TFC 0 Kansas City 1: So Close, So Very Very Close

By: Sam | April 28th, 2007

Scorers:
KC- Johnson 81′

Analysis:
Argh, argh and argh again. Four in a row. This one, however, hurts. We played well. Did you see that first half? Did you? Christ. We deserved to win this one. The midfield were coherent, the defenders tackling well, bar a few lapses, and Esky and Dichio both could have buried one. But nevermind the game for right now? How about that atmosphere? The supporters blew me away. I’m happy we’re being well represented and making a name for ourselves in the early going of our history. The CBC coverage was not bad, Nigel Reed and Craig Forrest provided some good insight, but Scott Russell needs work. “It’s zero-zero on the field.” Also talking about some guy named Zenedin Zedain, whoever that might be.
Back to the game, though. Toronto made a handful of mistakes in the middle of our half, but usually made up for it. Eddie “Offside” Johnson’s goal, however, wasn’t part of it. Lazy defending by Kevin Goldthwaite (look at the replay, what the hell was he up to, walking back like that?) and poor reflexes by the otherwise-solid Sutton spelled the death, rendering BMO Field silent, before they got back together and booed the hell out of Eddie. I’ve done the math, and the tally is: 371 minutes and 24 seconds of scoreless soccer from TFC. Impresive, no?

Player’s grades:
Sutton: 6,5/10 - Forget the jitters he may have had in the previous matches. Made some excellent saves, on Johnson especially and was unrivaled in the air. Could have done better on the goal though.
Boyens: 5,5 - Looked by far better than before. Used his size to his advantage and made good tackles, albeit being beat by Johnson a few times. Booked very early, a little severe to my liking.
Edu: 6 - Strong showing once again from our prized midfielder. Came within a hair of netting the first goal in the first half when he fought off two defenders and hit his shot wide. Encouraging to say the least.
Welsh: 5 - Decent match on the outside. Really sparked in the first half-hour, but died down afterwards. Lack of fitness perhaps. Subbed off for Canizales on 68 minutes, who was ineffective.
Goldthwaite: 6 - He’s impressing me. Made crucial tackles and joined in the attack frequently. The only no-no was his marking on the goal.
Dichio: 5,5 - Can you say “fan favourite”? Implicated in just about every attack, but couldn’t muster anything. First game in MLS however, so not a catastrophe. Booked for a challenge on Hartman, which I didn’t like either.
Eskandarian: 5,5 - Looked like a midfielder, almost. Semi-dangerous on the edge of the box, part of the group of guys who just couldn’t get the right touch when they needed to. But I can feel it coming for him.
Brennan: 7 - Hands down the best performance I’ve seen all year by any player. Considering that he’s a natural midfielder, it was an absolute beauty of a match, with smart clearances, perfectly-timed tackles and all-around awesome hustle. Let him keep the armband.
Wynne: 5 - Might as well put him on midfield. Was really eager to contribute, but got outran and missed a few tackles that led to good chances for the Wizards. He needs work, but he’ll be fine.
Nagamura: 6,5 - I loved what I saw. He didn’t get booked (alright!) and set the tone in the midfield. All over the place, whether on offense or defense. Still fouling of course, but that didn’t amount to anything today. Subbed off for Buddle on 86 minutes, who (sigh) was invisible.
Robinson: 5 - Nothing has changed so far for Robinson. No outstanding plays or mistakes, but he seems like a set-piece wasting expert. Everyone’s expecting more.

Kansas City: Looked a bit like Toronto in the first two games, to be honest. Simple but effective in the back, with lack of communication in the middle that led to turnovers. Eddie Johnson was once again lethal, and got a deserved goal after being foiled a few times. Their midfield was a lot quieter than on Wednesday, with Marinelli leaving on 16 minutes to treat an injury to his calf. Harrington, getting an assist, was still less visible than last time. The bottom line is, however, they won.

Officiating: Bad. Seems like he likes to blow his whistle, that boy. All five bookings were not especially worthy of a card, I thought. Lots of fouls called inside the area that turned out to be nothing at all. Didn’t help that KC were floppin’ a good deal as well.

Looking ahead: Chicago are next on our four-game homestand. I don’t have anything really to say about what we need to work on, except getting a fricking goal. Yeesh. See ya!