Toronto FC may not have been considered legitimate Eastern Conference contenders heading into the weekend, but they certainly are now.
Two outstanding goals from Sebastian Giovinco powered the Reds to a 2-1 win against D.C. United at RFK Stadium.
Toronto’s win ended a 20-game home unbeaten streak for the home side and firmly entrenched Greg Vanney’s squad as contenders in the east.
“Going into the game, we wanted to be the team that ended that streak,” said Vanney. “It shows the progress that we’re making as a group.”
Vote Giovinco for MLS Goal Of The Week
Giovinco is arguably the league’s best player and laid stake to that claim with another stunning performance. Much will be said about the Atomic Ant so we don’t need to do that here, at least not in this piece.
Here are three other takeaways from Saturday night’s win in the American capital.
Benoit Cheyrou Is A Steady Presence
TFC’s midfield diamond continued to churn along, even without captain Michael Bradley. Benoit Cheyrou, wearing the armband for the second time this season, registered his most complete performance for the club in Washington.
Cheyrou created the game winning goal, dispossessing Luis Silva in the midfield and sliding a perfectly weighted ball through the legs of Jozy Altidore to Giovinco.
Cheyrou has been dominant since slotting into the defensive midfield role of Vanney’s diamond. He’s a calming influence at the back, but he’s also creating chances going forward.
Off the field he’s been a mentor to the likes of Jay Chapman and Chris Mannella. That, in the long run, may be his most valuable service for the club. TFC is lucky to have him.
Zavaleta Continues To Impress
Eriq Zavaleta is staking claim to the left centre-back starting position after another solid performance.
The young defender was dealt a rough hand early on after Steve Birnbaum opened the scoring five minutes in, but his resolve, along with Damien Perquis, helped ease things after a tumultuous start to the game.
“We were a bit sluggish to start,” said the former Chivas USA man. “But we found our feet. We dominated the chances for the most part, especially in the first half. We knew if we came here, defended well and made them try to break us down that we would be successful.”
Zavaleta’s play is a promising development, and with Steven Caldwell inching his way back into the lineup we could see TFC form some depth at an important position.
Set Piece Defending
Birnbaum’s goal was a familiar sight early on in the 2015 campaign.
Opposing teams have been targeting TFC’s back post in set piece situations with success.
Obviously it goes without saying that it’s an important facet of the game, but the the issue continues to flare up. After D.C.’s opening salvo Ben Olsen’s side was effectively neutered by the Reds’ defence, but cleaning up this facet of the game is an important issue for Vanney’s coaching staff.
We’ve seen steady improvement in that area, but the process is ongoing.
