After that letdown on the road last Sunday in Dallas, TFC has righted the ship despite their Saturday leadership surprise. Two home games in a row resulting in two victories are just what the doctor ordered. However, don't tell the doctor what this team puts everyone through as they take a one goal lead for a thrill ride in the final minutes. The stress of warding off those TFC late in the day miscues has to be bad for your health. Stephan Frei made a late game saving stop and tipped another shot over the net to save the victory. The Toronto dedication to defending never faltered, but you could tell KC was always ready to take advantage of any weakness.
There was little to choose between the teams in the first half, but Toronto had grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck for most of the second half. The three TFC forwards were on the attack all afternoon. Danny Dichio, making a huge claim on a continued starter's role, scored the goal, but chances were missed by many. The bad luck of Chad Barrett continues, he went off injured just after his most spectacular miss. On the replay it looked as if he had fallen on the play before the ball got to him but it still seemed harder to miss than to hit the target.
Pablo Vitti played his best game for TFC yet and was awarded the man of the match. No argument from me on that call. Vitti was always driving forward, the ball at his feet and he pulled off some surprising moves that lead to clear shots on net. Although he was not rewarded with a goal today (keep your shirt on Pablo until after checking for the offside flag) it is only a matter of time before those goals start coming. He seemed more connected and aware of those around him. He was rarely trapped by three defenders as he was against Chivas USA. Despite his dazzling ball skills, he looks to bring others into the attack as well as making his own shots. In a nutshell, he seems to be everything that Jeff Cunningham wasn't. Now that I have compared him that way, it is mandatory that he start scoring.
The same starting line-up was used as the other night against Chivas USA (Frei, Brennan, Velez, Serioux, Wynne, Robinson, Cronin, Guevara, Barrett, Dichio, Vitti).
It was another cold day on the west side. We were quickly in shade and the wind was the opposite of the night game this past week, coming right off the lake.
On the KC side, while we are lamenting TFC's lack of scoring finish, it is possible that Kevin Hartman's goalkeeping is more of a difference in a game like today than many Toronto fans would be willing to admit.
I will post again in the morning...when there has been time for TFC's lofty position in the Eastern standings to have sunk in.
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