Sebastien Le Toux converted a penalty kick past Stefan Frei in extra time to give the Philadelphia Union a stunning, but well-deserved, 2-1 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon.
It had appeared another less-than-stellar effort from TFC would result in another decent result, but Maxsim Usanov’s hand-ball made Chad Barrett’s late equalizer meaningless. As a result, Toronto’s unbeaten streak has ended at eight games. The game was played in blisteringly hot conditions in front of 17,221 fans at PPL Park in Philadelphia. The humidex hit the mid-40s and slowed the action to a crawl for much of the proceedings. Neither side mustered much in the first half, but Philadelphia, led by the explosive Le Toux, was slightly more dangerous. Philadelphia should have opened the scoring in added time following the first 45 minutes of play. In all alone, Le Toux set up Jordan Harvey who nudged a sliding attempt off the far post seconds before the whistle brought the half to a close. Jordan scored in Toronto’s 2-1 win in May. The visitors clearly were not pleased with their play in the first half. In an interview with CBC, defender Dan Gargan lamented the subpar start. “It was a pretty poor first 45, our work rate isn’t there, we have a lot to improve on for the second half,” Gargan said.
The second half indeed did bring some improvement, but not enough.
Philadelphia finally broke the deadlock when Le Toux’s 61st-minute corner kick was headed in beautifully by Michael Orozco Fiscal, who was left unmarked by Nick Garcia. It was Fiscal’s first MLS goal and just the second goal conceded by the Reds in the past five matches. Not much offence followed for either side and a listless TFC looked dead in the water, until one play changed everything. In the 80th minute, Barrett headed a Gargan throw-in, shocking keeper Chris Seitz, who could only look angrily at his defence. It was Barrett’s fifth strike of the season, but first since May 29th. Philadelphia also blew a lead last weekend and no team in the East has surrendered more goals than the Union. But it was TFC that faltered next. Usanov, in as a substitute thought he had made a game-saving block in front of Frei, but the only problem was it was with his hands. As a result Le Toux got a penalty kick and made no mistake. It was the first time this season an old problem resurfaced. The team constantly gave up late goals in 2009, but this was the first outing of 2010 where a tying or winning goal was conceded in the final 15 minutes.“We wanted three points, we were expecting three points, they were struggling, (but) credit to them,” Barrett said following the game.
Only scoring 11 goals in nine games is not nearly enough and it finally caught up to the Reds, who need to find some offence to complement their steady defence. TFC did not get the offensive boost it anticipated when Spanish forward Mista was unable to make his debut because his international transfer agreement did not go through in time. Five games without a marker for captain Dwayne De Rosario also has to be a major concern for TFC and head coach Preki with a busy stretch of games looming. Source: -email-
Posted on Sunday 18 July 2010 - 14:11:09 |
Toronto FC plodded to a scoreless draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night, as nearby G20 Summit protests paralysed the city's downtown core and appeared to prevent several thousand fans from attending the game at BMO Field.
Subway shutdowns, altered bus routes and the uncertainty over road closures contributed to the lighter-than usual crowd, as teams renewed the Major League Soccer season following a break for the World Cup. Attendance was announced as 18,809, though it did not reflect the actual number of fans in the stands. Los Angeles arrived with the best record in the league, but without stars Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle, members of the U.S. team eliminated from the World Cup in a 2-1 loss to Ghana earlier in the day. The Galaxy tied a league record by opening the season with a 12-game unbeaten streak, a run that placed the team atop the overall MLS standings. Los Angeles entered its game against Toronto with 10 wins in 13 games, having allowed only four goals all year. Neither team was at its best in the first half on Saturday night, though, after a two-week layoff to accommodate the World Cup. Toronto and Los Angeles each managed a lone shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes, with the hosts enjoying only marginally better chances. Toronto midfielder Nick LaBrocca sent a curling shot wide across the face of goal in the 35th minute after a few unsteady touches on the sideline with teammate Jacob Peterson. It was followed minutes later by a speculative drive from captain Dwayne De Rosario, who fired from 30 yards out.
