U-Sector – The Original Toronto FC Supporters Group

TFC Needs To Do Better

Monday, July 26, 2010

Another two points dropped at home.

Toronto FC allowed FC Dallas to snatch a late draw on Saturday night, in a match that was all-too-reminiscent of those soul-shattering performances of 2009.

After Maicon Santos coolly slotted home his first competitive goal for the Reds midway through the second half, breaking a deadlocked game in which Toronto clearly had the upper hand, TFC immediately fell back and allowed Dallas back into it. The Reds ceded possession to the point where it looked like they almost wanted Dallas to score.

After the inevitable happened, Dallas returned the favour, taking the cynical play from Toronto’s hands and running with it. It all led to a frustrating day at the park for the 19,000+ brave souls who stood through numerous downpours to watch their team snatch a draw from the jaws of victory.

The end result was yet another lackluster performance from an otherwise superior home Toronto side. With the Reds in the thick of a playoff race, every dropped point counts, and TFC loses more ground on the teams ahead of them.

It is only through a tie-breaking scenario that Toronto sits in sixth place in the league, with the Reds tied on points with seventh and eight placed Colorado and San Jose (respectively). Home matches are where the points cushion is formed, and TFC will need to do better in the remaining home fixtures in order to pad the currently razor-thin cushion it finds itself on.

With the Dallas match in the books, attention now turns to the CONCACAF Champions League. TFC is, of course, hosting CD Motagua of Honduras in the preliminary round on Tuesday, in a game where goalscoring is of paramount importance for Toronto.

Away fixtures in the Central American nation are brutal at best, with Hondurans sides boasting an incredible record there in continental play. If TFC hopes to advance to the group stage of the CCL, and there are no indications that they don’t, they will need to pile on the goals in the opening leg.

For a team that has seen the goals dry up in recent weeks, Toronto will hope for the wells to finally open up tomorrow, lest they suffer yet another premature exit from the continental championship.

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Pros and Cons from the Toronto FC vs. FC Dallas match played Saturday, July 24, 2010:

PROS

• Maicon Santos’ presence up top is rewarded with a goal
• Julian de Guzman now has some outlets for his passes
• Overall team defending was solid for the first hour in the absence of Nana Attakora
• Some flashes of a positive, short-passing game, starting at the back

CONS

• TFC content to sit back after going up a goal, leading to a predictable finish
• Worrying set piece defending woes
• Finishing is still a concern, as the Reds out-chanced Dallas yet couldn’t kill the game off

HIGHLIGHTS

Posted by Rudi Schuller