Toronto FC Bend But Don’t Break in 2-1 Victory over Colorado Rapids

With a tendency to blow leads and have victories slip through its fingers, Toronto FC did not let history repeat itself on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.

The Reds combined luck and good timing to hold on for a much needed 2-1 victory over the defending MLS Cup champions, Colorado Rapids. The last time Colorado was in Toronto they defeated FC Dallas on the same pitch last November to win the MLS Cup. However, this time out the champs looked rather ordinary compared to a club bound for the playoffs.

After a dull and uneventful first half, Toronto FC exploded for two goals in eight minutes by striker Danny Koevermans before Rapids forward Sanna Nyassi cut the deficit in
half with over 20 minutes left to play. Colorado came close to tying twice but defenders Ashtone Morgan and Richard Eckersley were sharp to clear the ball off the line on separate occasions to help preserve the three points.

“It was massive, massive for the team,” said Eckersley. “This is a team game and someone will have my back next week. I’ve got the keepers back and everyone’s got each other’s back. We are all working for each other and you can see it on the pitch. Previous games in the season we’ve sat back and tried to defend it and today we were going for more and it’s a good team effort.”

Head Coach Aron Winter utilized a different formation knowing he would have potential nightmare on his hands against a speedy Rapids club. Winter placed his star designated player Torsten Frings as a sweeper to help protect the two centre backs Andy Iro and Ty Harden – both of whom have been quite shaky at times this season on the backline. As a result, TFC sometimes had five players back defending and gave Colorado very little space to move forward and attack.

“Because they have fast guys, the sides are fast and we can’t play them one against one,” said Winter. “We were looking for more security when we don’t have the ball, because at least we are closing the box in the center that’s why we chose to play a 4-2-3 with a point back between the two central defenders.”

Perhaps Winter chose this strategy having seen his team completely outplayed and picked apart defensively on Wednesday in a 4-0 loss to Mexican club Pumas in CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) action. All in all, Winter was pleased with his team’s effort and ability to bounce back after such a demoralizing defeat.

“I think we played a very good game. If you watch the game, we deserved to win,” added Winter. “Especially after the tough game we had this game the week in Mexico, it was good to show up at home and play one of the teams who are going to play in the play offs, I think it is a very good result.”

After being written off completely a couple of weeks ago in league play, the Reds have moved out of last place and suddenly crept back into the playoff picture. TFC have now won two straight games in league play against playoff bound clubs and look like a team that could make the playoffs as well. The other win came against the Eastern Conference leading Columbus Crew – a 4-2 victory for its first road win of the season. Although it’s still considered a long shot, as long as the team continues to win, well as the cliché goes – ‘it’s not over until it’s over’.

“We’re not giving up. As long as we instill this winning mentality in this squad a lot of things can come out of it whether it’s last minute playoffs or the next round of the champions league,” said midfielder Julian de Guzman.

“It’s important that we help improve the culture in Toronto and we make it a winning culture because now you can see in the last couple of games the guys have showed a lot more confidence, putting in stronger performances and I think this is how you want to end the season, to give a lot of people a good feeling going into next season.”

The second half, on the other hand, was far more exciting as the game opened up considerably after TFC got on the scoreboard. In the 52^nd minute the Reds picked apart the Rapids defence and created a play from nothing to open the scoring. First Eric Avila from the midfield made a great long cross to the left flank where Morgan was wide open.
Then after a couple of touches he made cross into the box that missed Johnson but came to Koevermans who stayed ahead of a defender and finished to put the Reds up 1-0.
The crowd, which was unusually silent up until that point, erupted in celebration.

Then in the 60^th minute, Nick Soolsma from the right touchline made a left-footed crossed into the box where a diving Koevermans connected with glancing header. The striker barely touched the ball but he changed the trajectory just enough to direct it inside the far post to make it 2-0.

The Rapids closed the gap in the 69^th minute when Nyassi led a dangerous rush down the field. His eventual cross came to Cummings whose shot was blocked by a sliding Morgan. However, Cummings was able to play the ball through to Nyassi in front of the goal and he fired a high hard shot past Kocic to make it 2-1.

Morgan made a bigger defensive play in the 72^nd minute off a corner kick when he cleared the ball off the line on a shot by defender Drew Moor. Then in the 90^th minute, Eckersley made another dramatic game saving stop on Moor. The Rapids defender was once again deep inside the box and fired a rebound past Kocic but the TFC defender was able to get in front of the ball inches from the goal line.

After the match, Koevermans was all smiles – he was happy to get back on the score sheet and help his team win after dealing with injury and fitness concerns in the past month.

“I’m trying to get goals every game, it’s nice now,” said Koevermans who has now scored six goals in seven games. “For today I will celebrate of course, and I hope I can continue for the rest of the season and hopefully also next season. It’s really soccer language now, Tuesday is the next big game for us and we have to win that one, and our focus needs to be on that one.” 

Toronto will only have a couple of days rest before its next match on Tuesday – a CCL match at home to Panama club Tauro F.C. with kickoff at 8pm ET. FC Dallas leads Group C with seven points, while TFC sits third with three points – just a point ahead of Tauro and one point behind Pumas. The Reds defeated Tauro 2-1 in Panama City on August 18^th and will need another victory to keep its hopes alive of advancing to the next round of the competition.