A double foul night Rapids 1 TFC 0

It is early in the season, so I don't want to inject too much panic into my account of game 4 vs Colorado Rapids. The early target was to gain a minimum of what, eight points from the first 8 games (all on the road). Now at four points after four games, 8 can still happen. Hell, win the next three (New England, DC and Montreal) and losing two 1-0 games in a row will be forgotten.

The target for season 2016 was to cut down on goals against and only allowing a goal is a step in the right direction. Clint Irwin was solid and spectacular in the net for TFC. The defending of the back four may not be world class, but it does have the potential to be the best that Toronto has ever had.

The big question at this stage of the season is scoring goals.

I like Benoit Cheyrou, I really do. The TFC midfield is a work in progress (what else is new?) and I can see Cheyrou playing a role in that midfield. When he is on his game he combines sharp passing with tough tackling. He is a veteran player, no longer swift, but good to have on the squad. Tonight we would have been better off if he had missed the flight out west.

Cheyrou picked up two yellow cards in rapid succession and had TFC down a man with 70+ minutes to play. Ref may have been harsh, Cheyrou may have been reckless. It did cast a huge shadow over the game, not just as a fan, but as an evening's entertainment.

At the end of the night I felt it was bit of a"plague on both of your houses"situation. Colorado truly needed that man advantage for 70 minutes to eke out a 1-0 win. They seemed so damned thrilled with themselves after the final whistle. Bush league (although it could be just tv camera selection bias).

Back to the frustration with watching TFC NOT score for two games in a row.
TFC had far too many passengers, for too much of the game. Sure, you need to double your effort at defending when down a player, but attacking play and awareness too often vanished. It became a night of hoping that Giovinco could make something of nothing. Lovitz? Baboulli? Osorio? Altidore? All contributed far too little. Bradley and Johnson had effort and energy still in the tank at the end, but they had times aplenty where their passing and moving contributions were minimal.

One hopes that letting this one slip through the team's fingers will inspire TFC to put on a performance next weekend on that crappy turf in Foxboro vs the Revolution. It has not been the site for many moments of TFC glory, time for a new tradition.

PS I blame EVERYTHING that went wrong tonight on those uniforms - red/white/blue makes TFC look too All-American in my view. It took me some minutes to register which team was TFC. This is what TFC would look like if purchased by Donald Trump.  

I say, bring back the red and grey