Despite holding a 3-0 lead midway through the second half, Toronto FC surrendered three goals in about 20 minutes and had to settle for a 3-3 draw with the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
It was Toronto FC’s first point away from home this season, but the Reds remain winless in seven straight regular-season road matches dating back to last September.
Here are three thoughts from the match.
Tale of two halves for Bradley, TFC’s defence
In the opening 60 minutes, Toronto FC’s defensive shape was nearly impenetrable. Ryan Telfer and Gregory van der Wiel doubled up on the left flank, while Jay Chapman and Auro Jr. covered the right. Considering how much Columbus likes to stretch the width of the field, it was imperative that Toronto closed down those spaces.
TFC also ensured that the central channels were clogged so Federico Higuain, who consistently performs well against Toronto, had few opportunities to execute those killer through balls. The Crew’s attackers had about 12 touches in and around the box during the first hour of the match.
Then, the Crew put more pressure on the back line when they had possession, especially Michael Bradley. The TFC captain was out-jumped for the first goal by Gyasi Zardes. The second goal was sloppy, too, as Josh Williams beat Liam Fraser in the air at the back post before Bradley failed to clear the ball prior to Crognale knocking it in. The penalty capped off a woeful second half for the U.S. international.
It’s evident that Bradley at centre-back isn’t ideal and a return to the midfield cannot come soon enough for Toronto.
Clinical finishing returns
Toronto’s attack has underwhelmed this season. It’s not due to a lack of trying, but the shot numbers from 2017 to 2018 are quite drastic.
These were the shot and conversion numbers entering Saturday’s game.
| Season | Shots | On target | Goals | Conversion rate |
| 2017 | 441 | 169 | 74 | 16.78% |
| 2018 | 187 | 65 | 14 | 7.49% |
On Saturday, TFC had nine shots and three goals.
Whether this more conservative strategy continues for the next few weeks remains to be seen. Opponents may choose to cede possession and let Toronto break them down, like FC Dallas last Friday. But there was more incisiveness with the passing and finishing in the final third. That’s been absent for TFC thus far in 2018.
Another game, another injury
Once again, another TFC player suffered an injury. This time, it was Jonathan Osorio.
The Canadian midfielder exited the match in the 22nd minute with an apparent knee injury. He was replaced by Tosaint Ricketts, who bagged the second goal for TFC.
With Altidore, Drew Moor, Eriq Zavaleta, Justin Morrow, Ashtone Morgan, Justin Morrow, Ager Aketxe, Chris Mavinga and Nicolas Hasler all injured, it’s clearly critical that Osorio’s knock isn’t serious. Head coach Greg Vanney said he believes it’s a knee contusion and “it was just a bruise as much as anything.”
The likes of Zavaleta and Morrow are on the mend, plus Marky Delgado continued to work his way back to full match fitness with another appearance off the bench on Saturday. But TFC just can’t seem to overcome this injury crisis, and it must be frustrating for the team.
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