Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco is brought down resulting in a yellow card for FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges at BMO Field, in Toronto, on May 25, 2018.Tom Szczerbowski
While it is still too early to hit the panic button, this Major League Soccer season is starting to look like one of those nightmare journeys from Toronto FC’s past, journeys that were supposed to be forgotten.
Once again, a game that was there to be won was lost, 1-0 to FC Dallas, as the Reds could not produce even one goal from a penalty kick, two free kicks at the box and a nice chance late in the game for midfielder Jonathan Osorio that just climbed over the crossbar.
After dedicating themselves to winning the CONCACAF Champions League, an effort that stalled in the semi-finals, which cost the Reds badly in injuries and fatigue, TFC is still trying to find its way in MLS. But with the 34-game season almost one-third finished, the pressure is building.
The Reds went into the Dallas game with a 3-6-1 record, seven points out of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They remained seven points back by game’s end, as TFC lost its third game at home, a place where they only lost once in all of last season.
TFC cannot continue to squander chances for three points, as they did Friday night in front of 27,549 fans at BMO Field.
“Our margin for error is becoming slimmer and slimmer with every game,” Reds captain Michael Bradley said. “We’re letting games slip away from us too consistently. We’ve got to respond in a big way in our next stretch.”
The next stretch is five games against Eastern Conference teams between June 2 and July 1, where the Reds now can ill afford to lose even one game.
TFC’s three biggest problems this season – the lack of finish around the goal, breakdowns on the back line and surrendering early goals – combined to leave them behind 1-0 to Dallas by half-time.
“Last year we did a fantastic job of getting on top of teams early and getting up 1-0 and our team is proven to be very good,” TFC head coach Greg Vanney said. “We’re missing opportunities and giving up the first goal. It’s just reinforcing the game plan for the team coming in.”
FC Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez made seven saves in the first half, a season high in MLS, and some of them, especially the ones on Giovinco, were spectacular. But too often the Reds made Gonzalez, who is every bit as big a hot dog as he is talented, look even better.
This was especially so in the 34th minute when TFC midfielder Victor Vazquez directed a header to the net. Once again, Gonzalez made a spectacular save but Reds striker Tosaint Ricketts, starting in place of the injured Jozy Altidore, failed to make a decent effort on the rebound, which came his way.
Another of the culprits in that regard was Sebastian Giovinco. While Gonzalez made three tremendous saves on Giovinco in the first half, the Reds star should have had at least one goal. He was given a penalty kick in the 15th minute after getting knocked down in the box and by this time it looked like Gonzalez was getting in the Italian’s head.
Given how much time Giovinco took to make his penalty kick, although he did have to wait for the goalkeeper to stop showboating, it was clear something was bothering him. Then again, given Giovinco’s difficulties going back to last season there was no shortage of wondering on press row why Vanney did not call on midfielder Victor Vazquez to make the kick.
Giovinco finally went for the right side but Gonzalez guessed right, dove for the stop and had one more reason to celebrate his 23rd birthday. Early in the second half, Giovinco missed again on a free kick. Vanney indicated after the game he may be thinking about a change in who takes the penalty kicks.
“It’s an issue because it’s lumped into the category of us not finishing our chances,” the coach said. “In terms of who takes it, for me, I want somebody to step up who’s confident in what they’re going to do and puts it in the back of the net.
“I was a PK taker for many years for the [Los Angeles] Galaxy though we had many players you could argue who were better than me. It’s about stepping up, having an idea and a plan and putting it away. We’ve got to score more of those.”
In between frustrating Giovinco, Dallas took advantage of some disorganization on the TFC back line to take the lead. With captain Michael Bradley once again forced to play out of position at centre back due to another injury (Eriq Zavaleta could not start due to a groin injury), the Reds allowed Dallas to work the ball around the box in the 11th minute while they were a step slow.
The sequence on the goal started when Bradley was outplayed on a throw-in and Dallas took the ball to the box. Dallas midfielder Kellyn Acosta fired a crisp shot into the middle that was deflected past goalkeeper Clint Irwin by striker Maximiliano Urruti.
“It was primarily about missed chances and giving up a soft goal,” said Vanney. “We had 23 shots and no goals. Those aren’t 23 light looks, probably within there are eight or nine good looks. And a penalty kick.
“The first goal we can’t give up. At the end of the day it’s execution. We played three quarters of the game in their half of the field. Gotta execute. Don’t execute, you don’t win games.”
The injuries that disrupted the TFC defence so far this season became a problem again Friday night. Defender Chris Mavinga, who just returned to action last week after being in and out of the lineup due to a sports hernia, was lost in the 44th minute to a tight hamstring muscle. He was replaced by veteran Nick Hagglund, who had not played since March 17, also due to a more serious hamstring injury.