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Toronto FC are once again in the midst of another grind through fixture congestion as they travel to Ohio to take on arguably their biggest rivals, the Columbus Crew. Both sides have had an inconsistent year, with Toronto of course having the edge in that department as their only consistency was a nine-game losing streak to start the year.
See also: TFC unable to finish their chances in loss to SKC
The Reds went through a decent spell of results once Paul Mariner took over from Aron Winter as head coach in early June, earning an unprecedented three-game winning streak. However, since that run, Toronto have lost three of their last four in MLS, raising the question of whether they can compete against the top half of the league.
Fortunately, in the table, Columbus sit firmly in the bottom half as they continue to find the talisman to lead their team since Guillermo Barros Schelotto left in 2010. Toronto do have an opportunity in this match to repay the Crew for the 1-0 defeat earlier in the season at BMO Field, as they have struggled to score with regularity. However, TFC have as well since Danny Koevermans went down to injury. If the Reds can build on incorporating their new faces, most notably Eric Hassli and Darren O'Dea, into a productive outing on this night, they could be the difference in Toronto's chances of coming away with a result in Columbus.
Keep Thinking
After an encouraging three-game winning streak through the middle of July, followed by a winless run of four matches, including three losses, what is beginning to be clear is TFC are still perennial competitors in the bottom half of the league. With no tangible upgrades through the 2011-12 offseason, Paul Mariner has begun to make moves to improve an inexperienced group of defenders and plug some holes up top due to the loss of Danny Koevermans.
Without question, even through a positive spell of results in June and July, the back four of Henry/Eckersley/Emory/Morgan (as well as Jeremy Hall) struggled to shut out opposition and require a true leader to marshall the back four. Irish centre-back Darren O'Dea has come in to try and fill that role, and while he is not a veteran in the truest sense of the word, he still has nearly as many senior team matches as that recent starting group of four, combined. His first performance against Kansas City showed glimpses of what he has to offer, with most of it positive. But like many profile additions to TFC, you are only as good as those around you and Toronto should not stop shoring up the defence and continue to seek out a strong partner for him.
Going into Columbus, the only time TFC have been able to travel into Crew Stadium and come away with all three points was last season, almost closing in on one year to the day. However, of the four goalscorers that night in a 4-2 victory, only one remains available and that is Ryan Johnson. There is no question Toronto have once again gone through another mid-summer retooling and as was seen last year, when the roster should be set and humming in fifth gear, they are adding new faces that will inevitably struggle with cohesiveness.
The Crew got their season off to a rough start, especially at home, but of late have proven to be much tougher to beat in Columbus. Having won five of their last seven at Crew Stadium, their strength has come through a solid midfield lead by Eddie Gaven. Add in Milovan Mirosovic, Tony Tchani, and supplemented by Bernardo Anor, Dilly Duka and Ethan Finlay - while it's not the midfield that brought home the MLS Cup in 2008, it has the experience and ability to match up with Toronto.
Goalscoring has definitely been an issue for the Crew this season, sitting on a goal a game average, and having difficulty with their strikers finding any consistency. Emilio Renteira has not been the answer and like a few other teams, most notably Real Salt Lake, as well as Philadelphia, the Crew have looked to Costa Rica to solve this problem through former Saprissa striker Jairo Arrieta. As well as Arrieta, the Crew have splashed some cash in signing a new DP, the older brother of Gonzalo Higuain, Federico, to add more bite to their attack.
Toronto's last four matches have lacked any real efficiency or heart and they will need to rediscover the form that earned them wins against Vancouver, New England and Colorado. In those victories, Torsten Frings was in fine form which allowed the likes of Terry Dunfield to feed off his performance and elevate his own. These two are paramount to TFC's results of late and will need to be on point.
Of course, as noted off the top, the team is in the midst of a run of fixtures that could really take it's toll physically, but also mentally with regards to the difficulty in earning results. Saturday's game against Kansas City saw a TFC side, and especially Frings and Dunfield, who lacked the legs to do the work that was much more profound two months ago.
Also in those results from weeks back was the playmaking ability of Luis Silva. If Silva can avoid disappearing like he did against Houston and Kansas City and becoming a focal point feeding Ryan Johnson and Eric Hassli, there is no question goals will come and Toronto stand a chance in this encounter. However this depends on the approach that Paul Mariner instills between matches and if he can get the ball onto the feet, not the heads, of Eric Hassli and Silva. From what has been demonstrated over the last two months, this might be wishful thinking as TFC have struggled with meaningful possession and will need to eliminate turnovers if they are to build anything meaningful against a increasingly tough opponent in Columbus.
In the End
Nearly one year ago to the day, an inconsistent Toronto FC side went into Columbus and came away with a win against the Crew for the first time in club history. However, many of the components who earned that win are gone and TFC are once again in the midst of shuffling the cards under a new head coach and trying to find the right mix to get the team on track. Columbus have not been the contender they were with Guillermo Schelotto leading the way, but of late have been much tougher to beat at home. Whether TFC can quickly gel and produce with the likes of Eric Hassli and Darren O'Dea coming on board will be the factors that tip the scale in their favour, however, that also depends on the rest of the team playing at a higher standard and away from BMO Field, on this night, might be too much to ask.
Prediction
Toronto FC 0 – 1 Columbus Crew
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