player David Ferreira made his 2012 debut after a long layoff due to a couple of serious injuries and immediately made an impression on the game.
Terry Dunfield made a heroic save with a header in the TFC box when Ferreira got ahold of one and blasted it towards the opposition net.
As the second half progressed, it became apparent that three points was likely up for grabs for whichever side could find a second goal.
Toronto’s best chance to find that winning goal came in the 84th minute when he got his head on a Frings corner kick and redirected the ball towards the left corner of the Dallas net. An excellent save by Hartman prevented the goal and ultimately earned his struggled side a much needed result, as neither side was able to generate significant scoring opportunities through six minutes of extra time.
The Final Word: TFC show resilience in another solid performance
When taking into account the heat, a heavy fixture schedule and the fact that it is always hard to earn points on the road in the MLS, this was ultimately a very decent result for Paul Mariner and TFC. While a win against a very much there for the taking Dallas side would have moved Toronto out of the basement in the Eastern Conference, the draw did fairly reflect the run of play and Toronto extended their unbeaten streak to five games with another very solid performance.
The players on Toronto FC left it all on the pitch in this one and looked truly gassed at the end of the match. Outside of the breakdown that allowed the opening goal by Dallas, the young TFC back line delivered another quality performance against a team with some very quick and dangerous attackers. Jeremy Hall struggled initially with the pace of Fabian Castillo, but he battled through the game and once again showed his character and fighting spirit at right back. Ashtone Morgan lost his player on the Dallas goal, but was solid defensively otherwise and he once again showed that he is a fundamental part of the TFC attack with his darting runs down the left flank and his proficiency with crosses. Richard Eckersely delivered his best and most controlled performance since switching over to centre back and he made a number of vital clearances. Logan Emory once again played to his strengths and kept his game simple, as he got the better of Brek Shea pretty much every time the two players came together.
Outside of the back line, Ryan Johnson looked a little bit tired in this game, but Danny Koevermans once again showed that he is one of the top goal scorers in the league when he is healthy and match fit. The Dutchman is a real difference maker and when his on his game, Toronto is a different team. Eric Avila continued to impress in the midfield, Torsten Frings did all the things that Torsten Frings usually does and Terry Dunfield once again showed his heart and character in another gritty and inspired performance. As has been par for the course all season, Milos Kocic made both the easy and difficult saves and played a key role in the point earned.
Overall, the most impressive aspect of this game from TFC’s standpoint was the manner in which they fought back and earned a draw after conceding an early goal. Earlier in the season Toronto was pretty much a one and done team, with the opposition usually able to score second and third goals whenever TFC focused on finding an equalizer. There are still a lot of games to be played, but Paul Mariner deserves full credit for the manner in which he has turned TFC around since taking over the team during the recent International break. Toronto now looks like a very competitive team and one that is capable of defeating any team when they are on their game and when they keep things tight defensively.
TFC Line-up
30 Kocic
25 Hall
27 Eckersley
2 Emory
5 Morgan
22 Frings
19 Lambe
8 Avila
23 Dunfield
9 Johnson
14 Koevermans
Substitutions:
(68) Silva in for Avila; (81) De Guzman in for Dunfield; (88) Soolsma in for Koevermans.
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