Yes, TFC scored two second half goals and secured another home victory. They stay top of the Eastern Conference with 32 points (16 games played - 9 W 2 L 5 T) but only one point ahead of surprising Schweinsteigered Chicago.
Still I was a little haunted by TFC being shut out by New England on the road a few weeks ago. Altidore and Bradley missed that one for USA duty. TFC had scoring chances by the bucket in the first half and at the very least should not have been held scoreless in that game.
So this weeks old haunting combined with a scoreless first half last night had me worried. Here was TFC back at home, Altidore and Bradley back on the field, and a touch of rust and dust was to be expected. This starting 11 had not been on the field together for a while.
When the subtle touches, the close passes, the sweeping long passes to move the point of attack and stretch the defending team are moving with a beautiful flow, TFC are a sight to behold. Yet sometimes it feels as if they are one measure short of a goal of the week candidate and that only a work of art will do. Have we fans been spoiled? The five goal demolishment of Columbus setting too high a standard?
TFC were clearly the better team tonight, but DC United 2017 have been struggling. They are currently last in the Eastern standings. It might have been a classic case of playing down to weaker opponents or it might have been that dust and rust from not playing together. I worry that is more a matter of lesser teams defending with bodies in the box and TFC letting their tendency for finesse get the better of them. For all my love of the finesse game, sometimes you have to score ugly.
In the coming summer transfer window, would I trade Armando Cooper, the finesse player deepest on the midfield depth chart and lately not even gathering dust on the bench, for a hulking brute forward? Certainly. Are you reading Mr. Bezbatchenko?
The goals from Altidore and Hamilton, both set-up by Giovinco, were moments of skill and daring. Yet it was also concerning that Altidore, Giovinco and Bradley all picked up yellow cards last night. I was not comfortable with the ref last night and once again worry about our finesse team being roughed up and the ref only seeing the response. Michael Bradley now misses the New England rematch due to card accumulation.
Special mentions - Chris Mavinga was worth the price of admission last night. His bold defending, all timing and laser like feet, was a thrill to watch. He had a better game than Victor Vazquez, I felt. Since they are both the dazzling newcomers to TFC this year, I tend to compare them. Vazquez might only be guilty of establishing a supreme standard with his performance against Columbus. Michael Bradley was strong defending and positioning, but his long passing was falling back into the spraying wildly around the field category. I wore my USA shirt in honour of his superb goal against Mexico last week. Good things happen when you retain the threat of shooting the ball from surprising locations. That is surprising locations on the field of play, not surprising locations in the nation of Mexico.
I will miss the New England game due to being away in, of all places, New England next weekend. It's not soccer related. I am a long time dedicated fan of the band Wilco. Although they are from the Chicago area, they hold a music festival every two years in a small Massachusetts town named North Adams (at an incredible site- the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art or MASS MoCA). The festival is called Solid Sound , I have not missed one yet and 2017 is no exception. So I am not sure if I will blog or even be able to follow the game. Maybe I will beg a guest blogger to fill something in for me. Trust me, I want TFC to destroy New England. With their Trump friend owner and their hollow NFL ambiance home field, I put them above Columbus recently on my despised rival list.
Until the next time, All for One.
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