After a disappointing loss to Real Salt Lake last weekend, TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney was open in admitting that he saw Saturday’s fixture against Chicago Fire as a good opportunity to earn three points as the Reds continued the season-opening seven game road trip.



The TFC gaffer saw his lineup reinforced for this match by the return to the lineup of three of his key players, with Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore returning from International duty and Justin Morrow available again after a one game suspension.



With the Reds still forced to field something of a makeshift back line, Vanney rewarded Ashtone Morgan for his fine play against Real Salt Lake by giving him another start and sliding Morrow to central defense beside young Nick Hagglund.

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The Opening 45



The opening half was an exciting forty-five minutes in which both teams pushed forward and neither team sat back.



In the 8th minute, Fire forward David Accam used his pace to get past Warren Creavalle, but Joe Bendik used his large frame well to block the Ghanaian’s shot.



Chicago opened the scoring six minutes later when Joevin Jones received a nice back heel from Shaun Maloney and used the outside of his foot to blast a shot past Bendik.



Toronto evened things up in the 20th minute on Giovinco’s first MLS goal, with Morgan smartly cutting the ball back to the Italian, who saw his weak shot deflect past Chicago keeper Jon Busch.



The Fire came close again in the 28th minute when Bendik had to stretch to tip a cross from Maloney that Michael Bradley almost redirected into the back of his own net.



Chicago came close again in the 35th minute, Accam used his conservable pace to break in 1v1 on Bendik, with the TFC keeper coming up big again to keep things level.



The Second Half



Toronto took the lead early in the second half on the break, with Giovinco smartly passing the ball back to a trailing Benoit Cheyrou, who made no mistake with his shot past Jon Busch in the 54th minute.



For the second week in the row, the Reds allowed their opponent to equalize right after they had scored. In this instance, Fire DP Shaun Maloney beat Nick Hagglund to cut in and blast a shot through traffic past Bendik.



TFC then self-destructed in the 67th minute when Warren Creavalle earned his second yellow for a very rash challenge and was sent off. The Fire then doubled Toronto’s misery on the ensuing free kick with Jeff Larentowicz blasting a well-placed shot past Bendik into the bottom right corner.



Vanney then brought on Jackson, Bright Dike and Daniel Lovitz in effort to kick start the Reds attack. However, with Toronto down a man and looking less than fiery with determination, it was all one way traffic, as Chicago had all the scoring chances from that point on.



Ultimately, this was a less than stellar effort from a Toronto that was far from the sum of its parts.



Flipping back and forth from comical defending to textbook defending #Juventus #TorontoFC — Danny Bonitatibus (@DannyMac83) April 4, 2015



Man of the Match



Sebastian Giovinco

For the second match in a row, the Atomic Ant was Toronto’s best player in a losing effort. With a goal and an assist to his credit , the Italian International showed his class throughout the match and caused the Fire defenders fits throughout stretches of the game.



Unfortunately, the supremely talented Italian had almost no support in this match, with only Benoit Cheyrou delivering the type of quality expected of a player of his ilk. In their returns to the lineup, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Justin Morrow delivered quite poor performances by their standards. Robbie Findley also had a match to forget, as overall TFC looked disjointed and out of sync. Most glaring of all, Warren Creavalle had another very rough game at right back. TFC supporters can only hope that with two weeks before Toronto’s next game that Head Coach Greg Vanney will come to his senses and play Mark Bloom rather than the ever erratic Jackson in the right fullback slot. That is provided Bloom is fit.



Outside of Giovinco and Cheyrou, Ashtone Morgan had another positive game for Toronto and Jonathan Osorio had a solid if understatement performance in the midfield.



Toronto FC Line-up



12 Joe Bendik

3 Warren Creavalle

6 Nick Hagglund

38 Justin Morrow

2 Ashtone Morgan

8 Benoit Cheyrou

21 Jonathan Osorio

4 Michael Bradley

55 Robbie Findley

10 Sebastian Giovinco

17 Jozy Altidore



Substitutions: Jackson for Warren Creavalle (70); Bright Dike for Jonathan Osorio (81); Daniel Lovitz for Ashtone Morgan (88).



The opening half was an exciting forty-five minutes in which both teams pushed forward and neither team sat back.In the 8th minute, Fire forward David Accam used his pace to get past Warren Creavalle, but Joe Bendik used his large frame well to block the Ghanaian’s shot.Chicago opened the scoring six minutes later when Joevin Jones received a nice back heel from Shaun Maloney and used the outside of his foot to blast a shot past Bendik.Toronto evened things up in the 20th minute on Giovinco’s first MLS goal, with Morgan smartly cutting the ball back to the Italian, who saw his weak shot deflect past Chicago keeper Jon Busch.The Fire came close again in the 28th minute when Bendik had to stretch to tip a cross from Maloney that Michael Bradley almost redirected into the back of his own net.Chicago came close again in the 35th minute, Accam used his conservable pace to break in 1v1 on Bendik, with the TFC keeper coming up big again to keep things level.Toronto took the lead early in the second half on the break, with Giovinco smartly passing the ball back to a trailing Benoit Cheyrou, who made no mistake with his shot past Jon Busch in the 54th minute.For the second week in the row, the Reds allowed their opponent to equalize right after they had scored. In this instance, Fire DP Shaun Maloney beat Nick Hagglund to cut in and blast a shot through traffic past Bendik.TFC then self-destructed in the 67th minute when Warren Creavalle earned his second yellow for a very rash challenge and was sent off. The Fire then doubled Toronto’s misery on the ensuing free kick with Jeff Larentowicz blasting a well-placed shot past Bendik into the bottom right corner.Vanney then brought on Jackson, Bright Dike and Daniel Lovitz in effort to kick start the Reds attack. However, with Toronto down a man and looking less than fiery with determination, it was all one way traffic, as Chicago had all the scoring chances from that point on.Ultimately, this was a less than stellar effort from a Toronto that was far from the sum of its parts.For the second match in a row, the Atomic Ant was Toronto’s best player in a losing effort. With a goal and an assist to his credit , the Italian International showed his class throughout the match and caused the Fire defenders fits throughout stretches of the game.Unfortunately, the supremely talented Italian had almost no support in this match, with only Benoit Cheyrou delivering the type of quality expected of a player of his ilk. In their returns to the lineup, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Justin Morrow delivered quite poor performances by their standards. Robbie Findley also had a match to forget, as overall TFC looked disjointed and out of sync. Most glaring of all, Warren Creavalle had another very rough game at right back. TFC supporters can only hope that with two weeks before Toronto’s next game that Head Coach Greg Vanney will come to his senses and play Mark Bloom rather than the ever erratic Jackson in the right fullback slot. That is provided Bloom is fit.Outside of Giovinco and Cheyrou, Ashtone Morgan had another positive game for Toronto and Jonathan Osorio had a solid if understatement performance in the midfield.12 Joe Bendik3 Warren Creavalle6 Nick Hagglund38 Justin Morrow2 Ashtone Morgan8 Benoit Cheyrou21 Jonathan Osorio4 Michael Bradley55 Robbie Findley10 Sebastian Giovinco17 Jozy AltidoreJackson for Warren Creavalle (70); Bright Dike for Jonathan Osorio (81); Daniel Lovitz for Ashtone Morgan (88). Who is your Man of the Match?