Toronto FC 1 – 1 New York Red Bulls
See TFC's ratings from their last two results
Toronto FC 3 – 0 Montreal Impact
Toronto FC 2 – 2 New England Revolution
The steady incline in performances and results continue for Toronto FC as they pulled level with New York in the opening ten minutes to at least get one point in their last four games. Each match since Paul Mariner has taken over the head coaching role has shown incremental improvements and on this afternoon, TFC were finally able to climb out of a deficit for the first time since late March.
Toronto’s midfield play continues to be the heart of the current string of results as there has been a balance in performances, with rarely anyone being a weak link. On Saturday, Torsten Frings followed up his midweek game with another solid ninety minutes where he continues to be excellent on set pieces and deliver dangerous crosses. With Julian De Guzman on the bench, Terry Dunfield was instrumental in knocking the ball around with a tidy and efficient match where he rarely turned the ball over.
With a strong group in the midfield, the defence has looked much improved as a group of defenders where only Jeremy Hall has over 50+ MLS games under his belt were able to stem the attack of Kenny Cooper, Thierry Henry and Joel Lindpere. There are still signs of miscommunication that comes from a lack of experience, but on this day it was only punished once, and that was enough to come away with a point.
It has been a tough string of matches playing coast to coast and twice a week for TFC, and with that in mind this was a very good result. It still is under the shadow of an atrocious start to the season that has all but put them out of the post-season a third of the way into the season, for the sixth year in a row. However, with a window of weak opposition on the horizon, there is a real opportunity for the Reds to climb out of the bottom of the league and at the very least earn some much needed wins and possibly create some excitement around the team.
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 - 5
A surprisingly quiet afternoon for Kocic, who only faced one shot on target, unfortunately it was slotted home for the opening goal. Both Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry were unable to create or deliver anything dangerous on goal and Kocic was hardly tested against a muted Red Bulls side.
Jeremy Hall - 4.5
Continues to look dangerous when allowed to roam towards the attack, but defensively looks suspect as he was completely turned inside out on the opening goal and was not strong enough in individual battles to be an asset defensively. A bit surprising Soli was not given more chances down the left side as he was able to have his way when given the ball on the wing.
Richard Eckersley – 5.5
It was a good outing for Eckersley who did well against a much bigger and stronger Cooper, and marshaled a backline who kept NY in check. No real incidents where his right back tendencies showed through and he was able to hold down the CB position on this day without incident.
Logan Emory – 5.5
One of Emory’s best performances since coming on with the Reds and one that will certainly build his confidence. Defensively he did well, most importantly a perfectly timed tackle against Lindpere in the second half that would have been a point blank shot on goal. On the other side, Emory still looks weak with distribution, which might simply be remedied with more playing time, but on this day was not in sync with the players in front of him.
Ashtone Morgan – 5.5
Not as influential as his last few games, but Morgan kept up his pace of being a menace down the left flank and delivering outstanding crosses into the area. Nothing resulted in a goal for TFC, but he is still in good form and on the defensive end did well being able to physically assert himself and kept an equally speedy Dane Richards in check.
Terry Dunfield - 6.5
Not since Toronto’s second leg against the LA Galaxy has Dunfield put in such a strong passing display. With De Guzman resting on the bench, it fell on Dunfield to distribute through the midfield and he delivered on this day with a near ninety percent completion rate. Some dicey fouls continue to be a weakness, but is the only real presence in the middle willing to get stuck in and did so on numerous occasions on this day.
Torsten Frings - 6
Aside from a lazy moment where he kept three NY attackers onside, nearly resulting in the second goal, Frings has transitioned into his role in the four man midfield and become an essential part of a formidable group. Now TFC’s official dead ball specialist, Frings has gone on a nice streak of creating goals off corners or set pieces. His work on this as well as delivering crosses is a big part to Toronto’s recent results.
Eric Avila - 5.5
Some good moments in the first half, especially a willingness to fight for loose balls and come out with them more often than not, Avila was sound on this day even though he didn’t feature offensively.
Reggie Lambe – 5
Aside from his one break set up by Dunfield in the first half, Lambe was too quiet on this day for an attacker of his ability. Has shown he can be good 1v1 and show off great speed, but all that he’s been able to demonstrate on several occasions disappeared in a game that was calling for someone to stand up and steal all the points.
Ryan Johnson – 5.5
His goal/assist streak comes to an end, but it still was a good afternoon for Johnson who has been consistent in his determination to fight in the final third. Climbed high for some crosses and made space to send balls into the area, it was a hard working game for the forward that was just unable to set up or cash in on any chances.
Danny Koevermans – 6
The MLS player of the week continues his impressive scoring run that now is four games in a row where he’s found the back of the net. Mariner has recognized what needs to happen to get Koevermans going and getting Morgan, Johnson and Frings on board to deliver the ball has proven wise in getting the Dutchman out of his early season funk.
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