Toronto FC couldn’t make history on Sunday night, falling 1-0 to Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park.
With a point the Reds could have emerged from the first three games of the season without a loss, something the club had never done before.
Their plans were derailed by a controversial non-call by referee Baldomero Toledo on the game winning goal, when SKC winger Brad Davis appeared to have fouled Justin Morrow on his way to beating Clint Irwin for the match’s lone tally. These things happen, however, and overall the Reds came away from Sunday night’s performance with a positive feeling, despite the sour taste left by Toledo’s decision.
“I think their goal was a missed call,” said Morrow. “ [But] we had chances to get ahead in the game. I'd say it was a good game overall.”
Here are three things we learned from the third match of the regular season.
Williams Is Up To The Task
Drew Moor’s illness was a major storyline as kickoff approached. The veteran MLS centre-back had been as good as advertised in the first two games of the season, helping steady a defence that is turning the page on a tumultuous 2015 season.
Moor’s absence on Sunday night left a void beside Damien Perquis that was filled by Josh Williams.
In Focus: Williams Comes Up Big
The 27-year-old joined the Reds last season and started 12 games. Williams adds versatility and tenacity at the back that is a major plus for a group of defenders that are looking to be one of the best in MLS.
“After Drew went down I was happy to fill in,” said Williams. “I work hard every day at practice to prepare myself for this. Damien is awesome to play next to. He has a ton of experience and he makes the game easy for me.”
Dom Dwyer had just 19 touches on the ball and only completed six passes. That’s a pretty good day’s work for a centre-back pairing tasked with stopping one of the best strikers in the league.
The Reds Have A Calculated Game Plan On The Road
We’ve seen it through the first three games. TFC is content losing the possession battle. Greg Vanney will happily trade holding onto the ball in non-attacking positions for defensive structure and shape.
“We had a good sense of what Sporting KC's objectives were from an attacking standpoint and what we wanted to try and nullify defensively - I thought we did a good job of that,” said Vanney. “We were organized. We were shutting the spaces and the places down defensively that we thought were coming.”
Outside of Davis’ goal, Seattle mustered few legitimate scoring chances. Compare that to TFC’s opportunities, headlined by Tsubasa Endoh’s shot that was deflected off the crossbar, and it appears Vanney has found a good formula for the road.
TFC Will Be A Different Team At Home
This claim is a bolder one considering we are still a ways away from the home opener on May 7th.
The introduction of Jozy Altidore and Mo Babouli in the 77th minute added attacking flair to the TFC lineup we had not seen in the previous two games.
As mentioned earlier, this is by design. Too often last season the Reds tried to play run and gun on the road, only to succumb in track meets tilted in the home team’s favour. Vanney is committed to not letting this happen in 2016, but this has left Sebastian Giovinco on a bit of an island up top.
TFC HQ: Reds Pleased With Defensive Structure
The Atomic Ant continues to generate chances, as a player of his caliber does, but it’s a lot of hard work. Altidore and Babouli immediately eased that load. When the Reds return to BMO Field there will be more of that to come.
“[Seba’s] been very patient these past few games, knowing that as we progress through this [road trip] we will become more of an attacking team when the time is right and that his opportunities will start to come about,” said Vanney.
The Reds will enjoy a bye week during the international window. TFC returns to MLS action on April 2nd in Denver against the Colorado Rapids.
