In their second ever game Toronto went to Gillette Stadium and looked awful in losing 4-0. Nearly ten weeks on TFC returned to the same scene and  produced another dreadful performance. Even though this loss was by a goal less it was arguably a worse result than the one  back in April given that the Revolution were without three legitimate starters in Twellman, Ralston and Parkhurst.

The Toronto FC squad may have a threadbare look at the moment but with the exception of goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who continues to suffer from the repercussions of a concussion at the Gold Cup, but it was the recognized starting eleven that started and finished the match. 

However, Toronto was simply never in the game with far too many players missing for large periods of the game. The Revolution was up by two with a little over thirty minutes gone and cruised through the rest of the match before a third goal with nine minutes left completed the scoring.

The first goal came after Avery John was given all sorts of time to cross into the heart of the Toronto defence. All it required was a routine bit of defending to deal with the cross. However, midfielder Carl Robinson (?) dropped to deep and missed the clearing header only for the ball to rebound from a surprised Kevin Goldthwaite to Andy Dorman who scored easily.

The second goal was remarkably similar in the obscene amount of time provided to Jeff Larentowicz. Larentowicz was allowed to control the ball, look up and pick out Pat Noonan as he arrived in the penalty to place a header past TFC keeper Djekanovic from about 12 yards.

The third New England goal looked good but again Toronto’s defence was poor as Smith, Christman and Dorman combined to set up the midfielder for a deuce and his third goal in two games against Toronto.

Toronto FC made in four wins in seven home games this season when they walloped FC Dallas 4-0. In a game of contrasting styles it was Toronto’s pressing and more direct play that triumphed over a Dallas side that looked to build slowly while maintaining possession.

In the early going Dallas had the better of the play but they were left to rue a couple of early missed chances when Toronto took control of the game half way through the first half.

The first goal came after excellent work from Kevin Goldthwaite on the left side as he crossed for Danny Dichio. Dichio’s two efforts were saved by Dario Sala before Edu stuck the loose ball away as it bobbled around in the six yard box.

Three minutes later a free kick swung into the penalty area by Carl Robinson from the right side led to a second Toronto goal. Dichio simply out-muscled the FC Dallas defense to head home.  

Dichio failed to appear for the second half after injuring his ankle while FC Dallas brought on Ruiz and Nunez for McCarty and Thompson. While Dallas enjoyed most of the possession in the second half they failed to create many clear cut chances.

A Carl Robinson header from a wonderfully flighted Kevin Goldthwaite cross after twenty minutes of the second half put Toronto up by three goals and the game beyond doubt. The speedy Jeff Cunningham could have had a second half hat trick but each time his hesitation and indecision when granted lots of time proved costly.

As it was Cunningham did get on the score sheet when he headed home in injury time. Proof, if any is needed, that Cunningham prospers when he acts instinctively.

With all four goals coming from crosses, three of them leading to headed goals, Coach Steve Morrow – himself a former centre back – was be left in no doubt as to where the FC Dallas weakness lay.

As for Toronto they now face six games away from the friendly confines of BMO Field and do not return there for MLS action until July 29 and a date with the Chicago Fire.

Scouting notes
Toronto FC has had Trinidad and Tobago forward Collin Samuel on trial this past week. While with Falkirk, Samuel was linked with a move to Everton of the Barclay’s Premiership. However, his form dipped and he was transfered to Dundee United (coincidentally a former team of Ronnie O'Brien). Ian McCall who had signed Samuel for Falkirk was the man responsible for taking him to Tannadice.

However, McCall was subsequently sacked. When Samuel’s contract was up for renewal at the end of this past season United offered him a less lucrative deal and Samuel opted to become a free-agent. A life-long Dundee United fan described Collin Samuel to me as an enigma (in Scotland that describes someone who once played well and everyone is waiting for it to happen again!) who on his day can be a world beater but who is wildly inconsistent.

Great speed but Samuel can suffer through stretches of games when he is completely anonymous. With Toronto FC due to lose players to the Canadian Under-20 side we will find out this week whether or not Coach Maurice Johnston offers Samuel a contract.
 

While TFC extended their unbeaten streak to three games (including a friendly against Benfica), the Rapids unbeaten run came to an end at four. It was a win that was thoroughly deserved by Toronto and a score line that flattered Colorado. Only a combination of some fine one-on-one goalkeeping from the Rapids keeper Bouna Coundoul and some less than stellar finishing by Toronto – Jeff Cunningham step forward – kept Colorado in with a chance of rescuing a point right to the end.

It was a possibility that grew when Kevin Goldthwaite was sent off with less than ten minutes to play. With a depleted squad coach Mo Johnston can ill-afford the suspension that Goldthwaite’s red-card will bring. But nonetheless, Toronto held on and now awaits the arrival of the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night.

With Carl Robinson playing for Wales in a European Championship qualifying game against the Czech Republic, Toronto coach Mo Johnston opted to move Ronnie O’Brien back to his normal position on the right side of midfield while Chris Pozniak slotted into the holding midfield role.

