Toronto FC played their third match of preseason on Wednesday afternoon defeating Austin FC 2-1 at their training facility, St. David’s Performance Center in Austin, Texas
Alejandro Pozuelo opened the scoring shortly after the kickoff, converting from the penalty spot. Austin would pull level after Toronto made wholesale changes at the 30-minute mark, but Jordan Perruzza continued his fine start to the year with his third goal in as many games, arriving in the box to finish a cut-back from Ifunanyachi Achara on the right.
“A good day all around,” said Bob Bradley post-match. “Starters played 30 minutes, first time for us to see Jesús Jiménez in the group, I thought he fit in real well. And a really good day for Pozuelo. He found good spots, found moments to work with us defensively, so, for me, it was a really good day for him.”
“We made changes at 30 minutes, the second group comes in and gave up a goal, but responded really well, scored an excellent goal. Good build up, Achara got down the right side and Perruzza found a little space in the middle for a first-time finish. Happy with the way both groups played and we use it now to get ready for Chicago on Saturday.”
It was a second consecutive 2-1 win for the Reds as the beginning of the MLS regular season comes into view.
“It was good, very energetic, we set some good habits in training of pressing, of triggering the press and being an overwhelming team, being very dynamic and forward-minded,” observed Quentin Westberg. “It paid off really fast with that penalty after like two, three minutes and then it was a good battle.”
“[Austin] picked up a better rhythm as it unfolded in the first half and in the second half it was an overall solid game with a lot of coherent stuff,” he continued. “Given the bouncy pitch and the wind, we still were able to develop a decent football, so it's positive.”
Between the coach’s ideas and the injection of youth, the goalkeeper was pleased with the football identity the side is developing.
“I like the aggressiveness. The daring going forward, defending, trying to have a forward-minded team, trying to find the option up the field right away. It's fun,” he said. “It triggers a lot of football thinking and this I really appreciate.”
Entering his second season with the first team, Perruzza, who scored one goal last year, has been dangerous throughout preseason, scoring in each of TFC’s three matches.
“It's great to be able to net goals, to score,” remarked Westberg. “Old school people always say it's easy to defend, it's hard to score and Jordan is able to score goals.”
“I'm really happy for him,” he continued. “He's working hard, like a lot of the young guys and everyone overall, so it's a good mentality. Everyone has the right mindset, the right mentality, and it pays off up the field.”
Toronto will play three more preseason matches before the season opens on February 26 away to FC Dallas. Next week sees them square off against the Houston Dynamo and Sporting KC, while Saturday pits Toronto against the Chicago Fire, a match that will be livestreamed for those eager to get a first glimpse.
The coach is pleased with how the side is coming together.
“The tempo of our game is getting faster every time we step on the field. The mix between pressing and still finding ways to be organized. We're doing a good job with the tempo of our passing, playing a little quicker, playing forward,” said Bradley. “We can still, in certain moments, control games a little bit better, but the ideas of how we can handle different moments in the game, players are doing really well in putting those things together.”
It’s been a busy preseason. More work remains to be done, but those relationships on the pitch are being strengthened with each and every outing.
“Building slowly, being a little bit more accurate on small details, to bond and connect as a team and then as two guys, three guys, in areas of the field,” stressed Westberg of the focus moving forward. “It's getting that feeling and that trust in each other that's really important and playing a lot helps for sure.”
