Toronto FC was back in training on Tuesday ahead of its home game against D.C. United this weekend.
Here are some news and notes from today’s practice at the club’s training facility in Downsview.
Vanney: San Jose loss not a low point
The Reds’ most recent loss set off a firestorm of heated criticism among the club’s loyal and vocal fan base on social media. One enterprising fan even managed to hijack Greg Vanney’s Wikipedia page and wrote some unflattering things about Toronto FC’s coach.
Playing against a nine-man San Jose on Saturday—and this after the Earthquakes were given two very questionable red cards—Toronto still managed to lose 2-1 on the road, with Simon Dawkins scoring the winner in the 70th minute.
Vanney was obviously disappointed by the result, but he refuted the suggestion made by one reporter at Tuesday’s practice that the loss to the short-handed Earthquakes marked the low point of TFC’s season.
“My disappointment is that we should have at least taken a point, and then we would have still accomplished what we wanted to at a minimum. … I don’t look at it as a low point for the season at all. I think we just didn’t execute [with the] chance we had,” Vanney said.
TFC’s coach admitted that his team let the game slip away from them after being given a big opportunity to win it following the Earthquakes’ second red card in the 53rd minute. San Jose bunkered down defensively after being reduced to nine men, making it very difficult for the Reds to break them down.
“Sometimes scoring a goal against nine [players] is not as easy as it sounds because they have one mission, which is to protect their goal. They don’t necessarily have to come too far out of their 18 [yard box], so that’s not always easy. It takes some precise execution, or it takes something to fall on us to jump on it,” Vanney stated.
And while Vanney noted that Dawkins’ shot was one that Alex Bono should have stopped, he refused to put the entire blame on the young goalkeeper.
“We never should have given away a goal. To me, that’s unacceptable in terms of our concentration. It took a series of mistakes in order for the ball to be on goal and in our goal,” Vanney offered.
“I think there are a lot of other guys between the top of their 18 and our goal that could have helped make a play as well. That’s what’s disappointing.”
Giovinco still searching for goals
Sebastian Giovinco failed to score against San Jose, extending his goal drought to eight consecutive MLS games (and 675 minutes), his longest futility streak since joining the Reds last season.
It’s not as though the Italian has been shy about taking shots on goal. The reigning league MVP fired 10 shots against the Earthquakes, with two on target. In his previous match, Giovinco took 13 shots with one on target.
The Italian has eight goals through the first 18 games of the regular season, which is a respectable tally. Last year, his first season in the league, he bagged 22 goals in 33 matches.
But there’s no question Giovinco has hit a rough patch of late, and that no matter what he tries, the goals aren’t falling for him. Vanney said it was bound to happen.
“He’s human. Before he was doing some things that would awe us all, and at some point he was going to become human for a bit,” Vanney stated.
“He’s having a hard time in terms of finding good looks [on net] for himself. … Sometimes we’re forcing some things [to get him the ball] that maybe we don’t need to force—we need to be a little more patient.”
Vanney also believes that the Italian sometimes tries to do too much on his own.
“He takes a lot of onus to try to help this team in terms of scoring goals, especially when we have injuries. I see him putting a lot of pressure on himself to try to make a difference,” Vanney said.
“I respect that. I just think he has to allow us to help him and vice versa.”
Giovinco was unavailable to speak to reporters after Tuesday’s practice.
Injury update
Vanney said there are no new injury concerns ahead of this weekend’s match.
TFC’s coach also said he’s hopeful that Jozy Altidore will play some role in Saturday’s home game. Altidore was an unused substitute in last weekend’s loss in San Jose in his return to the lineup—the American forward had previously been sidelined with a hamstring injury since mid-May.
Starting goalkeeper Clint Irwin (quadriceps strain), captain Michael Bradley (knee sprain) and Canadian midfielder Will Johnson (bone fracture) remain out with long-term injuries. Vanney said all three are making progress, and that he hopes to integrate all of them back into training over the next few weeks.
The original thought was that the trio of starters would all be out for six weeks, and that they’d be available for the Aug. 13 road game vs. Houston. But Vanney on Tuesday declined to put any kind of timeline on their possible returns.
Looking ahead
D.C. (5-7-7) sits seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points and two places behind Toronto (6-7-6). D.C. is coming off a 1-1 draw vs. Columbus last weekend. Forwards Alvaro Saborio and Fabian Espindola lead the team in goals with four goals each.
TFC is 8-12-4 all-time against D.C. in MLS action. The previous meeting between Toronto and D.C. came in April when the Reds earned a 1-0 road win.
Saturday’s game is the first of a four-match homestand for the Reds, who will also host Columbus (July 31), Real Salt Lake (Aug. 3) and New England (Aug. 6).
“[The San Jose loss] is behind us now. We have to focus on D.C. and the four games that are here are at home. That’s our focus. Getting healthy continues to be our focus. … The weekend was the weekend—it’s behind us now,” Vanney said
I’ll have a story on Toronto FC goalkeeper Alex Bono tomorrow for Sportsnet.ca.
I’ll also have a full-length feature story on TFC defender Justin Morrow later this week.
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