It was bad enough Toronto FC lost its fourth game in a row Saturday night in a 3-2 setback to FC Dallas in Texas.
What made it worse was that a thunder and lightning storm, coupled with sheeting rain, forced the referee to stop the game in the 42nd minute and send the players back to the locker-room, with the action only resuming after a delay of three hours and 23 minutes.
In total, it took just over five hours for this match to play out to its conclusion. Yikes!
Here are my three thoughts on the match.
Defensive lapses continue
TFC coach Greg Vanney bemoaned the number of defensive lapses and miscues from his back line in the buildup to this one. He explained his team had been working on that the last two weeks in practice, and stressed to his players that they needed to be collectively and individually more stable when defending.
“Some of our mistakes are (a result of) guys feeling uncomfortable when they should be comfortable. They panic a little bit and make decisions that they normally wouldn’t make and they know better than them. They’re a little uneasy,” Vanney said.
That uneasiness continued on Saturday, as FC Dallas hit three goals (all of them off defensive errors) in the opening 27 minutes, with winger Fabian Castillo scoring the first of his two goals on the night just 29 seconds into the contest.
Playing at right back in place of the suspended Warren Creavalle, Nick Hagglund was out of position on both of Dallas’ opening two goals. On the first one he didn’t drop back deep enough and was beaten for pace by Castillo who latched onto a wonderfully weighted through ball from Moises Hernandez.
Hernandez had all the time in the world to deliver his killer ball, as he wasn’t closed down quickly enough by TFC winger Jackson.
Hagglund was caught out again and scrambling inside his penalty area in the 10th minute when Castillo cut inside of him with the greatest of ease before curling shot into the far lower corner. Blas Perez capitalized on another comical error when Damien Perquis dawdled on the ball for far too long inside his box and ran into teammate Collen Warner. Perez pounced on the loose ball and slotted it by TFC ‘keeper Joe Bendik to make it 3-0.
Bluntly, this was one of the worst 30-minute periods in franchise history, marked by downright comical defending.
Problems on the right
This was a night to forget for Hagglund.
The sophomore defender started at right fullback and was burned by the quick Castillo, who scored twice within 10 minutes. Immediately after the Colombian’s second goal, Vanney shifted Hagglund into the middle where he wouldn’t be as exposed by Castillo’s pace and trickery. Really, Hagglund never should have started at right fullback—the matchup with Castillo was one he was never going to win. And so it came to pass.
Justin Morrow, who started in the centre next to Perquis, moved to the right, the second game in a row the left fullback has been played out of his natural position. With Creavalle suspended and Mark Bloom still recovering from a calf injury, the right side of defence continues to be a problem area for a TFC side that has yet to register a clean sheet and conceded 11 goals in five games.
Hagglund isn’t a fullback. He lacks the pace and experience to play the position, and is better suited to the middle where he can use his natural strength and athleticism to greater effect and where his partner can babysit him.
The Creavalle experiment—he was converted into a right fullback late last season—has proven disastrous. He’s not the answer on the right side of defence.
Bloom was one of the team’s most consistent performers in 2014, but he inexplicably lost the starting right fullback job to Creavalle during the pre-season, and has sat out the last four games due to injury. Bloom’s fitness continues to be an issue, and unless the Georgia native returns to action and soon, the Reds are going to continue to have problems down the right flank.
Seba the Great
The lengthy weather delay didn’t exactly light a fire under TFC, and that’s more than a little worrying as it further underscores the sheer mental fragility of this team when things don’t go its way or it is faced with adversity.
The situation demanded that Toronto mount a spirited response and salvage a bit of pride after that disastrous opening half. Instead, the Reds lifelessly went through the motions after the restart, showing few flashes of invention and urgency in their play, with the exception of Sebastian Giovinco.
The Italian displayed a sublime touch and great individual skill on his first goal in the 83rd minute, keeping the ball in play and beating his man along the end line before chipping a shot past Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz.
Then in the final minute of regulation, the Italian went on a quick and decisive run, earning a foul just on the edge of the box. The former Juventus star then delivered a flawless free kick that sailed over Dallas’ defensive wall and majestically nestled into the back of the net.
Two minutes of pure genius from Giovinco that made this game appear a lot closer than it really was. It’s only a shame so many of teammates didn’t show the same commitment in the second half.
Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
