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Toronto FC 0 San Jose Earthquakes 3
The Prelude to Battle
Gut check time does not often come just in advance of the home opener for most teams, but in Toronto FC’s case, the character and resiliency of the team is being tested early. With both Team Captain Torsten Frings and Vice-Captain Stefan Frei out with injuries, Toronto’s defensive wherewithal is going to be tested early in their 2012 campaign.
The first big test for Toronto’s back line came today in their home opener against Chris Wondowlowski and the San Jose Earthquakes. Wondolowski, the leading scorer in the MLS over the past two seasons, enjoyed plenty of previous success scoring in Toronto previously and he likely entered this match chomping at the bit to go up against the Frings-less TFC defense.
Toronto FC Designated Player Julian de Guzman wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Frings and the Toronto native was going to have to play a vital role if Toronto was going to come away with all three points against a revitalized San Jose squad looking to make their way back to MLS playoffs again after off year in 2011.
As he usually does, TFC Head Coach Aron Winter unveiled a few interesting surprises when he released his starting eleven prior to kickoff. Reggie Lambe got his first start as a member of Toronto FC and Danny Koevermans started this match on the bench.
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Toronto FC forward Reggie Lambe discusses his first MLS start on March 24th, 2012 against the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Opening Forty-Five
This one kicked off with Toronto playing in a traditional 4-3-3 formation with a red hot Ryan Johnson leading the forward line as the team’s centre forward.
The tone for the afternoon was set early when San Jose had the first scoring chance of the match in the 9th minute, with Shea Salinas delivering a blast from the top of box that was saved by Milos Kocic. However, on the ensuing corner kick, the ball was pushed out to former TFC midfielder Sam Cronin, who delivered a perfect cross to an unmarked Chris Wondolowski, who headed the ball into the back of the net to give San Jose an early lead.
TFC had a decent chance to tie things up on a corner kick of their own in the 26th minute, when the ball landed at the feet of Miguel Aceval in San Jose box, but the central defender was unable to keep his shot down and it sailed high over the net.
Toronto came close again in the 37th minute when Reggie Lambe sent a dangerous ball through the Earthquakes box, but none of his teammates could get a foot on it. While San Jose had the lead on the scoreboard, Toronto was the team dominating possession and moving the ball very well in the final third.
A windy first half close with the Reds down a goal.
The Second Half
Aron Winter made one change to start the second half, with Danny Koevermans coming in for Terry Dunfield, adding an offensive player in place of a defensively focused midfielder.
The Reds almost tied things up in the 47th minute when Lambe came within inches with a nice turn and shot just wide of the right post.
San Jose doubled their lead in the 56th minute when former Whitecaps midfielder Shea Salinas finished an Earthquakes counter attack by blasting one past Kocic.
Julian de Guzman almost pulled one back in the 66th minute with a fine blistering volley that spun just wide of the far corner.
The Earthquakes put the game away for good in the 69th minute when another TFC defensive breakdown ended with Wondolowski recovering from a poor first touch to bang the ball into an open net.
As the game played out, keeper Milos Kocic made some strong saves in order to keep this one from getting completely out of hand.
Post-Match Reaction
Toronto FC Head Coach Aron Winter was visibly frustrated at the post-game press conference. The Dutchman lamented the absence of Torsten Frings and explained the lack of a leader to organize the team as being the main ingredient in Toronto’s loss to San Jose.
“You need somebody who can organize everything on the pitch. To have Torsten is completely different than without him,” said Winter.
He also highlighted his belief that while TFC was poor on the back line, many of the defensive problems stemmed from poor performances in the Toronto midfield.
“Well, it starts first of all in the midfield. We’re not following our own men, at that moment when we’re losing the ball, because there were a lot of things we’re not doing well today when we lose the ball. And the second, after that, in defence, there was a lot of mistakes that were made, after that moment, when they could score,” stated Winter.
Team Captain Julian de Guzman lamented the slow start that put his team in a hole that they were unable to recover from.
“Before you knew it, they’ve got that first goal. Once that whistle blows, we’ve got to get the guys going right off the bat. We have to come up with a much better start than what we did today, especially at home. We need to react from this result, going into Wednesday’s game,” said De Guzman.
Forward Ryan Johnson highlighted the fact his side had been so intent on finding an equalizer to the early goal Toronto gave up that they got caught on the counter attack by San Jose.
“We were pushing, pushing, trying to get that equalizer. We threw numbers forward and we got caught on the counter, and they did a good job finishing on the counter. That’s something that happens. That’s something we have to watch out for in the next game,” stated Johnson.
The Final Word: It’s season six and the back line is still TFC’s Achilles heel
An ugly loss in their home opener is likely to have a fan base already alarmed by the injury to Torsten Frings very worried. From a defensive standpoint, the Reds were absolutely brutal in this game. It’s only one game, but Toronto is going to have sort out the defensive issues that were apparent in this match if they hope to build on the momentum the team built up in the latter half of 2011.
Looking at the three goals that San Jose scored, the first one was especially disconcerting. It is season six for TFC and the team looks like it still does not have a clue how to defend set pieces. Toronto did not close down Cronin, who delivered the cross, and Wondowlowski was completely unmarked on his header.
The absence of Torsten Frings was clearly felt on the second and third goals, as the TFC back line looked like chickens running around with their heads cut off while Toronto attempted to defend the San Jose counter attack.
Given what TFC fans have had to witness over almost the entirety of their team’s existence, you almost have to wonder if the team needs to bring in defensive coordinator to work purely on that aspect of the game. A few capable central defenders would probably also work wonders.
While TFC fans had to go home unsatisfied, there were several positives to take away from this match. With Stefan Frei now out long term, Milos Kocic once again showed that he is fully capable of handling the load as an MLS starting keeper. He was left out to dry on the three goals conceded and his play prevented this one from becoming truly embarrassing.
Offensively, Toronto passed the ball well and looked very dangerous at times in the final third, with Joao Plata, Ryan Johnson, Luis Silva and Reggie Lambe working very well as a unit. Johnson continued his run of fine play and Luis Silva continued to look very much like a player who will be a contender for the 2012 MLS Rookie of the Year award.
Silva looked exceptional times playing up high as an attacking midfielder/withdrawn striker and Reggie Lambe also looked quite good in his first MLS start, with his performance much improved when compared to his TFC debut against the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Champions League.
TFC Line-up
30 Kocic
5 Morgan
3 Aceval
20 Harden
27 Eckersley
23 Dunfield
6 De Guzman
11 Silva
9 Johnson
7 Plata
19 Lambe
Substitutions: (46) Koevermans in for Dunfield; (64) Maund in for Harden; (85) Soolsma in for Plata.
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