April 14, 2007 New England Revolutions beat Toronto FC 4-0 (from MLSnet.com)
04/14/2007 11:21PM
Toronto can't handle Revs attack
By Kyle McCarthy / MLSnet.com Staff
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Toronto FC head coach Mo Johnston was typically frank in assessing his defense after TFC's 4-0 loss at the New England Revolution on Saturday night. "Other than Jimmy Brennan, our defense was pretty poor," Johnston said.
Taylor Twellman scored twice for New England inside the first 20 minutes, with Shalrie Joseph (penalty kick) and Andy Dorman adding second-half strikes to send Toronto FC to their second consecutive defeat.
It was the manner of the defeat which bugged Johnston, as the Revolution took advantage of a Toronto FC backline that yielded numerous chances and four goals that gave Toronto 'keeper Greg Sutton "no chance," according to his coach.
The defensive backline has to get better, according to Johnston.
"The last two goals were chances a schoolboy could handle," Johnston said.
Johnston seemed particularly irked about Twellman tallying twice for the home side. Pointing to the teamsheet on the bulletin board, Johnston said that his team knew the threat Twellman posed but did not deal with it properly.
"We circled Twellman," Johnston said. "We knew the long ball at the back post was coming. These were complete errors."
Goalkeeper Sutton said that his side was just not performing at the moment.
"We're just not reacting well. We have to be able to compete better. We have to look inside ourselves," Sutton said. "We're going to have to learn from this. We'll have to sort things out."
Part of that sorting out process will see some new faces join Toronto FC in the upcoming days.
"It's all about amassing talent. We're still getting players," Johnston said. "We added another quality player yesterday from England."
Johnston said it is Preston North End striker Daniele Dichio as the man in the frame for TFC. Dichio, 32, has scored five goals in 16 appearances for the English Championship side this season, but has fallen down the pecking order since the team re-signed former England international Michael Ricketts during the January transfer window. Dichio was not on the bench for Preston's 4-0 victory against Coventry City on Saturday.
Johnston will also look to add from within, as the former Scottish international hopes to have Ronnie O'Brien back from a knee injury in time for the home opener.
"Hopefully, we can have Ronnie back for the Kansas City game," Johnston said. "He could be vital for us."
New players and injured players aside, Sutton believes that his side has no need to dwell on performances such as the one turned in on Saturday night.
"There's no reason for excuses," Sutton said. "We have professional guys that will react to this. It's a long season."
Johnston promised double sessions of practice next week in preparation for the upcoming home opener at BMO Field in two weeks' time.
"Tonight, there were no positives for us," Johnston said. "You go back and look at the tape and go back to the drawing board."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
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