It was a move that gave TFC more attacking options while Pozniak did a stellar job of deputizing for Robinson. Another enforced change meant that Srdjan Djekanovic was given his MLS debut with Greg Sutton on international duty for Canada. The keeper was rarely tested over the ninety minutes and dealt capably with Colorado’s sporadic attacks.

All the goals came in the first half and each coach would likely put the goals down to sloppy defending. Toronto jumped into a two-goal lead through Danny Dichio and Andrew Boyens. The first came after the Boyens was allowed far too much time to find Marvell Wynne breaking down the right side. Wynne then nugmegged a Colorado defender and found himself in acres of space as the other Colorado defenders failed to provide any cover. 

Wynne was then allowed to cut back and reach the touchline before knocking the ball to the front post where it found a charging Danny Dichio who only had to deflect the ball high into the net. The Rapid’s defense showed no sign of learning a lesson as TFC created more chances and in particular an intelligent quick kick from Dichio that set Cunningham on a free run only to be stymied by Bouna Coundoul.

The second goal for TFC came from a well-delivered corner kick from Ronnie O’Brien that found an unmarked Andrew Boyens eight yards out. Although it looked like Dichio had run some subtle interference on Ugo Ihemelu no one picked up Boyens and the ever-improving New Zealander scored his first Toronto goal.

However, this time the Rapids struck back quickly after taking advantage of an ill-advised pass by Goldthwaite and some poor control by Welsh just inside the Colorado half. The Rapid’s transitioned quickly – even rapidly – as the ball was relayed to Conor Casey who then fed in Hercules Gomez. Gomez made a good diagonal run across the Toronto defense before burying the shot.

It was a bad goal to lose considering that Toronto had possession, were under no pressure and the Colorado counter-attack found the TFC defense ill-prepared.

Despite a couple of half-time substitutions by Colorado, Toronto was rarely troubled and created the better chances. In particular great inter-play between O’Brien and Dichio led to the big striker playing the Irish midfielder in with a delicate back-heel only to have Coundoul produce another fine save.

Goldthwaite’s red card only helped to lend the element of doubt to the final outcome but in the end Toronto ran out deserved winners.

After a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew Toronto fans are left to decide whether the glass is half full or half empty. While scoring their first goal and gaining their first point on the road is another step forward, Toronto will feel that they let a chance to gain something greater get away.

While most MLS teams have international call ups to worry about in the next few weeks the problem has already hit Toronto. Both Carl Robinson (Wales) and Andrew Boyens (New Zealand) were called up for a friendly in Cardiff and it forced Coach Maurice Johnston to make changes to a side that had been fairly settled over the last four games.

In came Marco Reda as a straight switch for Boyens at centre back while Canadian Chris Pozniak came in to make his first start at left midfield. In turn Andy Welsh moved to the right side of midfield and Ronnie O’Brien took over Robinson’s spot in the centre of midfield. Also coming into the TFC side was striker Jeff Cunningham who arrived this week from Real Salt Lake in exchange for Alecko Eskandarian.

It was, however, a Columbus Crew striker who made the biggest impact in the first half. Making a return after a four-game suspension for elbowing,  Andy Herron took advantage of sloppy Toronto defending to score twice before being forced to leave the game due to a thigh injury with less than forty minutes played.

Both Crew goals left Toronto defender Marvell Wynne badly exposed after poor positional play and marking by the Toronto central defenders. In between the two Columbus goals Toronto had equalized through a classic big-man wee-man combination of Dichio and Cunningham. After Dichio controlled and knocked down a long-ball to Cunningham, the new striker played a return pass that Dichio whipped past Andy Gruenebaum in the Crew goal from the edge of the penalty box.

Mo Johnston must have administered his own form of the air dryer at half time as a more defensively sound and organized side appeared in the second half. And it didn’t take long for Toronto to tie the game up. Five minutes into the second half a simple but well executed free kick routine saw Jim Brennan hammer home a shot from 30-plus yards out. However, given that the ball hit closer to the middle of the net than the corner you would have to question keeper Gruenebaum’s positioning. 

Columbus may have enjoyed more of the possession in the second-half but it was Toronto that created more scoring opportunities as Dichio drifted into deeper positions and left space behind the Crew defense for Cunningham to exploit with his pace. Cunningham took advantage and found himself with only the keeper to beat on a number of occasions but failed to score each time.

The draw leaves both teams on the same number of points but and with a number of challenges to overcome. Without Andy Herron the Columbus Crew attack looks as threatening as a rubber knife, while Toronto’s lack of squad depth could prove costly over the next six weeks.  

Next up for Toronto is a visit from the Colorado Rapids next Saturday while the following day the Crew is away to Chicago Fire.

A 2-1 away win for DC United means they leapfrog Toronto FC in the Eastern standings and the home side returns to the cellar.

With the visitors enjoying almost two weeks of rest since their last game and Toronto FC playing their third game in a week it was not surprising that DC United’s game plan emphasized retaining possession for long stretches of the match.

An unspectacular but very effective midfield gave DC control of much of the game although Toronto FC rallied late on and keeper Troy Perkins needed to turn away a stinging Ronnie O’Brien drive with only six minutes to play to preserve the three points.

