SoccerNo magic, just hard work beat the Wizards

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This column could have carried any of the following headlines:

• TFC Produces Magic Against Wizards
• Wizards Fall Under Reds' Spell
• Toronto's New Tricks Dumbfound Wizards

I resisted the temptation for two reasons. Firstly, JDV would have sent me a terse e-mail protesting I'm no better than the gutter press. Secondly, and more importantly, it's simply not true.

I didn't see a magical, spellbinding performance at the weekend. What I did see was a hard working, well-organized, communicative team with enough additional quality to beat Kansas City by a more comfortable margin than the 3-2 score suggested.

The individual performances of Amado Guevara, Dwayne De Rosario (the penalty apart) and Adrian Serioux were a pleasure to witness, but the attitude and commitment of the team as a whole was the telling factor in my opinion.

When the two-goal lead was halved for a second time with 15 minutes to go, many fans would have been forgiven for fearing the worst. Toronto FC's capacity for giving up late goals in 2008 became an all too familiar and costly habit. On this evidence, the problem appears to have been addressed.

I was impressed by the way the visitors managed the game in the closing minutes – concentrating on ball possession with teammates running off the ball to make themselves available rather than merely belting it downfield and allowing the Wizards to build up another offensive move.

An opening day win yields three points, but the positive effects should be longer lasting. There's nothing like a victory to breed confidence and self-belief among the players who have now given themselves a platform on which to build. All the hard work in pre-season has paid dividends, but the hill is about to get a little steeper.

Wizards looked pretty ordinary

Let's be honest. Kansas City is hardly a world-beating franchise and, with the exception of Davy Arnaud's stunning double, the Wizards looked pretty ordinary. On top of that, Chad Barrett, perhaps suffering from first night nerves, badly fluffed his lines before eventually getting his eye in. I'm sure the unused Pablo Vitti took particular note.

At first glance, Toronto now appears to be a team ready to compete in Major League Soccer rather than just make up the numbers, but it is way too soon to forecast this is a team which has turned the corner. Let's wait and see what happens against a much better team in Columbus and without Guevara and Carl Robinson, who are both on World Cup qualifying duty.

For the time being, coach John Carver and his team should be rightly praised for kicking off on the right foot and while there are many positives on which to reflect, neither players nor fans should get carried away. There are 29 more games to go – there will be losses along the way, there will be bad luck and bad calls and bad days at the office. Good teams respond to adversity – only when hardship arrives, will we get a better idea of what this new-look Toronto team can achieve.

The thousands of travelling fans will certainly be in good spirits come the weekend and if Toronto FC can build on the KC win when they visit the home of the MLS Cup holders on Saturday, my headline is already good to go: "Rejuvenated Reds Crack Crumbling Crew."

Don't you just love tabloid journalism?

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