TFC wary of D.C. United in home opener

TFC plays their home opener at BMO Field against D.C. United, and Dwayne De Rosario joined Tim & Sid to tee it up. His enthusiasm is curbed by the news of his March Madness bracket falling apart.

TORONTO – It’s a date that the majority of Toronto FC players have had circled on their calendar since pre-season.

Now there’s even more buzz and hype surrounding TFC’s home opener against D.C. United on Saturday at BMO Field in the aftermath of the Reds’ season-opening 2-1 win over the Sounders in Seattle last week.

There’s excitement, but also a sense of concern from Toronto ahead of this tilt.

Like TFC, United is coming off a disastrous 2013 campaign, winning three games and finishing dead last in Major League Soccer—this after reaching the Eastern Conference finals the year before. D.C. spent big in the off-season, signing Eddie Johnson to a DP contract in the hopes that the American forward can bolster its anemic attack and help turn around the team’s fortunes

So far, it looks like D.C. remains a work in progress. United is coming off a bye after opening the campaign with a heavy 3-0 home loss to the Columbus Crew in the first week of the season. It was a less-than-stellar performance from United, who had seven new starters in their line-up and featured a new-look defence.

Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen, who began his pro playing career with D.C. before moving to England, believes the Columbus result was misleading, and not an accurate reflection of United’s quality.

“They’re a playoff team, there’s no question about that—it’s just a matter of when they gel,” Nelsen told reporters after practice on Friday.

“They’ve had a couple of weeks to get over the first game, so they’ll tighten up. They’ll be stronger and wanting to make a point. It’ll be an extremely difficult game for us.”

He later cautioned: “They have a lot talent and they can turn over any team anywhere. We have to be on our game.”

Despite an influx of new players D.C. had a solid base, opined Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley.

“We played them in pre-season, so we got a little feel for what they’re like, some of their guys,” Bradley said. “There is still a core group of guys who have been (around) in MLS… The main thing we’ve talked about is worrying about ourselves and what we control and the way we start the game.”

Nelsen sees some similarities between TFC and his former club. Both teams spent big in the off-season, both are coming off disappointing campaigns, and both are expecting better results in 2014 after retooling their rosters.

“They came close to winning the Eastern Conference and then they had a year that they’d probably like to forget,” Nelsen said. “They’ve had to figure themselves out again. They’ve gone about and done that, and done it really well. They’ve brought in some very talented players.”

In the win over the Sounders last week, Toronto did well to contain Sounders forward Clint Dempsey, even though he scored. TFC took a physical approach when it came to Dempsey, marking him close and trying to deny him open space. They’ll look to do the same against Johnson.

“All the good players punish you when they have a bit of space and time. We understand that. We understood that with Seattle. We understood their strengths and tried to negate them. … Eddie Johnson is one of the best strikers in the league so we’ll obviously try to negate his strengths,” Nelsen stated.

Fresh off a two-goal effort against Seattle, Jermain Defoe is anxious to show that last week’s performance wasn’t a one-off, and that TFC can build some momentum with another poised outing against D.C.

“It’s an important game because if we don’t get a result (Saturday) then I suppose the win in Seattle counts for nothing. Stay humble, work hard for each other. It’s going to be a difficult game but I believe it’s a game we can win,” Defoe said.

Injury update

Nelsen confirmed Brazilian striker Gilberto and English right back Bradley Orr are available for selection on Saturday. Both players missed the majority of pre-season and sat out last week’s opener in Seattle through injury.

Midfielder Jeremy Hall and Canadian forward Jordan Hamilton (both carrying hamstring injuries) will return to full training on Monday.

New players coming in

Issey Nakajima-Farran continues to train with TFC. He’s been practising with the team for several weeks now, but Nelsen said he was hopeful that a deal with the Canadian midfielder will be completed in the coming days.

“We’re desperate to bring Issey in. I think if it’s not done by the weekend, it will be done ASAP,” Nelsen commented.

Also, former Columbus Crew midfielder/defender Danny O’Rourke practised with TFC on Friday. O’Rourke has been without a club since the end of last season when the Crew declined his contract option. Nelsen said O’Rourke is in town to work out with the team until next week, and hinted he’d make a decision on signing the former Crew star at the end of his training stint.

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