Black smoke hung over BMO field
Toronto coach Predrag (Preki) Radosavljevic shuffled his cards early in the second half, substituting forward Chad Barrett and midfielder Julian de Guzman onto the field. The changes, however, had little effect, and the game ended in a stalemate. "It was a typical game after three weeks of not playing," Preki said. "I don't think either of the teams was very sharp. It was a tough fight. I thought if anybody made a mistake, that was going to be how the game was decided. But neither team really made any big mistakes." Some of the most interesting developments unfolded just over the horizon. Evidence of the nearby G20 Summit hung over the stadium, with a thick plume of black smoke rising from downtown Toronto. There were reports it was from the latest in a string of police cars set ablaze by protesters, and it would have been burning a 20-minute walk from the upscale hotel where the Galaxy had been staying. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment issued a statement to offer absent ticket holders the chance to attend another game this season. Tickets to that other game will be subject to availability. "We made a decision to hold this game based on the security information we were receiving and given the location of BMO Field," MLSE executive vice-president Bob Hunter said in the release. "With the Galaxy and officials all in the city, there was never any thought given to cancelling the game." For the Galaxy, the thoughts after the game drifted toward their teammates at the World Cup. It is not known when Donovan and Buddle will return to action for Los Angeles, which has only lost once in 13 games this season."They've had a long, tough World Cup," Mathis said. "Those guys have been on a whirlwind, so it's time to bring those guys back down to earth, a little bit."
Posted on Friday 09 July 2010 - 09:36:58 |
The Colorado Rapids remained undefeated at home, adding on toToronto FC’s road woes, with a 3-1 victory at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on a beautiful Sunday evening in Commerce City. Jeff Larentowicz’s free kick marker was bookended by a pair of Conor Casey goals from the spot, as the Rapids enjoyed a comfortable win. Dwayne De Rosario, the only man who has scored for Toronto FC this season, replied for the visitors.
First Half:
Perhaps it was the quick turnaround between matches or the thin Colorado air, but TFC found itself on the back foot from the opening whistle. A virtually nonexistent Reds’ attack allowed the Rapids to quickly assert themselves in the midfield and control the tempo of the match. Led by the pace of Omar Cummings, Colorado came in waves at TFC, but was unable to trouble goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
At the heart of the Rapids’ midfield, former Rev Larentowicz and stalwart Pablo Mastroeni outplayed their Reds counterparts Martin Saric and Julian de Guzman, which permitted Cummings, along with wingmen Colin Clark and Jamie Smith, to run the TFC defence ragged, but the trio were never seemingly able to find that perfect service for frontman Casey to latch onto. TFC’s ugly trend of cheaply giving the ball away whilst in fleeting possession of it only exacerbated the situation for the visitors.
The Rapids’ dominance did not go unrewarded, but the hosts’ breakthrough came in controversial circumstances. In the 24th, an onrushing Cummings came straight at fullback Adrian Cann. With Colorado forward cutting to his left, Cann lost his footing and the referee immediately indicated a penalty, adjudging that the big TFC defender handled while prone. Replays showed that the ball appeared to have gone off of Cann’s forehead and not his arm, but Toronto’s pleas fell on deaf ears.
From the spot, former Red Casey’s cheeky chip shot fooled Frei and put the hosts deservedly ahead and the Rapids enjoyed the advantage for the rest of the opening 45.
Second Half:
The opening minutes saw the first real spell of attack from Toronto and the Reds were almost able to strike immediately, as a beautiful through ball by de Guzman found a streaking Chad Barrett, who was able to get by Marvell Wynne, but the former TFC defender was able to prevent his old roommate from getting a shot on goal.
Barrett’s strong start to the half continued in the 57th, when his beautifully timed through ball found Sam Cronin in alone on Rapids ‘keeper Matt Pickens. The goalie was unable to deal with the sophomore winger’s deke left and was forced into hauling him down and a penalty was awarded. Pickens was able to guess right on De Rosario’s penalty, but the Toronto captain’s shot had too much power to it and the Reds equalized on DeRo’s 4th goal of the season.
The deadlock was short-lived, however, as the visitors’ old habit of lapses in judgment came back to haunt them once again. With Wells Thompson cutting down the right side, Martin Saric committed an easily avoidable foul at the edge of the Toronto box in the 70th. Jeff Larentowicz’s ensuing free kick was sent directly at the Toronto wall, but Julian de Guzman inexplicably jumped out of the way, allowing the ball safe passage to beat a frozen Frei.
With their lead restored, Colorado once again began to take the play to TFC and the visitors were unable to cope. In the 84th, after De Rosario fouled Larentowicz, right back Maksim Usamov needlessly grabbed a hold of Conor Casey and pulled him to the ground, as the Rapids flooded into the box in anticipation of the forthcoming free kick. For the second time in the match, Casey found himself at the spot and the American international successfully converted again, icing the game and a well deserved 3 points for the Rapids.
Winless now in their first three road matches of the season, TFC returns home to take on Freddie Ljungberg and the Sounders in a week’s time, while the Rapids pay a visit to Foxboro on Saturday to meet Shalrie Joseph’s Revolution.
Source: Goal.com
Posted on Monday 19 April 2010 - 14:40:28 |
