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.
 

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.