Toronto FC still winless and goalless
Last Updated: Thursday, April 26, 2007 | 12:04 AM ET
CBC Sports
April showers bring May flowers, but not, as it turns out, goals for Toronto FC.
The Major League Soccer expansion franchise is still searching for its first win — and first goal — of the season after suffering a 3-0 loss on the road to the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday night.
Toronto FC's Marvell Wynne, left, and Kansas City Wizards' Davy Arnaud battle for control of the ball in a driving rainstorm during FC's 3-0 loss to the home side.
(Dick Whipple/Associated Press)
Eddie Johnson, Kerry Zavagnin and Yura Movsisyan scored to pace the Wizards on a rainy and windy night in Kansas City.
The loss was Toronto's third in a row to start the 2007 campaign. It lost its first two contests by a combined score of 6-0.
Wednesday's game was a rude homecoming of sorts for Toronto coach Mo Johnston, who played five seasons in Kansas City and helped the Wizards win the MLS Cup in 2000 before retiring from soccer a year later.
Johnston ditched the 3-5-2 formation he used in the first two games in favour of a more traditional 4-4-2 setup.
But the change bore little fruit, as Toronto struggled to create quality scoring chances and fire shots on net, despite the hard work of forwards Edson Buddle and Alecko Eskandarian, and the dangerous runs of Andy Welsh down the left wing.
As in its first two games, Toronto's midfielders found it hard to maintain possession and gave the ball away too cheaply. The buildup play was still too slow and predictable.
On the positive side, Toronto is beginning to gel. It looked a bit more organized, and bore no resemblance to the team that was outplayed and outclassed in its last game, an embarrassing 4-0 trouncing at the hands of the New England Revolution.
Newcomers look solid
FC showed more grit and determination, but they're still lacking guile.
More encouraging news for Toronto was that defenders Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite, acquired in separate trades last week, both looked solid in their debuts for the club, as did midfielder and No. 1 draft pick Maurice Edu, who missed the first two games with a nagging groin injury.
At times in Wednesday's contest, Toronto flashed moments of attacking creativity. If the team can sustain that for 90 minutes, wins will surely come — at the very least, Toronto will score a goal.
Kansas City put Toronto behind the 8-ball early when Sasha Victorine played a perfect cross from the right wing into the middle of the box where Johnson made a splitting run between two Toronto defenders to head the ball home and give the Wizards the lead.
FC fight to tie it
Toronto furiously pressed for the equalizer at the start of the second half and gave Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman some nervous moments, but it was the Wizards who notched the next goal.
Toronto defenders couldn't clear the ball from their penalty area after goalkeeper Greg Sutton made two sensational saves, and Zavagnin capitalized by blasting a shot into the corner of the net in the 55th minute.
The Wizards nearly made it 3-0 a few minutes later, but Jimmy Conrad's shot smacked the crossbar.
Kansas City would not be denied, though, and a third goal came in the 70th minute when Movsisyan's low shot slipped through the clutches of Sutton.
At the other end, Hartman made a big save in the 83rd minute to preserve the shutout, stopping Eskandarian's powerful shot after the Toronto forward made a dangerous run into the box.
Toronto plays its season home opener Saturday against the Wizards (CBC, 12:30 p.m. ET).
