The contrasts between Toronto FC’s play at home versus the road just continue to be more evident. So much so, that the only similarity between the home and road versions lies in the names on the roster.
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<p style="font-size: 10px; margin: 0pt auto;">Preki explains the second half adjustment.</p> |
TFC added to the discrepancy Saturday after downing Chicago 4-1 at a dreary BMO Field thanks to a three-goal explosion in the second half.
How big is the gap? Let’s look at the facts.
Toronto is 3-0 at home with the win, 4-0 if you include its win over the Montreal Impact on April 28 in Nutrilite Canadian Championship play, and has outscored its opponents 8-3.
Yet away from the raucous confines of BMO Field, Preki’s side is 0-4 and has been outscored 11-3. The coach attributed the team’s road woes to a lack of mental toughness.
That’ll take some time to fix, but he can take solace on this day in the fact that his offense, as the defense has done, seems to be coming together. And it couldn’t happen soon enough.
With a three-game, 15-day road trip coming up, TFC will need to package what it did today and unleash it on the opposition starting in Montreal this coming Wednesday in NCC action.
While the goals are nice, what’s more promising is the total team effort on offense with a combination of incisive passing and deft finishing from the likes of Chad Barrett and O’Brian White.
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<p style="font-size: 10px; margin: 0pt auto;">Barrett gains confidence.</p> |
The tireless Barrett scored twice against his former club, while White recorded one and set up another in just a half of work.
“We’re the only true forwards on the team right now,” Barrett said. “Even if we don’t start up top, which we haven’t done the last two games, he [White] comes in and we don’t miss a beat."
It would be easy to give credit to TFC captain Dwayne De Rosario for the outburst. After all, he assisted on two goals and indirectly set up another.
But on this day, it was a simple adjustment that should be lauded. With the wind at their back to start the second half, Preki told his team to play the ball on the ground and focus more on passing.
“I told the group at halftime that it’s going to probably be easier for us in the second half to move the ball and put the ball on the ground because sometimes when the wind is blowing in your face it's easier to play,” Preki said. “So we just tried to make sure we played the ball on the ground as much as we can and we certainly did for some moments, pretty good combinations and pretty nice goals.”
The outburst is welcome news for De Rosario, who has been the offense for TFC, scoring six of the team’s seven goals. He couldn’t be asked to shoulder the load for the entire season.
“I know it’s a good relief for them," De Rosario said. "Hopefully we can take this confidence and bring it on the road with us.”
There’s no doubt with De Rosario, White and Barrett, the talent is there on offense, if not the consistency. The key is how to transfer that play to the road. Again it comes back to mental toughness and the desire to impose their will on the opponent regardless of the environs.
“We can play, we have players on this team that can play, we can pass we get more confident every game," Barrett said. "Preki preaches it every day and he did the same thing with Chivas USA. Chivas wasn’t a good passing team and then he got there. He wants to play a certain way."
