Allowing six goals in two games is not the way Toronto envisioned their season starting. The Reds have been outscored six to one to start the season, showing no signs of improvement on defense. Chris Wondolowski netted two goals for the Earthquakes, giving him six in three games at BMO Field. Midfielder Shea Salinas notched the other San Jose goal in what proved to be a miserable afternoon for TFC and their 20,783 fans in attendance who braved through the cold, wind and light rain only to watch their Reds fall three to nothing in their home opener.
It was much of the same for these fans however, who likely felt they were stuck in 2011. Toronto’s biggest problem last year was defense, one that certainly does not appear to have gone away just yet. Toronto was caught at the back several times, often with defenders out of position and San Jose made them pay.
The loss of Torsten Frings certainly is a big blow to the team, but no one could have envisioned it having this big of an impact. Without Frings Toronto has been outplayed and overmatched by Seattle and San Jose.
“You need somebody who can organize everything on the pitch,” Coach Aron Winter said after the game. “To have Torsten, this squad is completely different than without him.”
Regardless, this is not an excuse for the club who will be without the German midfielder for four to six weeks.
While defense has been an ongoing issue, the same can be said regarding the team’s continuously slow starts. Wondolowski scored in the ninth minute on Saturday, another early goal conceded by TFC that proved to be too much to overcome. When asked about his team’s slow starts, Winter was at a loss for words.
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” said Winter to reporters.
TFC midfielder Julian de Guzman featured in the starting XI, but was disappointed with his team’s slow start.
“Altogether we have to come out much sharper and we can’t allow goals against us like that from the get go. That’s a must where you come into home games and you have to be sharp,” said de Guzman. “For the entire game we were chasing it and we want to play at home where we’re the ones dictating.”
In the first half Toronto looked confident and dangerous on the attack. Aron Winter may have found something with Luis Silva, Reggie Lambe and Ryan Johnson, who found some nice chemistry together. Silva was able to play higher up than he has before for TFC which better suits his playing style.
Unfortunately for Toronto, they were unable to convert their chances into goals. As a result the team went into the break down a goal and were forced to focus on the attack, leaving them increasingly vulnerable at the back.
Winter subbed on forward Danny Koevermans for holding midfielder Terry Dunfield at half time which did more harm to the club than anything. Koevermans is a one dimensional forward who appeared to damage the chemistry TFC had going on the attack in the first half.
Just a couple of weeks into the season and it has already been a roller-coaster ride for TFC. After a huge win over the Galaxy, Toronto went on to lose their season opener, home opener, as well as two of their best players, Torsten Frings (strained hamstring) and Stefan Frei (broken leg).
Before the game, the club revealed the severity of the injury to goalkeeper Stefan Frei. He is expected to miss eight to ten weeks as a result of a broken leg suffered during a team scrimmage on Friday.
The club will look to have a short memory as they go forward to take on Mexican side Santos on Wednesday in the CCL semi-finals. Ryan Johnson, whose two goals against LA helped see TFC through to the semi-finals, is looking to put this game behind them and focus on the task at hand.
“Every game you forget about the past and is just a new page in our season,” said Johnson. “We just have to take every game at a time and forget about if we lost the last game or won the last game and just move onto the next one.”
Unfortunately it will not be that easy for TFC.
Seattle and San Jose are strong teams, but Santos will pose a whole new threat to TFC’s back line. Winter has less than three days of practice to find some sort of quick fix or Wednesday could prove to be another long night at BMO Field.
(image courtesy of torontofc.ca)
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