Written By: Daniel Ayik
After a strong showing against NYCFC on matchday 10, it was back to the loss column for Toronto FC who now find themselves sitting third last in the Eastern Conference following their loss to the New England Revolution.
For the second consecutive week, Toronto’s starting XI was changed minutes before kick-off as CB Matt Hedges pulled up during warm-ups and was replaced by Shane O’Neil. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance tonight. We didn’t start well,” said Coach Bob Bradley. This was evident in the first half where Toronto failed to create any chances despite having more possession.
Toronto’s best chance, if that, in the first half was a long-range effort from close to the halfway line from Lorenzo Insigne who tried to catch NE’s goalkeeper, Serbian Djordje Petrović off his line. However, it was mostly one-way traffic from the Foxborough boys who eventually broke the deadlock after Toronto FC defender Sigurd Rosted fell victim to a press by striker Bobby Wood.
After stealing the ball, Wood carried it around 50 yards and slid the ball just under the legs of Sean Johnson who had previously stopped Emmanuel Boateng from point-blank range.
At half-time, Rosted who made the mistake on Wood’s goal, apologized to the team and according to Coach Bradley and Midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye, each player had the Norweigan’s back. A player who likely avoided the heat on the goal was left-back Kobe Franklin who once again replaced an injured Raoul Petretta, as he played the pass to Rosted amidst an oncoming press from New England. Had he switched the play to Shane O’Neil instead of playing it short to Rosted, Toronto would likely have gone into the half facing a 0-0 draw.
After a couple of close-range freekicks by Lorenzo Insigne who all failed to challenge the New England keeper, referee Fotis Bazakos blew his whistle for half-time, marking the end to a first half where Toronto managed eight shots, all of which missed the target.
The second half was more of the same from Toronto where funnily enough, the biggest action from the 27,438 in attendance at BMO Field came by the way of a New England Revolution substitution where club legend Jozy Altidore checked into the game for the Revs, taking out scorer Bobby Wood.
Following the match Jozy spoke about the current state of Toronto saying, “I hope they get it together because TFC’s a top club. Whether I’m there or not, it needs to be at the top of the table. It’s just plain & simple, that (performance) was not good enough.” This was echoed by Coach Bradley as he stated how he could see the frustration of his players on the pitch.
An attacking-minded substitution by Toronto where Adama Diomande took off Brandon Servania only made things worse for the Reds as two minutes later they conceded the second goal of the match to the Revs, a rebound by MLS Team of The Week nominee DeJuan Jones, leading to a deficit which they couldn’t recover from.
A lack of response to this second goal led to Toronto’s first loss at home and third overall this season, placing them in 13th place early on in the 2023 MLS Season. Toronto fans have all the right to ask questions about the future of coach Bob Bradley. In a week where both the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls parted ways with their head coaches, a loss to bitter rivals CF Montreal in the Canadian Championship on Tuesday would dig Bradley’s grave even deeper.
Another question that fans have is on midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye who at the start of this season has been outshone by Alonso Coello who is proving to be a real diamond in the rough. When asked what he needs to improve in his game, Kaye responded, “I’ve had a couple of games now where I haven’t been as clean as I want to be on the ball. I’m battling against the current a little bit. I’m just trying to continue to push because once the breakthrough happens, I’ll be back to my best and will help the team.”
Regardless of how TFC has started this season, a chance to win a trophy starts on Tuesday night at BMO Field in a Canadian Championship tournament where the Reds have won the Voyageurs Cup eight times out of fifteen participations.
*Matchday photo is credited to Paul Giamou/Toronto FC*
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