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Steve Bottjer ,

July 30 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer



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After suffering a tough loss at home against Sporting Kansas City on the weekend, Toronto FC were back in action on Wednesday night with a chance to redeem themselves and kick off a four game road trip in a positive fashion.



Facing off against an Eastern Conference playoff rival in D.C. United, the Reds were likely buoyed by the return to the lineup of superstar striker Jermain Defoe, who missed the previous match due to suspension. With Mark Bloom and Steven Caldwell injured and Doneil Henry suspended due to yellow card accumulation, TFC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen was forced to field a makeshift back line with rookie Nick Hagglund and Bradley Orr starting in central defense and recently acquired Warren Creavalle make his first start as a Red at right back. Open Player in a New Window | Subscribe | iTunes | MP3 The Opening 45 Toronto came close to taking an early lead in this one in the 7th minute when Michael Bradley set up Dominic Oduro with a fine pass, with the Ghanaian speedster shooting just wide of the far post.



D.C. United punished TFC for that miss one minute later when the home team took advantage of another instance of slack defending by the Reds, with midfielder Perry Kitchen delivering a cross and an unmarked Eddie Johnson heading the ball into the back of the net.



While neither side sat back during the opening forty-five minutes, D.C. looked the more dangerous of the two sides, with Toronto mostly delivering harmless shots from distance that did not trouble keeper Bill Hamid.



The Reds had an excellent chance to even things up just before the half-time break on another splendid pass from Bradley to Oduro, with a poor touch from the latter snuffing out the danger. With a coach with no coaching credentials and an NCAA II coach as an assistant... These are the kind of results to expect. #TFClive — dave hodgkiss (@woodbridgefc) July 31, 2014

The Second Half Toronto came close to finding an early equalizer in the 46th minute when some beautiful play from Defoe set up Luke Moore for a chance 1v1 with Hamid, with the Reds forward ultimately unable to chip the D.C. United keeper.



D.C. doubled their lead in the 59th minute, when Creavalle brought down a player in the penalty area. However, the referee allowed D.C. United to play the advantage, with Chris Rolfe picking up the loose ball and depositing it in the back of the TFC net.



The home team sealed the win in the 67th minute when some fine play by Nick DeLeon forced Nick Hagglund to head an own goal into the back of his net.



Dan Lovitz, Jonathan Osorio and Gilberto came on as second half subs but could do little to change TFC’s fortunes as the visiting team fell 3-0 in a match in which Toronto were very poor in all aspects of the game.



Overall, this was a very disconcerting performance for the Reds in which the defense again leaked goals and the attack showed almost nothing going forward after a few early chances that were poorly taken. It will be interesting to see how Toronto bounces back on Saturday when they face off against Canadian rivals the Montreal Impact in a match that has very quickly become an absolute must win for a now sinking TFC ship.







Man of the Match Michael Bradley

The U.S.A. International started this match brightly and delivered a couple of fine passes that Oduro should have done better with. Bradley didn’t really deliver a Man of the Match performance, but ultimately no TFC player did on this day. The hard working Designated Player was essentially the best of a very poor lot against D.C. United. Like his teammates, Bradley faded in the second half when the game was clearly out of reach.



Honourable mention On a night in which basically the entire Reds side played poorly, Jermain Defoe showed his class on a few plays. Given that this was an evening in which his teammates were far below his level, he was generally in the right position to score but never got the service required. Toronto FC Line-up

12 Joe Bendik

2 Justin Morrow

16 Bradley Orr

17 Nick Hagglund

6 Warren Creavalle

11 Jackson

18 Collen Warner

4 Michael Bradley

23 Dominic Oduro

19 Luke Moore

18 Jermain Defoe



Substitutions: Lovitz for Orr (65), Osorio for Oduro (66), Gilberto in for Defoe (73). Who is your Man of the Match?