By Ryan Johnston
SPORTSNET.CA
TORONTO — Striker Jeff Cunningham was nowhere to be found for comment after Toronto FC was eliminated from the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on Tuesday night. So instead, head coach John Carver answered the question everyone was poised to ask.
"You want my honest opinion on that? I am thinking, ‘How did he score 99 goals?’ That’s what I thought.’"
Carver was referring to Cunningham’s inability to tap a loose ball into an empty net in the 89th minute of Toronto’s 1-1 draw with Montreal. The goal would have given TFC their first major trophy in team history, and for Cunningham it would have given him goal No. 100 in storybook fashion.
"If you’re a poacher and you have got desire, no matter how you put the ball over the line you put it over the line," Carver concluded, rubbing his temples in frustration.
But instead of a dramatic win, Carver, Cunningham, his teammates and the capacity crowd in attendance took home the consolation prize of disappointment.
"It’s really disappointing for me, and the players, and the staff, but more so for the fans they gave us everything tonight," said Carver. "But as you can see, it is blatantly obvious what we need to do."
Cunningham’s missed opportunity is a microcosm of what has kept TFC from reaching the upper-echelon this season – a reliable striker who can deliver when called upon.
And with the floodgates already open on Cunningham, Carver proceeded to reveal his growing concern over a season he feels is slipping away.
"I am really concerned, I have to be. I keep talking about it (buying strikers) but there is nothing coming through the door," Carver said. "I think if you look at the starting lineup, where we have to depend on a 16-year-old boy as our lead striker, I think that tells you everything."
For the second-straight game it was teenager Abdus Ibrahim who shouldered the responsibility of producing, which was alleviated slightly when Rohan Ricketts tallied his third in a Reds uniform to give TFC the lead.
But when Montreal struck back to tie the match just 11 minutes later, Carver was forced to improvise.
"I had to try and get the fullbacks involved to create something. Unfortunately when the fullbacks did get into the final third the lack of quality, certainly down the right hand side was disappointing. And this is a guy who is going away to play in the Olympics."
Whether the cry for help is answered or not, Toronto FC head out on the road for three of the next five games, where the team has only been able to manage three points this season.
The first test comes Monday against Real Salt Lake (9 p.m. ET).
NOTES: Todd Dunivant was seen walking on crutches and sporting a cast on his right foot, confirming that the depth midfielder will not be back in uniform this season … Ives Galarcep (Soccer by Ives) was a fixture in the TFC locker room post-match, and if my Spanish was more than just the basics, I could tell you what he and Amado Guevara were discussing at length … The MLS commissioner will hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon on the Exhibition grounds, and judging from the smiles seen from the league dignitaries on Tuesday, expect some positive news over adding a second Canadian franchise at some point.
TFC lineup: GK: Greg Sutton; D: Marvell Wynne, Marco Velez, Jim Brennan (C); Tyrone Marshall; M: Rohan Ricketts, Maurice Edu; Carl Robinson, Laurent Robert; F: Abdus Ibrahim, Amado Guevara
Substitutes: Julius James (86’), Tyler Hemming, Tyler Rosenlund, Jarrod Smith; Nana Attakora-Gyan; Jeff Cunningham (68’)