April 16, 2011 MLS--No Excuses From Toronto FC (from TorontoFC.ca)
No Excuses From Toronto FC
Asif Hossain
BMO Field Toronto, ON
April 16, 2011
Defining Moment The second of two goals conceded by Toronto FC inside 10 minutes dealt a demoralizing blow, as D.C. United ran away with a 3-0 victory over 10-man TFC on Saturday night at BMO Field. During their four game unbeaten streak - heading into this contest - the Reds often got off to a slow start but were always able to recover and compete. The same couldn't be said against D.C. Already up 1-0, the visitors punished a Danleigh Borman giveaway started by Charlie Davies intercepting the errant pass. The D.C. striker found Josh Wolff for a shot (which Stefan Frei saved), but Davies pounced on the rebound for his MLS best fifth goal in four games. The rapid start from the Black-and-Red stunned BMO Field and put Toronto in a deep hole from which it couldn't emerge. Pitch Battles Jacob Peterson has enjoyed a good start to the season but playing right back in this match, he was beaten by Chris Pontius for the first goal at the fifth minute. Peterson admitted he could have played the United winger "tighter" before Pontius knocked the ball into space and blasted it past Toronto goalkeeper Frei. The D.C. attacker made it a brace late in the second half against tired Toronto legs to seal the 3-0 outcome. 18-year old Toronto-born midfielder Oscar Cordon received the first start of his career after featuring as a substitute three days earlier against Los Angeles. The Toronto FC Academy graduate was taken off for Dan Gargan in a tactical change following Ty Harden's red card at the 49th minute that saw TFC go down to 10 players. Cordon completed 77% of his passes and won a pair of fouls over 54 minutes, matched primarily against MLS veteran Dax McCarty. Man of the Match Frei kept the margin from increasing in the closing stages first by pushing a shot by Davies away at the near post with a quick right hand when the American barreled down on goal at the 89th minute. D.C. brought the ball back inside the box less than 30 seconds later when Frei again saved a sure goal to keep the deficit at three. The keeper made a total of four saves. Toronto lost one of its other perennial candidates for MOTM at the 12th minute when defender Adrian Cann had to leave the field due to what's being described as "bruised ribs." Cann was hurt just before the second goal when Davies leaped and slammed into the Canadian international as he made a challenge. Starting XI Toronto (4-3-3) - Stefan Frei; Danleigh Borman, Ty Harden, Adrian Cann (Nana Attakora 12'), Jacob Peterson; Tony Tchani, Julian de Guzman, Oscar Cordon (Dan Gargan 54'); Alen Stevanovic, Maicon Santos (Gianluca Zavarise 66), Javier Martina ... Subs not used: Joao Plata, Nick Soolsma, Mikael Yourassowsky, Milos Kocic ... Goals: None ... Caution: de Guzman 65' Gargan 88' ... Ejection: Harden 49' D.C. (4-4-2) - Bill Hamid; Chris Korb, Ethan White, Dejan Jakovic (Perry Kitchen 64'), Marc Burch; Chris Pontius, Fred (Joseph Ngwenya 84'), Dax McCarty (Branko Boskovic 73'), Clyde Simms; Josh Wolff, Charlie Davies ... Subs not used: Pat Onstad, Brandon Barklage, Daniel Woolard, Blake Brettschneider ... Goals: Pontius 5' 73' Davies 10' ... Caution: Pontius 42' Following Fixture Columbus Crew Saturday, April 23 4 p.m. ET at BMO Field On GOL TV Canada Columbus beat Kansas City 1-0 on Saturday to move into third place in the Eastern Conference. Toronto had to contend with one dangerous left sided winger in Pontius against D.C., another may visit next week in the form of Robbie Rogers who scored the goal to beat KC. Columbus has two wins and draws against a single loss and has never lost to Toronto. The two teams play for the Trillium Cup, awarded to the side with the best head-to-head record each season since 2008. Preki Post Game Toronto enjoyed a little more of the possession at 53%-47% and greater attempts on goal 13-7. Eight of those shots were off target and three blocked, including two headers by Peterson that were destined for goal only to be cleared by D.C. defenders - the second one off the line. The Reds dropped from second to sixth in the Eastern Conference with this loss. Their six points in as many matches puts them four behind Philadelphia at the top of the Eastern table after Saturday's matches. Toronto finished a stretch of three games in seven nights on Saturday and it will only get busier next weekend when the Reds will play the first of seven games in three weeks. In their words "We were losing all the second balls and looks like we weren’t sharp enough. It’s strange because last week we played quite well. Today was an off day. The way we lost, I didn’t like it. You can lose a game but I want to see the reaction from each player and that way we have failed. What I appreciated from this game, was the 12th man on the pitch. The supporters were good, even when we were losing 2-0, they were behind us. That was positive, I’m upset the way we lost, it was a shame." - Toronto head coach Aron Winter "The result is embarrassing. I didn’t expect to play a full 90 minutes but I’m totally ready to do whatever is needed. To play a full 90 with no pain and no negative reaction in my knee is good but at the end of the day the result is not something to be proud of." - Toronto midfielder Julian de Guzman "I don't think anyone can really look at themselves in the mirror and say 'I played well.' (Pontius) is a good player, one of the best in the league ... I think I should have been a bit tighter (on the play) ... I know how to play (right back), at this level everybody should be comfortable playing wherever on the field." - Toronto fullback Jacob Peterson
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