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Toronto FC 1 – Houston Dynamo 1
The Prelude to Battle
It’s week seven of MLS action for Toronto FC, and this one promises to be a doozy. Playing three games in seven days, Toronto FC first host the Houston Dynamo at BMO Field, before taking on the Montreal Impact midweek in the first match of the Amway Canadian Championship. They round off this busy week of soccer against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday in Toronto.
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With all these games to prepare for, Ryan Nelsen and co. will be focusing on the Houston Dynamo, last years’ MLS Cup finalists. The Dynamo have always been a strong outfit and this year proves no exception, riding high in the Western Conference with 12 points in six games. They’ve been scoring freely, picking up valuable wins, and have also maintained a league-best 34 game unbeaten streak at home.
The Reds take on Houston with league-leading goalscorer Robert Earnshaw up top, and Justin Braun beside him. Earnshaw’s heroics gave Toronto FC a 1-0 lead over the Philadelphia Union last week, and he’ll be hoping to keep the goals coming against Houston. Toronto are without Ashtone Morgan for this encounter – the young Canadian fullback picked up a red card during last week’s match and is suspended for this game.
Darel Russell is also unavailable, after tweaking his hamstring. Richard Eckersley is questionable, too. Logan Emory starts on the left and Ryan Richter on the right. Is it snowing? Is it sunny? The weather can’t make up its mind, but what we know for certain is that Toronto FC take on the Houston Dynamo rain or shine!
The Opening 45
Toronto FC started the first half with intensity, pushing forward and coming up with a few close chances. Reggie Lambe’s fancy footwork spelled danger for Houston, but it was Earnshaw who came closest, his curving shot from the left in the sixth minute barely missing, smacking the crossbar!
Houston were defending in their traditional no-nonsense style, option to clear the ball rather than give away possession. Toronto FC, on the other hand, maintained the initiative, pushing forward and threatening the Dynamo goal. The first half-hour was marked by plenty of offensive movement by Toronto FC with Houston’s defence composed and capable.
Luis Silva continually created opportune chances, in particular, linking up with Justin Braun. However, Braun, on more than one occasion, squandered those chances. In the 40th minute, Earnshaw found himself unmarked and in front of goal, but hit the side netting. Adam Moffat came off five minutes before half time, head coach Dominic Kinnear opting to sub in Warren Creavalle.
Toronto FC had a good chance to score, a counterattacking movement, spurred on by Hogan Ephraim, who found Justin Braun, but the chance, like many before it, was squandered, and the two sides head into the locker room level.
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I am tired of coaches saywe need to play a full 90 minutes when it is always the 91-95th minute when it all goes to hell.
- @66horse |
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The Second Half
Houston made a big change at the start of the second half – Brad Davis, their most influential player, came off for Luiz Camargo. Luis Silva’s forward run found the foot of Earnshaw soon after, the striker slotting it home – only to be judged offside! Silva found himself in front of goal seconds later, but his shot went wide.
In the 54th minute, Luiz Camargo was yellow carded for a challenge on Lambe, who had broken through the entire Dynamo midfield and was rushing forward with pace. After a period of build up play, in the 58th minute, Jeremy Hall found himself with possession outside the box, cut in and beat the defender, and took the shot. Hall’s effort? A goal! Toronto FC took the lead, Hall the goalscorer, 1-0 Toronto!
Not content with keeping quiet, Joe Bendik came up with another fine pair of saves. Earnshaw broke soon after, only to be pushed down by Jermaine Taylor, who picked up a straight red card! Houston Dynamo was now down a man. The resulting free kick landed, again, to Earnshaw, who flipped backwards this time for the attempted bicycle kick, which flew just high.
Houston made their final substitution of the game, with defender Eric Brunner coming in for Giles Barnes. Jeremy Hall made a bursting run forward, only to be pushed down by Corey Ashe, who picked up a yellow card. The resulting free kick earned Toronto a corner, which Luis Silva stepped up to take. Logan Emory got a head on it, only to be deflected out and for another corner. Turning up the pressure, Toronto FC looked to capitalize on their man advantage.
Logan Emory made a run in the 68th minute, finding the head of Justin Braun, the hit earning Toronto a corner. The result saw Luis Silva break forward and take a shot on net, which Tally Hall scooped up. In the 74th minute, Luis Silva came off for Jonathan Osorio, and Lambe picked up a yellow card for a challenge on Ashe.
The final 15 minutes of the game dawned for Toronto FC, and holding only a one-goal lead, the usual expectations of a late game collapse spread around the stadium. Toronto FC earned a corner kick in the 80th minute, which Jonathan Osorio delivered. The ball landed menacingly on Ephraim’s foot, and the shot looked on target, but Tally Hall made the save.
Toronto FC again came agonizingly close to a second goal, this time, Ephraim’s cross bouncing past Toronto’s offense and Houston’s defence and smacking against the right post and out. With only six minutes to go, Toronto continued to pressure Houston’s backline. In the 86th minute, Andrew Wiedeman came in for Robert Earnshaw.
