

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

June 4, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

Whenever a team comes back to win a match in the manner in which Toronto FC did last weekend against the Columbus Crew, it is usually a sign that the squad has a winning blend of quality and character.



While the term super club was thrown around over the offseason when Toronto made three Designated Player signings in the form of Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley and Gilberto, as expected, TFC did not come out of the gate as an unbeatable force.



With the squad about to head into the World Cup break, plenty of ink will be spilled around how the team has played so far, including the players who have shone and the aspects of the squad’s play that have been disappointing.



Even though the manner in which TFC has consistently been out possessed by other teams in the league has been somewhat distressing, it was hard not to impressed by the character that the TFC players displayed in storming back to defeat the Crew on Saturday.



Most encouragingly, the three players who might have had a legitimate reason to hang their heads somewhat were the three key performers in the victory.



Once again, Jermain Defoe delivered a star performance and showed that his bitter disappointment at not being selected to play for England at this summer’s World Cup is not going affect his performances for TFC at the club level.



Maybe even more impressively, the two most under the gun players on Toronto FC at the time – Doneil Henry and Gilberto – showed that their own considerable athletic talents are matched by their size of their hearts as both played key roles in arguably TFC’s most uplifting win of the season.



The 21 year old Henry entered play against Columbus on a miserable and unlucky run of league form in which he had conceded several penalty kicks in multiple matches. And with Steven Caldwell suspended against Columbus, the Canadian International had to endeavor to return to form without the team’s back line leader and his own mentor there to shepherd him through a comeback performance.



With a solid defensive performance and a game winning goal against the Crew, Henry likely silenced any doubters and reinforced the perception of himself as one of the top young talents in the league.



In his estimation, his defensive performance was the most important thing on a day in which his winning goal was the clear highlight of the game.



“The goals are just a bonus for my hard work,” Henry told RedNation. “I think in the last couple of weeks I was really unfortunate and I have been hammered really hard. I think my character is showing that I am bigger than that and that I can bounce back.”



“I’m just really happy with how I have rebounded,” he added. “I can definitely say that it was tough to mentally prepare myself, but I know that every time I step on the pitch I want to do well. You will always get a 100% work rate from me.”



Henry’s winning goal marked the second game in the row that the Toronto native has scored a dramatic goal with a header off a set piece. According to the player, that positive occurrence has been the result of his hard work on the training pitch.



“I think I have always been getting into really good positions and it was just the final product that wasn’t good enough,” Henry said. “It is just about connecting with the ball and going through it and repetition in training. I’ve finally been able to get a few in.”



While Henry was a stalwart for the Reds on Toronto’s back line, the squad’s much maligned DP striker, Gilberto, also played a key role off the bench in the win over Columbus. Even though the Brazilian was once again unable to score for his new club, his entry into the match in the 66th minute saw Toronto immediately looking like a more energetic and dangerous team for the final half hour of the game due to his energy, work rate and link up play.



According to TFC right back Mark Bloom, no one should be surprised that Gilberto is a well-rounded player who can influence matches positively even when he isn’t putting the ball in the back of the net.



“We made couple of stupid mistakes early on (against Columbus), with guys trying to overplay a little bit,” Bloom explained. “We just needed to keep it more simple and I think that is what Gilberto did. That is what he does – he works hard, wins the ball and then we play from there. He does a good job of getting us going and winning that extra ball and getting everyone pumped up to play.”



“We know his quality and we know how good Gilberto is,” Bloom added. “We also know how frustrating it is for a striker. It is their job to score, so when they are not scoring, they feel like they are never going to score. But once he scores, he will feel like he can. We’re just waiting for that day.”



Henry was quick to concur with his fellow defender in his assessment of TFC’s scoreless striker.



“I think Gilberto is a player who every time he plays he is going to work hard for ninety minutes,” Henry explained. “He has been really unfortunate not to score a goal yet, but I think once he gets his first one, he will continue to get going. You can see that he has quality and he just needs to find a rhythm. When he gets settled into the league he will be fine.”



With two games left to play before the World Cup break, including a chance to win the club’s 5th Canadian Championship trophy on Wednesday against the Montreal Impact, the Reds now have an important opportunity to follow an uplifting win over the Crew with two more confidence and character building performances and to head into the break on a positive note.