|
|
Toronto FC 0 - 1 Chivas USA
The Prelude to Battle
Aron Winter said he would be making changes to his side after a tough 2-1 defeat in Montreal left Toronto FC winless in their last four games in MLS, leaving them in the bottom of the league with zero points. With all this talk of change, Aron Winter shuffled up his lineup, starting Luis Silva, Miguel Aceval, Reggie Lambe and, surprisingly, Adrian Cann in place of struggling Ty Harden.
There was definitely a must-win vibe in the stadium, and Aron Winter’s changes indicated a need to experiment; clearly, starting Julian de Guzman and Ty Harden had not been working, and so, benching the two, Winter made his intentions clear – he’s looking for the win, and he’s willing to do anything to get it.
|
|
Quillan Roberts also made the bench, the young academy graduate playing backup for Milos Kocic, as Stefan Frei remains out long-term with injury. Torsten Frings is also on the bench, but will probably remain there, stating the day before in training that he didn’t get 100% clearance from his doctors.
Chivas USA come to Toronto after beating the Portland Timbers by a score of 2-1; having handed Real Salt Lake their only loss of the season as well, the Goats look like a side reinvigorated and capable of causing Toronto FC some problems. Toronto FC simply cannot afford to lose five games in a row, so they come into this match needing a win.
Anything less will simply not be good enough.
The Opening Forty-Five
Toronto FC started off strong, earning a corner in the first 30 seconds of play, which came to nothing. Richard Eckersley fouled Chivas USA winger Ryan Smith, who responded in kind with an even tougher tackle, which earned him a yellow card.
For the first 20 minutes of play, Toronto controlled the midfield, played well on the offense, and they defended well, Adrian Cann in particular showing no signs of injury. Still, Toronto FC did not capitalize on their chances, though they were not without trying. There were lots of through balls placed by Luis Silva were scooped up graciously by Dan Kennedy, preventing Toronto FC from getting up on the scoresheet.
In the 23rd minute, Terry Dunfield went in for a headed pass in the middle of the park and caught the outstretched foot of Nick LaBrocca; Dunfield went down but was up and at it before too long.
In the 31’ mark, Chivas USA got a corner, which they capitalized on, Oswaldo Minda connecting off the cross and converting, making it 1-0 Chivas. Toronto FC immediately turned on the pressure and displayed a lot of improved movement off the ball, but it yielded no return.
Milos Kocic also came up big in the first half, making a huge save against Ben Zemanski and then following it up with a quick dive for a Ryan Smith cut-in. Toronto FC went into the half 1-0 down, and heading for a fifth straight loss.
|
|
Is #TFC now the laughing stock of an already pathetic MLSE roster? 0-5. "This is the year" etc and so on.
- @metromorning |
|
|
The Second Half
The second half started off with a lot of positive play from Toronto FC. Very early on, Toronto FC pushed forward and won a corner kick. The result was a well-placed hit that was cleared just off the line by a Chivas USA defender. This was the closest Toronto FC had come to scoring, but they were a tad unlucky here.
Chivas USA forward Miller Bolaños was the first played booked in the second half, picking up a yellow card in the 50th minute for diving in the box. The referee called his act and carded him immediately. In the 56th minute, Aron Winter made his first change, putting Doneil Henry on for Miguel Aceval. Toronto FC did not look fast enough in the backline and putting Henry on gave them some much-needed speed.
Oswaldo Minda and Reggie Lambe also picked up yellow cards as the game began to get a bit more physical, Chivas defending their one goal lead. Toronto FC came close once again when Joao Plata played tricks around James Riley, cutting in and supplying Danny Koevermans, who back-heeled it but couldn’t beat Dan Kennedy in net. Eric Avila came on for Luis Silva, and soon after, another Ryan Johnson attempt was cleared off the line.
Near the dying moments of the match, a perfect cross landed at the head of Johnson, who got enough to threaten but ultimately slide the ball inches away from the post. Danny Koevermans picked up a yellow card in added time, and that’s all she wrote for Toronto FC.
Post-Match Reaction
After losing 1-0, their fifth consecutive loss in the season, Aron Winter was still relatively positive. The mood was not frantic as anticipated – Winter maintained that his side had played well, and were suffering from “bad luck.” How much of the result can be blamed on unluckiness is debatable, but Winter made it clear that he was still happy with the way Toronto FC played – namely, possession, chance creation and passing.
Of course, the players themselves were not pleased with the result. Ryan Johnson, who looked visibly disappointed, said,
“I think we did a good job of creating our chances. We were hungry coming off the second half, and we could have scored four or five goals in the second half.”
“This is probably the most unlucky I’ve been in my entire career,” said Johnson. “This is something that’s mind-boggling sometimes, and it’s tough.”
Danny Koevermans, who looked equally upset, added,
“It’s only because we as a team don’t score the chances. Soccer is about chances,” said Koevermans. “I think everyone saw that we didn’t deserve this loss, but the score says different.”
The Final Word: It’s the “new” low
Five consecutive losses; what more do we have to say?
Toronto FC are breaking records for underachieving, the very records they themselves are setting on a week-to-week basis. Gaining zero points in five games may be brutal in and of itself, but there are other pressing concerns that need to be addressed; Toronto FC are not scoring goals.
Maicon Santos has already scored more for DC United than the entire Toronto FC roster has this season. That says something about Toronto FC’s finishing. It’s not for lack of chance creation, since Toronto FC are creating opportunities to score; they’re just not putting them away.
Another key issue is the dilemma of Julian de Guzman, a $2 million benchwarmer. It’s become more and more apparent that Luis Silva and Eric Avila are far more useful in the midfield, and Terry Dunfield, for all his little flaws, still does a more effective job as a distributor on the field than Julian. What, then, does Aron Winter do about his designated player?
Ultimately, these issues disappear in one move – winning. If Toronto FC win, the roster itself is more than capable of being competitive. Whatever bad mojo Toronto FC have needs to be shaken, stat! There’s a couple ads in the paper offering dark spirit removal services; perhaps Toronto FC should start there?
TFC Line-up
30 Milos Kocic
5 Ashtone Morgan
12 Adrian Cann
3 Miguel Aceval
27 Richard Eckersley
(Captain)
11 Luis Silva
9 Ryan Johnson
23 Terry Dunfield
7 Joao Plata
14 Danny Koevermans
19 Reggie Lambe
Substitutions:
Doneil Henry in for Miguel Aceval (56); Eric Avila in for Luis Silva (71).
|