In the first half Toronto FC struggled to bring the strike pairing of Danny Dichio and Alecko Eskandarian into the play. When the ball was played forward to Dichio a battle with DC United defender Facundo Erpen was a recurring feature. The less physically imposing Erpen was eventually booked in the 35th minute after chopping down the big striker just outside the penalty box although the resultant free kick came to nothing. 

As half time approached DC United had reason to be happy with their performance. But then Toronto struck and Dichio was instrumental in creating the goal. A long throw from full back Marvell Wynne was headed down by Dichio and the ball found Carl Robinson on the edge of the box.

The shot from the Welsh international rebounded off Eskandarian but the former DC United man got a second bite at the cherry as the ball ran loose in the penalty box. Eskandarian was not about to miss such a chance and rifled a shot into the roof of the net as Troy Perkins claimed unsuccessfully for offside.   

Despite finding themselves a goal down against the run of play United never waivered from their game plan. A golden chance to equalize came with only five minutes of the second half played. Emilio was sent clean through after a route one clearance by Perkins but failed to hit the target.

However, a goal for DC United came shortly after when Christian Gomez sent in a dipping and pacey free kick into the TFC penalty area. Full back Kevin Goldthwaite stretched to clear the ball but only succeeded in heading the ball into his only net. An unfortunate first own goal for Toronto FC.

Only three minutes later United Coach Tom Soehn made a game changing decision. He opted to withdraw Erpen and replace him with forward Guy-Roland Kpene. In his on-going battle with Dichio, Erpen was sailing very close to the wind with referee Baldomero Toledo. If Soehn had not substituted him, Erpen would surely have been first to shower.

Bryan Namoff dropped back to play on the right side of the defense while Bobby Boswell took on the man-to-man marking responsibilities on Danny Dichio. The more robust Boswell proved to be a more effective marker and after twenty minutes Dichio too was substituted.

As three games in eight days began to take their toll on Toronto another goal for DC United seemed inevitable. When the goal came it was from the penalty spot after Wynne was judged to have fouled Emilio. At first glance it looked to be a harsh decision but replays clearly show that the referee’s decision was spot-on.

Jaime Moreno stepped up to score his third goal of the season and in the process he tied Jason Kreis’ MLS scoring record of 108 goals.

Next weekend DC United plays Houston Dynamo in Washington while Toronto FC visits the Columbus Crew.

Were you at the game or did you watch it on television? Here's a chance to share your thoughts and opinions.

While the fans left BMO Field last Saturday talking of Toronto’s first win, first goal and even the first sending off, it was a disciplined and rugged defense that accounted for this win over MLS Champions Houston Dynamo. 

With wind, rain and a game time temperature of 8 degrees (46 F) silky soccer was never on the agenda. Nonetheless, Houston started the game with some zip in their play and pinned Toronto back early on. But despite their lively play it didn’t translate into many clear cut scoring opportunities for the defending champions.

The best Houston effort came from a corner kick when Eddie Robinson took advantage of a hesitant Greg Sutton only to see his downward header cleared off the line by Ronnie O’Brien.

And it was O’Brien who set up the Toronto FC goal from a wickedly delivered free kick at the mid way point of the first half. Taken right footed from a little over 30 yards out on the left hand side the free kick was delivered with tremendous pace and swerve. It was the sort of free kick that defenders have to have the courage to attack. None did, and Welsh scored a “dandruff goal” – it came off a bit of his head and a bit of his shoulder.

As half time approached Houston continued to enjoy the majority of possession but the Toronto defenders were able to funnel the Dynamo attacks into the centre of the field where Carl Robinson dealt with any danger.

Dynamo’s best chance can just after half time when newly signed Joseph Ngweyna took advantage of an uncharacteristic slip by centre back Jim Brennan and found himself clean through with only the keeper to beat. Ngweyna put the ball wide and although Dynamo huffed and puffed they created little in the way of clear cut chances.

With ten minutes to play Edson Buddle took advantage of the Houston pushing forward in search of an equalizer and with only keeper Pat Onstad to beat he hit the ball straight at the keeper.

So Toronto FC adds another first to their growing list – this time their first shut out. Six games into the MLS season and the defense is unrecognizable from the Chinese fire drill that took the field in their first three games and conceded nine goals.

The signings of full backs Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite has added a bit of speed and balance while Jim Brennan has been excellent playing in an unaccustomed role at centre back. Coach Mo Johnston has the other centre back Andrew Boyens on a short leash with only the basics being requested. However, given that Boyens looked about as comfortable as a man with piles perched on a cactus during his first two appearances against Chivas and New England, it is a wise move.

And one that is paying dividends as Boyens has been a far more effective player in the last two games as he has kept it simple. Carl Robinson has given Toronto FC a much more solid look playing the holding role in the last two games while the midfield in general is doing their part by harrowing the opposition when needed and maintaining possession when able.     

Toronto FC is now off the bottom in the East and on Saturday DC United, who trail TFC by two points, arrives at BMO Field looking for their second win of the season. 

Were you at the game or did you watch it on TV? Let’s hear your take on the match.