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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
July 8, 2012
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Email Steve Bottjer
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@bottjerRNO
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Toronto FC 0 – 3 Philadelphia Union
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The Prelude to Battle
Toronto FC continued their grueling recent match schedule with a rare Sunday afternoon fixture today at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania . In a battle between the two teams sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and a fixture between two clubs that fired their head coaches in recent weeks, Toronto FC undoubtedly went into this one fighting tired legs and minds, with this match representing their seventh game in just over three weeks.
While the Reds have struggled in the MLS for the majority of 2012, they did come into this match on a five game unbeaten streak and a second road win looked a real possibility ahead of the opening whistle.
Even though Philadelphia had also endured a truly miserable start to the 2012 MLS season, they had also begun to find their feet as of late and looked to have benefitted from the recent firing of Head Coach Peter Nowak.
TFC Head Coach Paul Mariner once again elected to go with the exact same starting eleven as he employed in Toronto’s draw with FC Dallas midweek.
The Opening Forty-Five
Philadelphia took the match to TFC right from the opening whistle, as the Union thoroughly dominated the opening half.
Philadelphia first scoring chance occurred in the 13th minute when Union forward Freddy Adu made a remarkable run into the TFC box and beat three Toronto defenders before Richard Eckersley made a couple of important blocks to keep Philly off the scoreboard.
Two minutes later, Toronto keeper Milos Kocic put his body on the line to make a save with Union forward Jack McInerney barreling in on him.
As the half progressed, Philadelphia continued to push forward and dominate, with the TFC back line struggling to mark and match the runs of the Union attackers.
Gabriel Gómez opened the scoring for Philadelphia in the 34th minute when the Panamian scored off a well placed cross delivered by McInerney.
The Union doubled their lead two minutes later when Adu got the best of TFC right back Jeremy Hall and blasted one in off the hand of Milos Kocic.
Toronto did not generate a real scoring opportunity through the first forty-five minutes and were lucky to go into the break only two goals down.
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Source close to the man himself-@delpieroale is speaking with #TFC officials... interesting to see how they would make this happen?!
- @WilliamsMChris |
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The Second Half
The second half would end up playing out much like the first half, as Toronto continued to struggle defensively and Philadelphia looked the superior team for the run of play.
Toronto did engineer their first real scoring chance in the 51st minute of play when Ryan Johnson delivered a cross that Danny Koevermans got his head on, but headed right into the hands of Union keeper Zac MacMath.
The Reds another decent chance when they earned a free kick in a dangerous position in the 76th minute, but Ryan Johnson’s spot kick was well of the target, as his delivery pretty much symbolized TFC’s afternoon.
Philadelphia sealed the win two minutes later when substitute Antoine Hoppenot beat Kocic to give the Union a three goal cushion.
Toronto came close to a consolation goal in the 82nd minute when Johnson was in close on MacMath, but could not beat the Union keeper. Sheanon Williams then cleared Danny Koevermans second effort off the line, denying the Dutchman a goal in his sixth consecutive game.
The Final Word: Defensive struggles continue for Toronto FC
While TFC pretty much looked as poor as they ever have this season, they also very much looked exhausted right from the opening whistle, as it was clear that the team’s heavy schedule was a determining factor in this loss. To a man, TFC looked gassed and once Philadelphia opened the scoring, the Reds just did not look like they were going to be able to find the energy to mount a comeback in this one. So the result is disappointing but not totally unexpected.
That said, the return of the visible frailty of the TFC back line was disconcerting and once again highlighted the real need for experienced reinforcements during the summer transfer window. After impressing somewhat in recent matches, Jeremy Hall and Logan Emory had very poor games. Richard Eckersely was better than his teammates and is looking more and more comfortable with every game in central defence, but you still can’t escape the fact that he is not the veteran back line leader that Toronto so clearly needs. Obviously the injury to Adrian Cann has exacerbated the situation with the TFC back four, but it is hard to envision Toronto taking anything from this game even if he had been match fit and playing at the height of his powers.
In terms of positive performances, there was really very little to choose from in this game. Reggie Lambe delivered several instances of positive play and Milos Kocic was once again probably Toronto’s top player in a losing effort. Otherwise, this one was one to forget for TFC.
Unfortunately, life does not get any easier or restful for the Reds, as they will play again on Wednesday against the Vancouver Whitecaps. However, even with the Whitecaps flying high in the Western Conference, they are a team that Toronto has often managed to get results against, whether through their own positive play, luck or a little bit of both. Regardless of what the end result ends up being midweek, it will be very interesting to see how Toronto FC with Paul Mariner has Head Coach matches up against Martin Rennie and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
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:
(46) De Guzman in for Avila; (65) Silva in for Dunfield; (86) Henry in for Emory.
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