SoccerToronto FC still short on stability

Beginning of Story Content

If Sir Alex Ferguson thought Manchester United's defending was "shoddy" against FC Barcelona in Rome last week, goodness only knows what he would have made of the visitors' inability to construct a defensive wall in Houston. To describe it as porous would be kind.

For the wall to be breached once is worrying. For it to leak again within five minutes is downright careless. A wall is there for one reason alone – to prevent a direct strike on goal, yet three times rookie Stefan Frei was reduced to the position of ball boy as he retrieved it from the back of the net.

While Frei was doing his upmost to keep the score down at one end of the field, Pat Onstad could have had a picnic at the other. True, he was given a helping hand by the referee when Adrian Serioux's head beat his gloves to a deflected hanging centre, but otherwise it was a stroll for at least one Canadian on the pitch.

What a difference a week can make. Cummins' team was barely recognizable from the side which fought back with vigour and belief to deservedly claim maximum points for the first time against New England. Toronto FC has a worrying capacity to be about as consistent as my golf swing which should not, in any sense, be regarded as a compliment.

But before we all jump on the now familiar Replace-Barrett-And-Sign-A-Classy-Central-Defender bandwagon, let's all stop and take a moment. In the same way a heartening victory does not make a season, a demoralizing defeat does not break one. Of course it wasn't acceptable, and I'm sure Cummins made that very point to the players afterwards, but the damage was largely superficial.

Who knew Chicago would also be spanked, by Dallas of all teams, and that DC United and Kansas City would also drop points in Week 11 of Major League Soccer? Glance at the standings and it's almost as if Houston never happened.

Almost. The players will know they let themselves down and when they gather for the pre-match huddle to face a Beckham-and-Donovan-less Galaxy on Saturday, captain Jim Brennan should need only one word to galvanize his team-mates: Houston.

The absence of Amado Guevara will make the task somewhat more difficult, but it remains a challenge from which Toronto FC should emerge largely unscathed. A rested Danny Dichio will be back to frighten a Los Angeles team yet to win on the road followed by two visits from a New York team which has yet to score a goal never mind earn a point away from Giants Stadium.

There is real potential for three more wins before mid-season and Cummins will want as many points in the bag as his team can muster before he loses a number of key players to the demands of the CONCACAF Gold Cup next month.

In the final analysis, you have to pick your battles - not all can be won. If that were the case, there would be no point in the opponent turning up in the first place. This acceptance, however, should never be a metaphor for mediocrity. Rather it should be a spur for improvement, both from an individual and team perspective.

Bad days at the office? Sure, we all have them. Let's just not make a habit of it.

End of Story Content

Back to accessibility links