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Steve Bottjer ,

June 7, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer



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@BottjerRNO

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After falling in the second leg of the Canadian Championship on Wednesday, Toronto FC were back in action on Saturday looking to earn one more league win before the World Cup break. With multiple games in hand compared to their Eastern Conference Playoff rivals, a win against the San Jose Earthquakes would have the Reds sitting nicely placed after eleven games with respect to the organization’s goal of qualifying for the MLS postseason.



Recently acquired striker Dominic Oduro was not in the starting eleven for this one, but began the match on the bench as Reds Head Coach Ryan Nelsen elected to go with a front line consisting of forwards Jermain Defoe and Luke Moore. Midfielder Collen Warner made his first start at BMO Field and young Nick Hagglund got the call at right back with Steven Caldwell returning to the lineup from suspension. Open Player in a New Window | Subscribe | iTunes | MP3 The Opening 45 The first half kicked off with Toronto looking much more dynamic and effective moving the ball than the squad has in recent weeks, with midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Collen Warner deserving much of the credit due to their off the ball movement.



Rookie Nick Hagglund also delivered some standout play in the opening forty-five minutes as he came close to opening the scoring in the 24th minute on a couple of standout efforts. The likeable defender earned his just rewards for his work rate in the 26th minute when earned the Reds a penalty kick when he was pulled down by former TFC striker Alan Gordon in the San Jose penalty area.



To the surprise of no one at BMO Field, Jermain Defoe stepped up on the ensuing penalty kick and was clinical in blasting the ball past Earthquakes keeper Jon Busch.



The Reds came close to doubling their lead in the 41st minute when an offside Defoe intelligently let a ball run through for his striker partner, with Luke Moore hammering a shot that Busch had to make a quality save on. iain hume at #torontofc game #canmnt pic.twitter.com/R4jp55jL1G — RNO (@rednationonline) June 7, 2014

The Second Half Toronto continued to push forward with intent and move the ball confidently in the second half.



Dominic Oduro came on for Jackson in the 64th minute and made his TFC debut. He came close to making an immediate impact in the 67th minute when he made a run down the left side that drew a deliberate hand ball by San Jose defender Clarence Goodson. On the ensuing free kick by Collen Warner, Nick Haggland made an excellent run in the box and saw his glancing header sail just wide of the far post.



San Jose had their first real scoring chance of the match in the 75th minute but super pest Steven Lenhart headed the ball right at Reds keeper Joe Bendik.



The Earthquakes continued to push for an equalizer as the match wound down, midfielder Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi missing a glorious chance in the 85th when he could not direct his powerful header on target from in close.



BMO Field nearly erupted in the 90th minute when some fine play from the Reds almost ended with an insurance goal courtesy of a cross from Justin Morrow that Oduro just missed getting a foot on and redirecting into the back of the Earthquakes net.



Toronto ultimately played this one out, holding off the Earthquakes and earning a well-deserved victory on a day in which they were clearly the better team.







Man of the Match Nick Hagglund

Defender Nick Hagglund was everywhere for Toronto in this match and once again delivered a very solid two way performance, with his teammates likely feeding off his energy and positive play. He could have had a hat trick from the right back position in addition to winning the penalty kick that ended up being the difference in this fixture.



Honourable mention As per usual, Jermain Defoe delivered another very effective performance for Toronto, scoring the winning goal and effectively leading Toronto up top. Collen Warner also deserves special credit for an all-around quality performance in which his work rate and industriousness in the middle of the pitch saw the Reds looking like a vastly different team compared to the one that overwhelmingly lost the midfield battle against Montreal midweek. Warner looked very competent in dead ball situations and he was a key component in Toronto’s positive ball movement. Toronto FC Line-up

12 Joe Bendik

28 Mark Bloom

13 Steven Caldwell

15 Doneil Henry

17 Nick Hagglund

11 Jackson

21 Jonathan Osorio

26 Collen Warner

8 Kyle Bekker

27 Luke Moore

18 Jermain Defoe



Substitutions: (64) Oduro for Jackson; (78) Lovitz for Bekker; (81) Morrow in for Lovitz. Who is your Man of the Match?