TORONTO -- After a week of answering questions over why the team is unable to score at BMO Field, Toronto FC put the debate to rest with a 3-1 win over the visiting New England Revolution.
Amado Guevara delivered book-end goals to a Dwayne De Rosario effort and increased his team-leading tally to five on the year. The decisive score line also sees Toronto into top spot in the Eastern standings.
"We have been criticized of late and we criticize ourselves too," Toronto coach Chris Cummins said of the recent goal shortage. "But I am over the moon for the lads because it pushes us back to the top and I am pleased for the fans as they deserve to see some goals."
The three points vaults Toronto from third place to first with Chicago, D.C. and Kansas City still to play over the weekend.
The Revolution struck first in the 13th minute when a Chris Tierney cross found Shalrie Joseph alone at edge of the six-yard box to head his third goal of the year past Stefan Frei.
"It was a perfect ball," Joseph said. "(Tierney) couldn't have found me better. It was an easy chance, put it that way. He put it in a perfect spot and I just had to run onto it and get enough on it that it went in the corner."
Toronto FC wasted no time evening the contest a minute later when Guevara gave Revs' goalkeeper Matt Reis no chance to stop a one-timed laser from outside the box.
"It wasn't a great game. I don't think it was a great game. We have played better and lost or got a draw," Cummins said of the overall play. "But we ground out a result and the difference is the lads scored the goals at the right time."
Toronto dominated first-half chances (10 shots, five on goal) and came close to taking the lead in the 41st minute on a virtuoso effort from De Rosario. The Canadian weaved through the New England defence before unleashing a powerful shot that forced Reis to make a save.
De Rosario got his redemption in the 68th minute when Danny Dichio put the Canadian in alone to score his fourth goal on the season.
Up 2-1, Toronto again wasted no time to tally another in the 70th minute when a Guevara free kick from 25-yards out bounced untouched past Reis. The Revs goalkeeper was screened by Dichio on the play.
"Amado is a winner," Cummins said. "And you see even at 3-1 he is still competitive and he wants to win."
Dichio, who was substituted for Pablo Vitti in the 81st minute, collected assists on both the Guevara and De Rosario goals.
"We (Guevara) joked on the bench afterwards and I said I got a little touch to it and he said, 'No way,'" the 34-year-old Dichio said of the third goal. "If I had my long hair like when I was 21 it would have been my goal."
New England played without franchise leading scorer Taylor Twellman, who continues to battle back from severe whiplash suffered during a game last August.
"We are only playing in spurts right now," Shalrie Joseph said of his team's effort. "We look good for 10 or 15 minutes then the next 10 we look like we can't get it together."
Toronto FC hit the road for a pair of games starting next Saturday against De Rosario's old club, the Houston Dynamo.
TFC Lineup: Stefan Frei; Adrian Serioux, Jim Brennan (C), Marvell Wynne, Nana Attakora-Gyan; Sam Cronin, Amado Guevara (Harmse, 86), Dwayne De Rosario, Carl Robinson; Danny Dichio (Vitti, 82), Chad Barrett (Ricketts, 90)
Bench: Kevin Harmse, Faud Ibrahim, Rohan Ricketts, Johann Smith, Marco Velez, Pablo Vitti, Greg Sutton (GK)
Scoring:
NE -- Shalrie Joseph 3 (Chris Tierney 1, Jay Heaps 1) 13 TOR -- Amado Guevara 4 (Danny Dichio 1) 14 TOR -- Dwayne De Rosario 4 (Danny Dichio 2) 68 TOR -- Amado Guevara 5 (unassisted) 70.
