April 25, 2007 MLS Kansas City beats Toronto FC 3-0 (from MLSnet.com)
04/25/2007 10:47PM
Toronto falls to K.C. in road trip finale
Winless TFC seek revenge on Wizards in home opener Saturday
By Thomas Foote / MLSnet.com Staff
KANSAS CITY - Toronto FC's rude initiation to Major League Soccer continued on Wednesday night at Arrowhead Stadium. TFC is still looking for a first-ever goal, shut out 3-0 by the Kansas City Wizards as they fell to their third defeat in as many matches.
Eddie Johnson scored after just five minutes and Kerry Zavagnin and Yura Movsisyan added second-half goals as the Wizards strolled to the victory on a rainy night in the first game of a home-and-home series between the teams. Toronto FC have now allowed nine goals on the season.
After a 4-0 defeat by the New England Revolution in their last game two weeks ago - and perhaps after seeing the Chicago Fire's successful tactic of packing the back against the Wizards last weekend - Toronto FC came out in a highly defensive mindset.
But the Wizards struck early. K.C. midfielder Davy Arnaud had the match's first chance in the second minute. He fired from about 15 yards out on the right flank. But the shot missed the far post, harmlessly continuing out of bounds.
Overlapping midfielder Sasha Victorine took a pass on the right flank from Arnaud and floated in a beautiful cross to Johnson in front of the net in the fifth minute. Johnson slipped between two defenders and headed it home past Toronto FC goalkeeper Greg Sutton. It was a beautiful, precise play that Sutton had little chance of stopping.
Sutton then came out to stop another Arnaud chance by sliding on the wet turf of the byeline that had been pelted by rain most of the day. Arnaud's chance along the left side resulted in a corner kick, but the Wizards failed to capitalize on it.
Toronto FC had their chances in the first half. Forward Alecko Eskandarian made a charge through the middle of the field, but the play was broken up by a swarm of Wizards defenders just outside the penalty area. Other chances were simply off the mark; a few shots flew over the goal and into the stands.
It was not a sparkling night for Toronto FC. They were shown six yellow cards in the match and managed no shots on goal in the first half, and only two shots overall before the break.
However, TFC started much brighter after the intermission. Marvell Wynne sent a floating shot that Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman swatted away with a dive forward in front of the goal. Edson Buddle fired back the rebound, but Hartman was in position to stop it and hold on to it. The flurry came in the 51st minute for Toronto.
The Wizards responded with an offensive flurry of their own minutes later. They took several shots before midfielder Kerry Zavagnin turned on a rebound of one saved by Sutton and drove it into the upper right corner of the net in the 55th minute. It was Zavagnin's first MLS goal since 2003.
TFC narrowly dodged another bullet when Jimmy Conrad rose up to meet a corner kick, only to head it off the face of the crossbar. But in the 70th minute the Wizards put the game away for all practical purposes.
Movsisyan scored his first MLS goal, taking a feed from rookie midfielder Michael Harrington in the left side of the penalty area, beating his defender before pounding an angled shot into the right corner of the net.
At that point, the only drama left was seeing if Toronto would celebrate its first goal on the night. It was Eskandarian who again came close in the 83rd minute, as the former D.C. United striker beat multiple defenders on the left and forced a diving save from Hartman at the near post.
But that was the last chance for Toronto and they now head home for the grand opening of BMO Field on Saturday in the back end of the two-game series with the Wizards hoping it will be the day they finally find the back of the net -- and maybe even taste victory.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
Toronto FC (0-3-0) vs. Kansas City Wizards (2-1-0) April 25, 2007 -- Arrowhead Stadium Scoring Summary: KC -- Eddie Johnson 2 (Sasha Victorine 1, Davy Arnaud 1) 5 KC -- Kerry Zavagnin 1 (unassisted) 55 KC -- Yura Movsisyan 1 (Michael Harrington 1) 70
Toronto FC -- Greg Sutton, Marvell Wynne, Jim Brennan, Marco Reda (Andrew Boyens 73), Kevin Goldthwaite, Carl Robinson, Maurice Edu (Miguel Canizalez 68), Paulo Nagamura, Andy Welsh, Edson Buddle, Alecko Eskandarian.
Substitutes Not Used: David Guzman, Abbe Ibrahim, Andrea Lombardo, Chris Pozniak, Sam Reynolds
Kansas City Wizards -- Kevin Hartman, Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr., Sasha Victorine (Yura Movsisyan 54), Carlos Marinelli (Will John 73), Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington (Ryan Raybould 80), Eddie Johnson, Davy Arnaud.
Substitutes Not Used: Aaron Hohlbein, Eric Kronberg, Kurt Morsink, Ryan Pore
Kansas City Wizards Toronto FC total shots: 18 (Eddie Johnson 6) 10 (3 tied with 2) shots on goal: 8 (Eddie Johnson 4) 5 (5 tied with 1) fouls: 10 (3 tied with 2) 14 (Andy Welsh 4) offsides: 7 (Eddie Johnson 6) 1 (Edson Buddle 1) corner kicks: 6 (Carlos Marinelli 4) 7 (Kevin Goldthwaite 3, Carl Robinson 3) saves: 5 (Kevin Hartman 5) 5 (Greg Sutton 5) Misconduct Summary: KC -- Eddie Johnson (caution; Delaying a Restart) 5 TOR -- Alecko Eskandarian (caution; Tackle from Behind) 28 TOR -- Paulo Nagamura (caution; Reckless Foul) 34 KC -- Jack Jewsbury (caution; Professional Foul) 49 KC -- Carlos Marinelli (caution; Delaying a Restart) 66 TOR -- Andy Welsh (caution; Tackle from Behind) 68 referee: Andrew Chapin Referee's Assistants: George Vergara; Jose Corro 4th official: Brad Clem time of game: 1:49 attendance: 7,438 weather: Rain -and- 58 degrees All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
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