April 27, 2007 MLS Toronto FC vs Kansas City Wizards (from MLSnet.com)

04/27/2007 2:44PM
Toronto opens home slate vs. Wizards
After three away matches, club plays first game at BMO Field
MLSnet.com Staff

TORONTO FC v KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
BMO FIELD, Toronto, Ont.
12:30 p.m. ET (HDNet; CBC; MetroSports)
April 28, 2007 (WEEK 4) / MLS Game #21

Toronto FC make their long-awaited home debut in the grand opening of BMO Field as they take on the Kansas City Wizards in the back end of a home-and-home series over four days. TFC is still looking for a first victory - and first goal - of their inaugural season after the 3-0 loss in Kansas City on Wednesday night. The win came in the Wizards' 2007 home debut at Arrowhead Stadium, as they won for the second time in three matches on the campaign.

REFEREE: Mauricio Navarro. SAR (bench): Amato DeLuca; JAR (opposite): Hector Vergara; 4th: Abbey Okulaja
MLS Career: 6 games; FC/gm: 35.3; Y/gm: 4.7; R: 1; pens: 0
Games involving Toronto FC: first game
Games involving Wizards: P1 W0 L0 T1; FC/gm: 33.0; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 0; pens: 0

INJURY REPORT: TORONTO FC - OUT: MF Tyler Hemming (knee); QUESTIONABLE: DF Adam Braz (flu); PROBABLE: MF Ronnie O'Brien (knee) ... KANSAS CITY WIZARDS - OUT: DF Matt Groenwald (blood clots), MF Ryan McMahen (torn ACL); MF A.J. Godbolt (groin strain); FW Scott Sealy (ankle sprain)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: TOR: Paulo Nagamura

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (1 meeting): Toronto FC 0 wins, 0 goals ... Wizards 1 win, 3 goals ... Draws 0
AT BMO FIELD: first meeting
• This is the second meeting between the clubs, the second of three meetings this season, and the back end of a home-and-home series over four days. Their final meeting this season will be July 1 at Arrowhead Stadium.
• Coaches record: Mo Johnston v KC: P1 W0 L0 D1 ... Curt Onalfo vs. TOR: P1 W1 L0 D0

LAST MEETING
4/25: KC 3, TOR 0 (Johnson 5, Zavagnin 55, Movsisyan 70)
• In the first meeting in the home-and-home series between the clubs, the Kansas City Wizards got the home portion of their 2007 campaign off on the right foot, keeping Toronto FC winless and goalless on their inaugural campaign with a 3-0 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
• On a rainy night in Kansas City, the Wizards got off to a dream start. Davy Arnaud slipped the ball to an overlapping Sasha Victorine on the right flank, and he lofted a cross into the six-yard box where Eddie Johnson knifed between defenders to head home for his second goal on the season.
• The Wizards doubled the lead 10 minutes after the restart. A flurry in the TFC penalty area saw goalkeeper Greg Sutton make a couple of saves, but from the rebound on the third, Kerry Zavagnin brought the ball down, spun and fired it inside the right-hand post. It was his first goal since the 2003 season.
• Yura Movsisyan then finished off the match in the 70th minute with his first professional goal. A long ball found him in the left side of the area, and after taking on his defender he lashed an angled shot that deflected off Sutton and into the back of the net.

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The victory against Toronto FC moved the Wizards into third place in the Eastern Conference, with six points from their first three matches. They trail the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls by a point, now two points ahead of fourth-place New England Revolution.

