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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
August 22, 2012
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Email Steve Bottjer
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@bottjerRNO
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Toronto FC 1 – 2 Columbus Crew
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The Prelude to Battle
Toronto FC undoubtedly went into this one highly motivated to bounce back from two disappointing performances at home against Portland and Kansas City. Playing on the road, Toronto FC lined up against a Columbus Crew squad that went into this fixture sitting in 7th place in the Eastern Conference. The fact that the Crew have had trouble scoring goals this season presented something of an opportunity for the Reds to steal a result on the road and get a morale boosting victory against a hated rival.
Toronto had not historically enjoyed a lot of success playing in Columbus, but the team did go into this one with the knowledge that they had earned their first ever win against the Crew last September in Ohio and had won the 2011 Trillium Cup by way of the 4-2 victory. Given that Columbus has already defeated Toronto at BMO Field this season, a result in this game was pretty much mandatory if TFC wanted to be in contention to repeat as Trillium Cup winner this year, with the final match of the three game set scheduled for Toronto’s final league match of 2012.
TFC Head Coach Paul Mariner made two changes to his lineup from the squad that lined up against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, with keeper Milos Kocic getting a rare night off and Freddy Hall making his first MLS start. Central defender Dicoy Williams also made his first 2012 MLS start.
The Opening Forty-Five
It did not take long for Columbus to open the scoring, with Crew stalwart Eddie Gaven scoring on a 4th minute shot that deflected off defender Dicoy Williams past keeper Freddy Hall on a play that looked almost like a carbon copy of the one that Kansas City striker Kei Kamara scored against the Reds on the weekend.
As Toronto tried to play their way back into the game, it looked like the visiting team was going to face an uphill battle, as Columbus looked very organized defensively and tackled with both intelligence and a physical edge.
TFC right back Richard Eckersley took a beating in the opening forty-five, with Gaven landing two elbows to his head and Crew Designated Player Federico Higuaín earning a yellow card for a direct kick to his head.
While Toronto struggled to break down the Crew defense and generate scoring chances, Higuaín and Jairo Arrieta looked threatening every time they were on the ball.
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I'm sad, I'm angry and I'm tired. I love my team but nights (weeks, months, seasons) like this are hard on the soul. #TFC
- @kzknowles |
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The Second Half
The Crew almost doubled their lead early in the second half when Higuaín blasted a laser of a shot off the post.
Five minutes later, Columbus broke through and scored their second of the match, with Higuaín using some intelligent movement in the TFC box to get a shot off for his first MLS goal.
TFC forward Quincy Amarikwa came on in the 70th minute and TFC were transformed, as they dominated play from that point on and looked like an altogether different team.
Luis Silva pulled one back for the Reds in the 71st minute when he was sent in on Crew keeper Andy Gruenebaum by a well placed pass from Eric Hassli.
Toronto had numerous chances at an equalizer but could not break through with that final finish or pass necessary to engineer a second goal.
Their best chance came in the 78th minute on some excellent penetration by Amarikwa, who cut the ball back to Terry Dunfield, who made a nice run but could not get his shot on target on a play in which the Canadian International should have done better.
The Final Word: Slow start stretches TFC winless streak to five games
It was once again a tale of two halves for Toronto FC, as a the team’s strong push in the second half fell just short. Toronto did not play a full ninety minutes and another loss was the end result. Maybe with all of the recent player turnover not all of the men in red were aware that Columbus is a team that TFC supporters despise, as they played with little passion and heart in the opening half. Maybe they were unsettled by another early goal by the opposition and some textbook physical defending by Chad Marshall and the Columbus crew? In any case, the overall effort was not good enough or professional enough and the team has to be better in the games that remain this season.
In many ways, Columbus provided something of a lesson in how to build an MLS team. Marshall is one of the best central defenders in the league is the type of foundation player that Toronto has been missing throughout their entire existence. Furthermore, Crew forwards Jairo Arrieta (28 years old) and Federico Higuaín (27 years old) are the type of young, but experienced Latin attacking players that can step into an MLS lineup and make an immediate impact. As Toronto looks forward to next year and reloads for 2013, they should look closely at the intelligent ways that Columbus has built their team and been competitive year after year.
As always, there were positive signs for Toronto if you look at the match in its entirety. Back at right back, Richard Eckersley was inspirational, both with his play and the toughness he showed in shrugging off not one, but three serious blows to his head. Darren O’Dea delivered another very strong performance in his second game with TFC. His signing already looks like a good one and he looks like he can be a key piece as Toronto continues to build their squad with an eye to next season. While he was unlucky on the deflected opening goal by the Crew, Dicoy Williams was also solid in his first start of the year after a long layoff due to injury.
While he delivered a number of class passes to try and spring TFC attackers, Toronto actually looked much better when Torsten Frings was replaced by the fleet footed Quincy Amarikwa. In many ways, this match highlighted that the former German International is somewhat wasted in Paul Mariner’s system, as he doesn’t have the legs to run after long balls. Conversely, Amarikwa was one of the Toronto’s best players in this game and the Reds looked like a different team once he came on to energize the attack. While Mariner likely prefers him as an energy player off the bench, you have wonder why he didn’t start Amarikwa in place of Andrew Wiedeman, who looked ineffective for the second start in a row.
Lastly, the three headed monster of Eric Hassli, Ryan Johnson and Luis Silva is clearly not clicking on all cylinders yet. Paul Mariner can only hope these three players will be able to gel down the final stretch of the season, because, outside of Amarikwa, the TFC roster is looking pretty bare in terms of quality attacking options.
TFC Line-up
41 Hall
27 Eckersley
31 Williams
48 O’Dea
5 Morgan
22 Frings
32 Wiedeman
11 Silva
23 Dunfield
9 Johnson
29 Hassli
Substitutions: (61) Hall in for Wiedeman; (70) Amarikwa in for Frings; (85) Maund in for Williams.
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