



With Toronto FC delivering poor performances against New England last weekend and New York midweek, the Reds went into Saturday’s early afternoon fixture against the Colorado Rapids in major need of a convincing win to quell the discontent that has surrounded the star studded club in recent weeks.



While the defeats that Toronto had endured over the last six days had damaged the team’s chances of earning third or fourth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, the manner in which the Reds lost via lifeless play and amateurish defending and coaching was even more concerting.



TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney made to changes to his starting eleven, with central defender Damien Perquis returning to the starting lineup in place of the suspended Ahmed Kantari and Robbie Findley getting a start in place of midfielder Collen Warner.



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TFC weather the storm for a needed win,

Toronto vs Colorado Rapids

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After recent matches in which they struggled to string together passes with authority for long stretches, Toronto displayed much improved build up play right from the get go against Colorado.



The Reds opened the scoring in the 14th minute on a great individual run from Giovinco with the Atomic Ant delivering a goal off the hands of Rapids keeper Clint Irwin. Considering Toronto were 8-0 in matches in which they scored first, it appeared that TFC had scored a crucial goal after two straight letdown performances.



Toronto doubled their lead four minutes later when Jonathan Osorio brilliantly laid off the ball to Giovinco, who finished in clinical fashion for his second goal of the match.



TFC came close to adding a third in the 36th minute when Giovinco delivered a chance on a platter to Jozy Altidore in the Rapids, with the U.S. International delivering a header that was several inches wide of the net.



The Reds ultimately engineered that third goal two minutes when Giovinco delivered a fine corner kick to near post that Damien Perquis got on the end of headed into the back of the Rapids net.



Toronto took their foot off the Rapids collective throat slightly as the remainder of the half played out. TFC keeper Chris Konopka made a big save on Dillon Serna in the 40th minute but then made a mistake on the very next play as the well bearded shot stopped made a mistake on a corner kick that allowed Dillon Powers to head the ball in the back of the Toronto net.



The Second Half



The weather took its toll on the game in the second half, as the rain poured down and combined with the wind to make for less than ideal playing conditions.

Overall, Colorado showed the spirit necessary to make a game of the proceedings, but on many occasions they also showed why they have scored so few goals from open play. On this day, the attack lead by Luis Solignac was mostly toothless in addition to often being off side.



Giovinco had a decent chance to complete a hat trick via a free kick in the 62nd minute, but the Italian International saw his shot sailing a couple of inches over the cross bar.



Playing their third match in six days, Toronto ultimately closed this one out in a professional fashion, with Michael Bradley in particular deserving credit for playing a smart, conservative second half in which he focused on winning the midfield and shielding the back four.

O When The Reds! Giovinco's fine imports. http://t.co/m9o3u1WcFX pic.twitter.com/QmmV4exOxn — Toronto FC (@torontofc) September 18, 2015

Man of the Match



Sebastian Giovinco

As has been so often the case this season, the Atomic Ant was the player who lead the Reds to a win. The Italian International caused the Rapids defense fits all game long as he scored two goals and earned an assist on the third goal by Damien Perquis. His ability to engineer a lead for Toronto in this game should not be downplayed, as it allowed him and his teammates to cruise for the remainder of the game.



Damien Perquis also deserves mention for bouncing back from a miserable game last weekend with a commanding performance in this match. In addition to scoring an important insurance goal, the central defender had an exceptional defensive game, as won everything in the air and avoided the type of mistakes that have plagued him in recent weeks. While Giovinco’s performance was fairly typical considering the high standards he has set, probably the most encouraging aspect of this game was how solid the back line was. In addition to Perquis, Justin Morrow and Josh Williams were solid as a rock.



Toronto FC Line-up



1 Chris Konopka

2 Justin Morrow

24 Damien Perquis

23 Josh Williams

18 Marky Delgado

4 Michael Bradley

8 Benoit Cheyrou

21 Jonathan Osorio

55 Robbie Findley

17 Jozy Altidore

10 Sebastian Giovinco



Substitutions: Collen Warner for Robbie Findley (55’); Luke Moore for Jozy Altidore (69’); Eriq Zavaleta for Sebastian Giovinco (85’). Who is your Man of the Match?

