Toronto shows perpetual offense, defeats KC 2-0

There is something sweet brewing down by Lake Ontario. That once wonky home team is showing signs of coming together on a fast-track schedule that not even the crazy optimistic few were ever predicting. We fans spent the winter complaining about the lack of ingredients going into the stew-pot, but if this continues who cares about the slow cooking method that got us to this point ?
Toronto FC won their second home game today, defeating the Kansas City Wizards 2-0. Amado Guevara scored both goals and if the first one was just taking advantage of bad KC defending, the second was brilliant and inspired. He curled in a high free kick, over the wall and under the crossbar. The build-up to that goal was worth the price of admission. Robert and Guevara both over the ball and deliberating to the point that Robinson ran back with what seemed to be an offer to mediate. No need for intervention, it was just part of the drama.
TFC have yet to allow a goal in two home games and have created their very first three game winning streak. Greg Sutton in goal and the back four are working together smoothly. Although you were always aware of KC’s ability to counter-attack, even the eventual Marco Velez mistake was corrected and countered. It is unfair to mention the Velez scary moment, he has looked strong and steady at BMO Field to my eye.
Every midfielder made a complete contribution. I am willing to give a huge salute to Carl Robinson who may have played his best ever game in a TFC uniform that I have witnessed. He was everywhere, tracking and disrupting the KC attack and distributing the ball crisply and smartly when Toronto had the ball. He seemed to know the Wizard attacking strategy better than they did. Lauren Robert had a productive first half as Toronto did everything short of scoring. Robert does tire in the second half and I am hoping that his stamina can improve for the hot months to come. I was silently willing John Carver to sub Robert for at least 15 minutes before he did. But Carver's delay meant that Robert was there as a free kick threat/decoy on the spectacular second goal. There is no doubt that the burst of energy that Jarrod Smith brought to the left flank was startling and we should see more of him, possibly earlier.
Maurice Edu played well,, but he seems to be still adjusting to the new trio around him (Guevara, Robert and Ricketts). Speaking of adjustments, Ricketts and Wynne seem to be on different pages. The potential to be mined there is considerable. I liked that Carver switched his wingers, Ricketts and Robert, from time to time.
Danny Dichio continues to work hard, but looks surrounded by defenders most of the time in this new alignment. Guevera seems to play a fluid role, but I think he is more connected to the midfield than he is to Dichio. Danny Dichio is still a big part of this team, but if the rumours of a summer Designated Player striker signing have any truth to them, his days as a starter may be numbered.
PS- I have to share my bleat on the release of Tyler Hemmings. You have to hope that it is a situation where he goes somewhere to get playing time and a bigger paycheque. The TFC record on developing Canadian talent is crappy and needs some attention.

TFC 0 Real Salt Lake 0

It was pathetic today. I deserve better. Well, I mean all fans deserve better, but I am taking this miserable play personally. Must have been the cold winds off the lake that soured me. TFC needs to find a half dozen players for next season. The goal scoring drought has taken on a life of it's own. Yes. there is an element of rotten luck, but there is also a lot of flaws being exposed.
Real Salt Lake was reduced to 10 players late in the first half. It had been a close, but chippy game. Esky went down like a ton of bricks to trick the ref into the yellow on Boyens. The Real Salt Lake players spent a lot of time talking to the ref and he was putting up with it. You felt they were reviewing their take on the laws of the game and all the ghastly (ghost) fouls that he was missing. In the early going with the man advantage, there were some close misses, but somehow there was a lack of optimism in the air going into half-time.

The critical exposure of the TFC lack of depth started with the second half when a half-time injury to Marvell Wynne meant that Adam Braz was put into the game at right back. Perhaps the Wynne injury was connected to the foul on him from behind that led to the red card? You can go ahead and tease me, I did name Braz my man of the match last week in Dallas, but you got the feeling that Salt Lake's defending stategy was leave Braz unmarked because they wanted him to have the ball. Braz would work the ball up to his winger Miguel Canizalez who would look scared with the ball, go nowhere and manage to lose the ball or scramble it back to Braz. Maybe I am too harsh on Canizalez, the TFC roster on the website lists him as a defender. If that is true, what was Mo thinking ??
So instead of dominating the midfield, Carl Robinson was playing way back to give Braz an option to pass to. If he was needed back there to anchor the d, maybe Andy Boyens should have been sent forward. It seemed defeatist to be playing with five in the back.(Did Caninzalez make it 6 ??)
Hey, how about an overlap Carl Robinson ? He could have been penetrating the right wing, but instead he seemed to be a central gatekeeper, always channeling passes from Braz to Brennan or Brennan to Braz. If a Robinson supplied a pass forward to Edu he was always surrounded by the Salt Lake midfield. How about a give'n go Robinson ?? Follow your pass or make a run. I think I saw Robinson come forward once and that was when Braz came up a with a power pass that flew over everyone into the stands.
The TFC attack down the left (Brennan and Dunivant) did break through and supplied some hopeful crosses. This duo work very hard and try to come up with something- but they are defenders playing out of position.
Andrea Lombardo either has incredible bad luck or has no touch around the net. He does seem to head goalward with the ball, showing little awareness of Colin Samuel or anyone else for that matter. RSL did have veteran Eddie Pope covering Lombardo a lot of the time, so that there was little room for vision. When Jeff Cunningham came on there was more interplay between he and Samuels in a few minutes than we had seen all day between Lombardo and Samuel. A healthy Cunningham must pave the way for Lombardo to spend the rest of the season on the bench.
So a tie and another non goalfest for TFC. The air has gone out of this season. It started leaking in July, but it is gone now. It is next year's squad that is being formed now. I wish that TFC players would stop playing themselves off of that squad, but that is the nature of growing pains.