April 26, 2009 MLS Toronto FC vs Kansas City Wizards (from MLSnet.com)
Wizards' unbeaten run ends in Toronto
Kansas City blanked by Reds at BMO Field
04/26/2009 07:21 PM
By Peter Mallett / MLSnet.com Staff
TORONTO -- Toronto FC put an end to the Kansas City Wizards' four-match undefeated streak and overtook them for first place in the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 win Sunday at BMO Field.
Toronto striker Danny Dichio scored the deciding goal in the 54th minute, his first of the season, when he collected a pass from midfielder Sam Cronin and curled a left-footed shot past Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
Hartman had stopped Toronto striker Chad Barrett in front of the Kansas City goal just four minutes before the deciding strike and despite some outstanding play had no answer for Dichio`s well-placed shot.
Looking for his fourth shutout of the season, Hartman was called into action early and often in a match which Toronto controlled at the outset.
Hartman made two crucial saves in the opening 45 minutes to keep the game scoreless at the halftime break.
In the seventh minute Toronto forward Danny Dichio made a clever backheel pass to strike partner Pablo Vitti at the top of the Kansas City penalty area but Hartman was quick off his line saving Vitti`s shot on goal.
In the 34th minute Dichio was again the focal point of the Toronto attack chesting down a pass to midfielder Amado Guevara with Hartman making a punching save to his left.
Hartman was also called on to make a lunging two-footed save on Vitti in the 80th minute as Toronto pressed for insurance.
While Toronto enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half, most of the Wizards' chances were limited to long distance attempts outside of the Toronto penalty area with Reds defender Carl Robinson and Adrian Serioux blocking several shots out of bounds for corner kicks.
Wizards striker Davy Arnaud had the Wizards' only clear-cut scoring chance of the first half when he brought down a long distance pass from midfielder Michael Harrington, but was stopped at point-blank range by Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Arnaud had scored both Kansas City goals in their opening 3-2 loss to Toronto in the first match of the season on March 21 and clenched his fists in frustration after Frei's save.
In the 87th minute, second-half substitute Herculez Gomez found himself all alone in front of the Toronto goal but his right-footed blast was stopped by Frei.
In stoppage time Frei was again up to the task, punching a hard dipping shot by striker Claudio Lopez over the bar to preserve the victory for Toronto.
The Wizards made two changes from the side that defeated New York 1-0 at home on Thursday night, with Michael Harrington and Roger Espinoza replacing Herculez Gomez and Jack Jewsbury (who suffered a concussion on Thursday) in the midfield. Toronto were without striker Dwayne De Rosario who injured his hamstring in last Sunday's 3-2 loss away to FC Dallas.
Assistant coaches Chris Cummins and Nick Dasovic took over behind the Reds bench on Sunday after Saturday's resignation by Toronto head coach John Carver.
With the loss, the Wizards fell to 3-3-1 while Toronto improved their record to 3-2-2 and currently occupy first place in the Eastern Conference with 11 points after Sunday`s victory, one ahead of K.C. and the Chicago Fire.
After playing three matches in eight days, the Wizards have a 10-day rest ahead of their next match, May 6, when they play host to D.C. United at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
Peter Mallett is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
Kansas City Wizards (3-3-1) vs. Toronto FC (3-2-2) April 26, 2009 -- BMO Field Scoring Summary: TOR -- Danny Dichio 1 (Sam Cronin 1, Marvell Wynne 1) 54 Kansas City Wizards -- Kevin Hartman, Lance Watson (Herculez Gomez 73), Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein (Abe Thompson 84), Matt Besler, Michael Harrington, Davy Arnaud, Santiago Hirsig, Roger Espinoza (Michael Kraus 78), Josh Wolff, Claudio Lopez. Substitutes Not Used: Rauwshan McKenzie, Kurt Morsink, Boris Pardo, Kevin Souter Toronto FC -- Stefan Frei, Marvell Wynne, Adrian Serioux, Marco Velez, Jim Brennan, Pablo Vitti (Nana Attakora-Gyan 91+), Amado Guevara (Kevin Harmse 79), Carl Robinson, Sam Cronin, Chad Barrett (Rohan Ricketts 83), Danny Dichio, Substitutes Not Used: Emmanuel Gomez, Fuad Ibrahim, Johann Smith, Greg Sutton Toronto FC Kansas City Wizards total shots: 12 (Chad Barrett 4, Pablo Vitti 4) 11 (Davy Arnaud 3) shots on goal: 5 (Chad Barrett 2) 5 (Herculez Gomez 2) fouls: 13 (Danny Dichio 4) 6 (Josh Wolff 3) offsides: 5 (Danny Dichio 2, Pablo Vitti 2) 1 (Claudio Lopez 1) corner kicks: 3 (Amado Guevara 2) 9 (Claudio Lopez 6) saves: 5 (Stefan Frei 5) 4 (Kevin Hartman 4) Misconduct Summary: TOR -- Pablo Vitti (caution; Shirt Removal) 52 KC -- Davy Arnaud (caution; Dissent) 76 referee: Paul Ward Referee's Assistants: Thomas Supple; Craig Lowry 4th official: Silviu Petrescu time of game: 1:53 attendance: 20,056 weather: Partly Cloudy -and- 50 degrees All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
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