TORONTO – This is just beyond ridiculous now.
After scoring what looked like a late dramatic equalizer, Toronto FC conceded a goal in the 89th minute to suffer a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday afternoon.
Tim Cahill’s second goal of the game cancelled out a sensational strike by TFC substitute Jonathan Osorio just six minutes earlier. Cahill’s winner came after Toronto defender Ashtone Morgan failed to clear a ball out of danger with Red Bulls swarming the penalty area.
With the loss, Toronto is now 1-3-4 on the Major League Soccer season and is winless in its last six games (four draws and two losses).
That TFC couldn’t hold on for the draw was hardly a surprise, having conceded an equalizer in injury time in their previous two MLS games, and in three of their previous four. By this correspondent’s count, Saturday marked the 35th time the Reds have coughed up a goal in the final 10 minutes of the game, as wins continue to turn into draws and draws into losses.
Hardly a surprise, then, that many of the 20,009 fans in attendance at BMO Field booed the Toronto players off the field after the final whistle.
After settling for a draw against Houston last week, Toronto captain Darren O’Dea boldly promised that no more late game collapses would occur. The Irishman on Saturday wisely didn’t make any similar promises as he sheepishly struggled for answers as to why this team continues to concede late and throw away points.
“I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. I don’t understand,” said O’Dea, who had his best game for TFC since joining the club last summer.
Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen offered: “It’s not a jinx, it’s not a hoax or anything like that. We need personalities to go and clear the ball and win the ball; strong personalities who want it.”
Spare a thought for Toronto forward Robert Earnshaw, the club’s top scorer with five goals. Not for the first time this season, the Welshman was deprived of quality service on Saturday and had to rely on his own wits to create scoring chances for himself.
To his credit, Earnshaw refused to point fingers at any of his teammates.
“I’m trying to make my runs right for my teammates to find me. I can’t fault my teammates. They’re really working hard. … I can’t fault their work ethic, and their will to try to give me chances,” Earnshaw stated.
The lack of midfield creativity has been a major theme of TFC’s campaign, as Earnshaw continues to be completely isolated up front. Simply put, it’s a problem area and general manager Kevin Payne has to address it quickly before this MLS season completely slips away from Toronto.
But while coach Ryan Nelsen acknowledged he was disappointed with his team’s overall performance, he bristled at this reporter’s suggestion that his team has lacked creative midfield play this season.
“Well, creativity in the midfield – that’s just a buzzword. It’s easy to say that,” Nelsen said. “We had our chances. Guys were trying. … If you look at clear chances in the second half, we had them.”
TFC started very brightly but created very little through the midfield, and New York quickly took control of the game as the first half progressed.
Toronto forward Justin Braun limped off the field with a foot injury after 12 minutes and was replaced by Andrew Wiedeman, who was kept in check by New York defender Jamison Olave.
While O’Dea did a good job of containing New York’s Thierry Henry, the Red Bulls exploited TFC down the wings through Roy Miller and Lloyd Sam. Defenders Morgan and Ryan Richter struggled to deal with New York’s strong play on the wings all game.
Earnshaw created Toronto’s only scoring chance of the first half, chipping a long-range shot over the crossbar in the 32nd minute.
New York took the lead in the 39th minute. Miller gave Richter the slip down the right and played a low pass into the middle. Instead of hitting it, Henry played a lovely dummy, leaving the ball to run through to Cahill to fire home with a cool finish.
Toronto has now gone nine consecutive MLS games without keeping a clean sheet, a run that dates back to last October.
Fabian Espindola had a chance to double New York’s lead in injury time, but TFC goalkeeper Joe Bendik made a great save from in close to deny the Red Bulls forward.
After an ineffective opening 45 minutes, an injured Hogan Ephraim was replaced by fellow Englishman John Bostock at the start of the second half. Bostock offered very little as TFC’s attack continued to look anaemic, even though New York dropped back further and further in defence.
In the 83rd minute, Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles foolishly came off his line to try to punch away a free kick floated into the penalty area. Robles failed to clear it and as he scrambled back to his goal-line, Toronto-native Osorio chipped a lovely shot that tucked in just under the crossbar.
But it wasn’t meant to be. A failed clearance by Morgan allowed Cahill head home from close range and notch the winner for New York in the final minute of regulation.
Although he didn’t mention Morgan by name, Nelsen did warn that players will soon pay for their mistakes on the field with less playing time.
“We don’t seem to have that personality and character to go and put out the fire. Clear (the ball) into the stands or smash it miles away,” Nelsen said.
NOTES: Toronto FC returns to action next Wednesday when it visits the Montreal Impact in the second leg semifinals of the Canadian club championship. Then it plays two MLS road games, against Colorado (May 4) and San Jose (May 8)… Argentine midfielder Matias Laba, who signed with TFC on Friday, did not dress for Saturday’s game but could make his club debut against Montreal… New York was missing Brazilian playmaker Juninho (suspension) and influential midfielder Dax McCarty (quad injury)…