In the 87th minute, Warren Creavalle picked up a yellow card for a rough challenge on Logan Emory, who went down with injury. Doneil Henry came on in the 89th minute to replace Emory, who in truth had a good debut for the Reds. The fourth official added four minutes of added time.
And, of course, Houston equalized in the last minute of the game. On a corner kick, Warren Creavalle managed to get a head on the ball, found the back of the net. Creavalle had just gone ahead and injured Emory, before equalizing for Houston, making him the villain of the day for Toronto FC fans.
It’s the same old song and dance, my friends: Toronto FC 1-1 Houston Dynamo.
Post-Match Reaction
After the game, Ryan Nelsen spoke to reporters, and said of the late goal:
“I think it’s a bit of inexperience. They’re not used to it,” said Nelsen. “It’s a learning curve, and if they can’t see it out it’s going to be very painful. We’ve got some younger guys, young guys at the back who just got to learn that in important situations in the game, when you have to see it out, you have to see it out. You have to stand up and be just as strong in that part than any other part in the game.”
“Sometimes, what they say is, you win the games in either box; a strong defensive header in the 93rd minute can be just as important as scoring a goal on the other end,” said Nelsen.
Speaking of Houston’s red card, Nelsen said he preferred the Dynamo didn’t go down a man.
“It’s a bit awkward when they go a man down,” said Nelsen. “It can kind of be like a wounded tiger – you kind of think that because they’re a man down, you push up more, you take a bit more risks, and kind of relax a bit more. Many times, a ten-man team will come back but they didn’t have any opportunities, we had all the opportunities, so… –grunts–.”
“We’ll be back to our training Monday and we’ll be working as hard as we can to get more points and make Toronto FC better,” Nelsen concluded.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, thought we deserved to win,” said Jeremy Hall, who scored Toronto’s goal. “I don’t think Houston really had anything the whole day. It’s frustrating because we worked on corner kicks and set pieces all week, we’ve had a lot of reps on them, no goals in practice and the last one of the day is a goal. So we lose out on another three points, we could be sitting really nice in the table so it’s really frustrating.”
Finally, Logan Emory, who was subbed off late with an injury, spoke about his ankle.
“I’m sore right now, I’m awaiting some X-rays so hopefully everything’s all right,” said Emory. “I didn’t hear any pops or any noises like that. Hopefully it’s just a minor sprain but we’ll see.”
The Final Word: The Curious Case of the Late Goal
Another late goal.
It keeps happening, and many are wondering why?
Ryan Nelsen chalked it up to inexperience, fans must be thinking there’s a curse, the reality is probably somewhere in between; a brand new team playing above expectations coupled with a dash of bad luck.
Is this a Toronto FC side that looks anything similar to the same one last year, especially at this time? No. Not even close. True, stats may say that had Toronto FC picked up results against the LA Galaxy, Philadelphia Union and, now, Houston Dynamo, they would have six more points than they currently have. It would put the squad at 13 points and near the top of the Eastern Conference. Rued chances or not, this is a squad that is still rebuilding from the mess of last season.
So, what to make of another late goal collapse? Last season, Toronto FC went through a similar spell of late-game concessions, and the trend hasn’t seemed to change. However, the performances themselves should be the barometer of expectations, something that Toronto FC has improved on tremendously under Nelsen.
This was a dominant Toronto FC side, and, in truth, the squad has been dominant throughout the year: strong performances against Kansas, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles not only show an improvement in skill, passing and the art of soccer, it also shows something that Toronto FC has lacked from day one.
Consistency.
This is a team that looks the same from one week to another. It’s a team that has strong performers staying strong and weaker performers stepping up each and every game. Late goals? Forget about them. What this Toronto FC team promises with each and every game is an ability to improve on the last, and when a win finally comes, the club will continue in that pattern, too.
On this particular day, Luis Silva was exemplary; Jeremy Hall was the perfect box to box midfielder (curiously, he scored against Houston last year, as well). Reggie Lambe played above himself, truly, and this is something that cannot be stressed enough – this team is performing well as individuals and as a unit. The mistakes being made are not fundamental errors in passing, movement or positioning; they are mistakes made when defending set pieces late on. It is something that can be cured, quite simply, with confidence.
No team wins every single game. However, as Nelsen said, winning is an experience thing; times may be rough now, but they’re certainly not zero in nine games. This is a team that the city of Toronto can be truly proud of. This is a team with style and flair but with a goalscoring menace. This is a team that is only getting better with each and every game.
This is the Toronto FC we’ve been waiting for – soon, the results will follow.
Toronto FC Lineup
12 Joe Bendik
33 Ryan Richter
6 Gale Agbossoumonde
48 Darren O’Dea
2 Logan Emory
19 Reggie Lambe
25 Jeremy Hall
11 Luis Silva
31 Hogan Ephraim
17 Justin Braun
10 Robert Earnshaw
Substitutions: Jonathan Osorio in for Luis Silva (74’); Andrew Wiedeman in for Robert Earnshaw (86’); Doneil Henry in for Logan Emory (89’).
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