Chicago traveled north of the border once again this season, this time to face Toronto FC, in what some coined as a “must-win” for either side. Chicago, who’ve gone through two bye weeks in the first two months of the season, have been able to collect little momentum, and for many throughout the league the jury’s still out on just how good they are (or are not). For Toronto, Saturday presented itself with perhaps their best chance at gathering points, but in the end, Chicago would prevail as the Men in Red would best TFC by a final score of 3-2.
For all Toronto FC’s woes, it’s worth noting that they didn’t turn in a horrible performance. They were disjointed, unorganized, and erratic, but through all that they managed to put away two goals (their first two goals at home in the 2012 season) against a Chicago backline that included three returning starters and a German international. Chicago’s defense was shaky nearly the entire game, showing numerous issues in communication and marking through the central defense of Arne Friedrich and Jalil Anibaba. Dan Gargan, returning to BMO Field for the first time since last year’s trade, played his usual solid right back position, and Gonzalo Segares was stalwart at left back while also getting in on the scoring by directing a Sebastian Grazzini free kick perfectly past Toronto’s Milos Kocic in the 41st minute. The goal drew Chicago level just before the half, and was a quick response to the 1st half brace scored by Toronto’s Reggie Lambe in the span of four minutes. In both instances, lack of defensive pressure gave Lambe the space he needed to put the ball past Chicago keeper Sean Johnson, giving life to an otherwise lethargic Toronto side.
Toronto would continue to struggle against Chicago, however, as their formation was seemingly fluid throughout the match. Aron Winter threw a 3-4-3 formation at his players two days prior to match day, and it showed, as an early mistake by the returning German Torsten Frings led to the Fire’s Dominic Oduro collecting a Patrick Nyarko steal just 25 seconds into the match, sending his low shot past Kocic. The goal, the fastest scored in Fire history, set the tone for Chicago and told you just about all you needed to know about how Toronto’s day would ultimately go.
That said, nothing can be taken away from Toronto’s heart and their grit as far as their players are concerned. While I won’t use this space to bash Toronto’s front office or managerial leadership, I will say that Toronto’s fans and their players deserve so much more than what Aron Winter is bringing to the table. To even read Toronto press, it is obvious that the locker room is lost, and that Winter is extremely out of touch with his players to a degree that makes Andres Villas Boas’ loss of the Chelsea’s locker room pale in comparison. Winter is not long for that squad, and the entire organization would do well to realize that and make the necessary changes to turn things around.
On Chicago’s side, in the end a win is a win. Extremely strong performances were put in by Patrick Nyarko and Jalil Anibaba. Nyarko’s tenacity led to the turnover that created Oduro’s goal, and his speed off the ball created a chance that would end up being the game-winning goal on the day. Nyarko is easily the most underrated player in MLS.
We also saw what Sebastian Grazzini can do with space and time with the ball at his feet, as he was able to move fairly freely throughout the midfield. Dom Oduro was able to dice up the Toronto defense at will, and Marco Pappa seemed far more focused and disciplined on the wing.
The Fire’s central defense is where there seems to be some question. In one respect, they withstood an extreme amount of pressure in the final 20 minutes from Toronto, especially when Frings took it upon himself to press forward in the attack rather that stay back defensively. The move, depending on who you ask, was either Torsten being assertive, or all part of Winter’s plan “to force something.” As an outsider, it would seem to me it was more a matter of Frings going rogue, but regardless, Toronto pressed so vehemently in the final 20 minutes that their crosses into the box were nearly wince-inducing, wondering if a communication breakdown in the central defense might lead to a late equalizer by a team desperate to gain points.
In the end, Chicago would withstand all Toronto’s attacks, but not without plenty of tape to analyze what needs to be done to tighten up the ranks and keep a more dangerous offensive team from scoring on them. Since Klopas took the reins at the end of May 2011, Chicago has been known for putting up a tougher defense than under Carlos de los Cobos. With the departure of Gibbs for 6 months due to a knee injury, Jalil Anibaba and newcomer Arne Friedrich are going to need a crash course in gelling as a defensive pairing in the middle. They fared well enough to walk away with three points in the end, but against a better team, we could have seen a far different result. Thankfully for Chicago, they walked out with three points and hope to use it as the beginning of some positive momentum to carry them through the tests they’re sure to face against Seattle, Real Salt Lake, and Sporting KC in the coming weeks.
Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan, Arne Friedrich, Jalil Anibaba, Gonzalo Segares; Logan Pause ©, Pavel Pardo, Marco Pappa (Federico Puppo, 65’); Sebastian Grazzini (Orr Barouch, 79’); Patrick Nyarko, Dominic Oduro (Daniel Paladini, 84’)
Substitutes not used: Paolo Tornaghi, Austin Berry, Hunter Jumper, Rafael Robayo
Toronto FC: Milos Kocic; Richard Eckersley, Adrian Cann, Torsten Frings ©, Ashtone Morgan; Matt Stinson (Luis Silva, 68’), Terry Dunfield (Julian de Guzman, 58’), Eric Avila (Junior Burgos, 85’), Reggie Lambe; Ryan Johnson, Joao Plata
Substitutes not used: Quillan Roberts, Miguel Aceval, Ty Harden, Doneil Harvey
Scoring Summary
CHI – Dominic Oduro (unassisted) 1’
TFC – Reggie Lambe (unassisted) 36’
TFC – Reggie Lambe (Matt Stinson, Ryan Johnson) 40’
CHI – Gonzalo Segares (Sebastian Grazzini) 41’
CHI – Patrick Nyarko (Dominic Oduro) 58’
Misconduct SummaryTFC – Adrian Cann (caution) 24’TFC – Julian de Guzman (caution) 70’TFC – Richard Eckersley (caution) 80’
Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistants: Craig Lowry, Brian Poeschel
Fourth Official: David Gantar
Attendance: 19,255
Image courtesy of chicago-fire.com
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