TFC 4 Dallas 0: Well, That Was Pretty Much Flawless

By: Sam | June 17th, 2007

Scorers:
TFC- Edu 22′
TFC- Dichio 25′
TFC- Robinson 65′
TFC- Cunningham 90′+2

Analysis:
Well, I could wrap up this whole recap in one single word (the word being “ownage”), but I guess it’s my duty to develop and tell you exactly how much of an ownage it really was. Toronto, especially Toronto’s midfield, played a simply awesome ninety minutes, but in all fairness, it was as if Dallas hadn’t showed up at all. Their defensive marking was absolute, and I do mean absolute, shit, their midfielders were winning virtually no balls, and try as they might, the strikers can’t do much when their support is as it was. It was evident that some of this lack of, um, everything was due to the fact that the Hoops (their fourteenth match this season, like, come on, that’s just lame, LA’s played eight) had played of Thursday, and Carlos Ruiz had played a full game just yesterday (and I didn’t quite like him against Canada. Fricken elbows). Notwithstanding, here’s how the four goals came to be.

Goal number one came on twenty-two minutes, and it all started from Andy Welsh on the side, who played a good ball to a streaking Kevin Goldthwaite. A deft cutback later he was inside the area, and made a funny, but good, little cross that Dichio half-struck more or less well, but it was saved by a FCD defender on the line. The rebound came to Dichio again, who blasted it but found the palms of the excellent Dario Sala. The third rebound, though, rolled right to an isolated Maurice Edu who made no mistake and roofed it. Not five minutes later, on a free kick thirty yards out, Carl Robinson swung in a perfect kick that found the poorly marked Dichio, who floated a clincal header over Sala. Midway through the second half, Robinson got a reward for his sensational game when Goldthwaite crossed in an excellent ball to the ridiculously unmarked Welsh international who placed a textbook header over the shoulder of the Argentinian keeper. We weren’t done. In injury time, with Dallas having completely given up, Ronnie O’Brien crossed once again to an open man, this time Jeff Cunningham, who got a deserved goal when he headed it near side, Sala getting an insufficient touch on it as it went in.

It could have been more, too. No, wait. It should have been more. Jeff Cunningham (I think we’ll call him Mr. Unlucky) hit the crossbar on a fantastic run in the second half, and had a breakaway on which he completely messed up, almost stopping completely, then losing the ball. Andrea Lombardo also got a chance on the very same play, after Dallas’ sloppy back line gave it right back, but Sala made an excellent save there. O’Brien had a solid shot on net in the first half, but Sala was there again.

Dallas wasn’t without their share of chances, of course, but nothing too crazy. A handful of potentially lethal free-kicks wasted, shots wide, and some solid goalkeeping from Djekanovic.

All in all, the defense was great, I think Brennan blocked three shots, and the full-backs made some great runs, but also made me nervous a few times when dealing with Gbandi and Oduro. The midfield, well, was just extraordinary, as I said and will continue to say. Quick, crisp passing, great recovery, and an aggressiveness we’d never seen before. That said, TFC committed 21 fouls, but still smart containing lots of times. The strikers were also very good, beating the offside trap very well a few times, and making intelligent decisions. Now, it’s individual time!

Player’s grades:
Djekanovic: 6,5/10 - A well deserved first clean sheet for the backup. Was never forced to make incredible saves, but when he was called upon, simply made the saves perfectly and never gave up so much as a rebound.
Boyens: 6 - Solid once again. Not as evident as Brennan most of the time, but you can’t fault him, he was decisive in the air around the net, he did what was asked of him.
O’Brien: 7 - Perhaps the best we’ve seen all year. Incredibly strong on the side, got a great assist and was provoking and attracted fouls all game long. Subbed off for Melo on 92 minutes, who I don’t think touched the ball in his pro debut.
Edu: 5,5 - Got the first goal, and otherwise was stellar, but not like his other midfield partners. Still needs work on his decision making, but still contributed a whole lot.
Welsh: 6 - Like what he’s played like all season, but better. Dynamic, running everywhere and picking up loose balls like he does it in his sleep. Created the first goal, and got an assist on the third.
Goldthwaite: 6,5 - Came back from suspension and played very admirably. Great work on the first and third goals, and besides that was everywhere on the touchline to do his work, and more.
Dichio: 7 - Played only the first half, but what a first half it was. Was cruelly denied the first goal, but got the second, very nicely at that. Always present and made a great impact.
*Lombardo: 5,5 - Didn’t fill the gap that Dichio left. It’s a load of fun to watch, but had a few silly offsides and fouls. However, controlled the ball very well and created some chances.
Brennan: 7,5 - Solidifies his rank as captain and star every game. Great tackles, a handful of blocked shots and was constantly a pain for Dallas when they were trying to get stuff going.
Wynne: 6 - A few fantastic runs by the guy we should call “Flash”. Never ceases to impress there but could have done better containing on the side. Nevertheless positive.
Robinson: 8 - An eight? Oh yes, I so went there. Best performance by anyone on this team this season, bar none. Unbeleiveable crosses, a great goal, tackles here and there, very smart distribution. All in all a breathtaking match from this guy. Get him on the all-star team.
Cunningham: 7 - Had his usual 82557 chances on goal, and put the one away very nicely. Good runs, had trouble fininshing of course but a real spark plug. Looking back on the Esky deal, it certainly looks like we got the better.

FC Dallas: Just very, very bad. Starting from Sala, who actually had a decent match, it was all sub-par. Every single one of the goals came to be from poor marking, so the keeper had every right to be infuriated. Toja was invisible as of the first goal, as were the guys by his side Thompson and McCarty, who were subbed at half-time for Nunez and Ruiz, who did little more than get pissed at everyone and everything. The best player was probably Gbandi.

Officiating: Not bad at all. The way I see it all the cautions were warranted, of course four of six being for offences after the whistle. And how about those linesmen, they were spot-on every time, and they had to make about nine dozen offside calls.

Looking ahead: Thanks to the U-20 World Cup (can’t wait!), TFC are embarking on a six-game road trip, starting next Saturday against the Revolution, who may or may not have Taylor Twellman back from the USMNT. The Revs played in quite a cool game against the Crew this week, finshing in a 3-3 draw. Marshall still won’t be there, he’s serving three games, and Sutton will still be out. Bottom line is, we own.

And for general banter, be sure to drop by the Eh-to-Zed Open Thread of this month.