TFC 1 Chivas USA 3

Why did I think that Toronto had a chance to win today ? Why did I choose to attend this match knowing that the cupboard was bare ? Why was Holger Osciek, former coach of Canada and now out of a job, at the game in the MLSE box ?

Toronto came into this game with 9 players missing on international duty (Brennan, Sutton, Wynne, Guevara, Ruiz, Marshall, James, Robinson and Jarrod Smith). So it was destined to be a test of the depth of the squad. Not a test that TFC has studied for much of this season.
Three defenders that started were loans or emergency signings ( Titus, Regan and number 35) and Marco Velez was the steady hand that we were expecting to hold the fort at the back. The plan worked, for a while.
In those fleeting glory minutes of the first half, when Ricketts crossed the ball across the goal mouth and Tyler Rosenlund buried his chance, it was possible to think that long-awaited the goal scoring breakthrough would occur. That thought lingered for a while, although it did not survive to the end of the half. Chivas equalized on a goal by
Then a cheap sho from Eskendarian and a foolish retalitation from Velez were both recognized with red cards. O my kingdom for a player who keeps TFC and himself in the game by not lashing back.

Once Chivas went ahead the TFC effort was relentless, but the finish was not to be. A lot of long balls hoping to hit the target. Some forays down the wing with Ricketts or Smith trying to get a cross into to someone.
Rosenlund had a break that ended with a rushed, weak shot easily stopped. Harmse had the ball in a dangerous spot and just seemed to freeze and nothing came of it. Harmse was shifted back to right back, Gaudet came in and number 35 came out. Harmse kept the supply of long balls and lost causes coming, Gaudet barely contributed.
Nothing creative was coming from the middle of the attack. Later Saturday night, it was painful to watch Guevara get Bernier sent off for Canada, so I am not able to put forward the arguement that Amado is needed to provide drive for TFC. Carl Robinson was missed. His stops and his passing might

Keep Regan and Titus. They contributed and lord knows we need some depth.

I think that the Barrett and Dichio partnership as strikers is just not going to work. It is not that they are two peas in a pod, just that they do not mesh somehow.

Next game will be home against Columbus. It will be a reunion for TFC. The faces will change back to the well known ones. Here is hoping that the goal break through comes before the snow does.