TEAM NEWS
• Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo made one change to the team that lost 2-1 to the Chicago Fire the weekend before at Toyota Park. Carlos Marinelli made his first MLS start, coming into the center of midfield as Davy Arnaud moved forward to partner Eddie Johnson in attack, with Yura Movsisyan going to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-3-1-2): Kevin Hartman - Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Sasha Victorine (Yura Movsisyan 54), Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington (Ryan Raybould 80) - Carlos Marinelli (Will John 73) - Eddie Johnson, Davy Arnaud. Substitutes Not Used: Aaron Hohlbein, Eric Kronberg, Kurt Morsink, Ryan Pore
• "We [got off to a fast start] and we did it under some very difficult circumstances. It was a very slick field. When the field is that slick it is difficult to play the style of soccer we want to play," Onalfo said. "You have to give our guys credit - they played the way they are supposed to play for the majority of the game."
• While admitting Carlos Marinelli is still not completely match-fit, Onalfo was pleased with what the Argentinean brought to the center of the park for the Wizards.
• "I thought he was excellent. He is a great passer of the ball. He worked defensively when he needed to, but you could see that he has a good understanding with Davy and Eddie about how we want to attack<" Onalfo said. "It was an excellent first start for Carlos."
• It had been a long time since Kerry Zavagnin found the back of the net in a league game for the Wizards. His last goal came in the 13th minute of a 2-1 K.C. win against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Oct. 11, 2003.
• "6340 minutes. You know I don't try to think of it that way. I think I hardly ever go forward and I hardly ever find myself inside the box. Tonight with the way the game was going I found an opportunity to go in there and it is something I haven't done much of in the past," he said. "I'm not going to say that I'm going to go on a goal-scoring streak or anything right now, but I think it is important to at least have the capability to do that."
• In addition, while there were some tense moments throughout facing a team still looking for a first goal, Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman recorded his 63rd career shutout to take over sole possession atop the league's all-time ranking ahead of longtime K.C. goalkeeper Tony Meola.
• "Out of all the goalkeepers, whether it is Zach Thornton or Tony Meola, they are all goalies I respect. Just to be mentioned with those guys is a compliment to me," Hartman said. "It speaks to consistency, longevity, and playing at a high level. So for me that has always been my goal as a professional."
• After scoring in the fifth minute, Eddie Johnson lifted his jersey to reveal a message written underneath: "IN MEMORY OF V-TECH".
• "The Virginia Tech shooting was something the whole world was touched by. I wanted to do anything I could to both memorialize and put a smile on some faces," he said. "I just wanted to show friends and family of the victims that they are in my thoughts and prayers."

TORONTO FC
Toronto FC head home for the first time still looking for a first point - and first goal - after opening their inaugural campaign with three away matches. TFC have conceded nine goals in those games but are still tied at the foot of the Eastern Conference with D.C. United, who went winless in their first two matches this season.

TEAM NEWS
• Toronto FC head coach Mo Johnston made three changes to the team that lost 4-0 to the New England Revolution 11 days earlier. Newly acquired Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite made their TFC debuts, while No. 1 pick Maurice Edu made his MLS debut. Andrew Boyens and Miguel Canizalez went to the substitutes' bench while Richard Mulrooney was part of the deal that saw Goldthwaite arrive from Houston Dynamo.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Greg Sutton - Marvell Wynne, Jim Brennan, Marco Reda (Andrew Boyens 73), Kevin Goldthwaite - Maurice Edu (Miguel Canizalez 68), Carl Robinson, Paulo Nagamura, Andy Welsh - Edson Buddle, Alecko Eskandarian. Substitutes Not Used: David Guzman, Abbe Ibrahim, Andrea Lombardo, Chris Pozniak, Sam Reynolds
• "We have to be strong in terms of mentality," Johnston said. "We had three games away from home which was tough. Hopefully when we go home, we need to pick ourselves up."
• While Toronto FC are still looking for their first-ever goal, at 270 minutes without a tally to open the season they do have company - three other teams in MLS history went their first three games in a season without scoring. All scored in game four: the 1999 Kansas City Wizards went the longest (356 minutes), followed by the Chicago Fire in 2004 (326 minutes) and the Miami Fusion in 1998 (296 minutes).
• "It's frustrating but we only have ourselves to blame," said defender Jim Brennan. "We conceded [a goal] early and we had strategy that we wanted to go with and it didn't come off today. The thing at the moment is, we've had the three away games and we're looking forward to getting home and having the crowd behind us. It's going to be completely different in Toronto. It's going to be sold out; the atmosphere is going to be brilliant."
• The frustration was evident after the match, though, when the team had a post-game meeting. "I wanted to hear their expressions of what they felt," Johnston said. "I want them to point fingers at each other. We had 15, 20 minutes after the game because, right now, they have to start digging deeper."
• Said midfielder Andy Welsh to the Globe and Mail: "The last thing we need to do is get negative. We need to be a positive team. We've all got to stand up and be counted now."
• Johnston said he expects striker Danny Dichio to play up top for TFC, and that his size and strength will help the attack. "There's no way [Kansas City's Nick] Garcia and [Jimmy] Conrad will be muscling him about," Johnston said to the Globe and Mail.
• Maurice Edu, the No. 1 pick by TFC in January's MLS SuperDraft, made his professional debut, starting on the right side of midfield. Edu had been suffering from a pelvis injury.
• "It's frustrating, but my time is finally here. I have to make the most of it and take advantage of it. Obviously it was frustrating having to watch from the side," he said. "You know there was nothing I could do but wait and wait and wait. Like I said I'm healthy now and I'm just trying to get fit and fit and more fit."

back to Toronto FC menu

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................