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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
June 28, 2012 |
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Email Steve Bottjer
Twitter @BottjerRNO |
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Toronto FC 3 – Montreal Impact 0
With Toronto now having delivered a very complete and convincing performance in winning a high pressure match on the road against Montreal, the switch from Aron Winter to Paul Mariner at Head Coach looks to be paying dividends. Are TFC out of the woods yet? Not yet. They’ll need to string together a number of quality performances together over the coming weeks if they are to convince the chorus of that. That said, this was undoubtedly Toronto FC’s best league performance of 2012, as they dominated and outplayed Montreal in all facets of the game.
On a night in which Toronto was rock solid 1 through 11, it was the veteran players on the team who lead the team to victory against a Montreal side that came into the game with momentum and confidence, not to mention a little bit of an extra jump in their step due to this fixture being the unveiling of their first Designated Player in the form of Marco Di Vaio. Torsten Frings, Ryan Johnson and Danny Koevermans were the key performers in this match, as they used all of their considerable quality and experience to guide Toronto to their first road win of the campaign.
The key to the ratings, as seems to be the logic on a scale of 1-10, is not to view it as a “grade”, as in a 6 would be a 60 or a C. The formula is that each player begins the game with a 5 and is the equilibrium from which their performance either improves or degrades moving in increments of .5.
Here is the breakdown of the starting XI:
Milos Kocic - 7
Win, lose or draw, Kocic is invariably one of TFC’s top players in every game. After a very quiet first half in which he was rarely tested, he came up big when Montreal was pressing in the second half and he played a vital role in both the victory and in his team earning a confidence building clean sheet.
Jeremy Hall – 6
Hall delivered a strong forty-five minutes of play and played a role in going into the half-time break with a clean sheet on the road. He deserves extra credit for toughing it after taking a karate kick to the face and then a cross to the face a few minutes later. Toughness thy name is Jeremy Hall.
Logan Emory - 6
A solid, no nonsense game from the young central defender. Emory did not take any chances in this game and play smart, solid football. He was solid in the air and made a number of important clearances in the TFC penalty area.
Richard Eckersley - 6
A very controlled and deliberate performance by Eckersley, who has previously looked very much like a fullback playing centre back. The Manchester United Academy product kept his game simple and lead the back line in an efficient manner.
Ashtone Morgan – 7
Another outstanding performance by Morgan, who was solid defensively in addition to once again being Toronto’s best wide threat. He has not missed a beat in the switch to Mariner and a 4-4-2 formation and his pace is even more important to the Toronto attack than it was in the previous 4-4-3 formation due to Toronto now fielding three defensive midfielders.
Terry Dunfield - 6
Another strong performance by Dunfield, who looks like he is really playing to his strengths as a player under Mariner. He made some nasty, physical challenges in this game and TFC was all the better for them. The physical element that he brought to the midfield in this game was a key variable in Toronto shutting down Montreal midfielders like Arnaud, Felipe and Bernier.
Torsten Frings – 7.5
After a lacklustre by his standards performance against New England on Saturday, Frings was back to his best for TFC against Montreal, essentially doing it all – leading, defending, facilitating the attack and scoring. His free kick on Toronto’s first goal was pure class on a day in which getting the first goal was major in terms of gaining his side the momentum on the road.
Eric Avila - 6
Avila has recently become a player who should be one of the first players named to the match sheet by Paul Mariner. He provides quality as an attacking midfielder and has shown that he is able to link up well with strikers Danny Koevermans and Ryan Johnson. As a player who has often been described as not particularly influential for certain stretches of matches, Avila deserves extra credit for his defensive contributions and his work ethic in getting all over the pitch.
Julian De Guzman – 6
De Guzman continued his run of good form in this match, as he played a key role in nullifying the Impact midfielders and effectively shielded the back four. He has looked especially confident and nimble since returning to the TFC fold following International duty and he is clearly benefitting from the opportunity to play off of a player of Frings quality in the midfield.
Ryan Johnson – 8 MOTM
Midfielders are usually the players who earn the distinction of being a team’s “engine”. Tireless and inspirational striker Ryan Johnson was both TFC’s engine and the Man of the Match in this game. He put all kinds of pressure on the Impact back line, tracked back to defend and was a vital component in all three of Toronto’s goals. His goal on a chip shot over two defenders and the Impact keeper was pure class and came at a vital point in the game in which TFC were still far from home free.
Danny Koevermans – 7
Koevermans continued to show that TFC basically goes as he goes. When the Dutchman scores, TFC usually earn a win or draw. He scored his sixth goal in six games and Toronto’s improved results over that span are no coincidence.
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