Brazilian newcomer Maicon Santos scored a sublime goal in his MLS debut for Toronto FC. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)Toronto FC made a liar out of Preki on Saturday.
The Reds' coach assured us that his players learned their lesson after conceding an injury-time goal in a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the expansion Philadelphia Union last week.
"They understand [that game] was maybe a good warning for us at this part of the year [and] that we can't things for granted," Preki told reporters ahead of Toronto's crucial home contest against FC Dallas.
"We have to come with a sense of urgency to every game."
Clearly, the message didn't sink in. For the umpteenth time in their history, TFC coughed up a goal — and squandered the lead — in the final 15 minutes of regulation, settling for a 1-1 draw against the team from the Lone Star State.
Like so many times in their history, the Reds stopped attacking and foolishly tried to defend after taking the lead, this time in the 61st minute courtesy of a sublime goal from Brazilian newcomer Maicon Santos — and like so many times before, their approach came back to haunt them.
Some careless possession in its end of the field led to Toronto giving away an unnecessary corner kick in the 77th minute. On the ensuing play, Milton Rodriguez out-jumped two TFC players to thump home a header from close range, leading to a thunderous collective moan from the 19,743 rain-soaked faithful inside BMO Field.
Coach disappointed
A crestfallen Preki could hardly hide his disappointment — or his disgust — in the post-match news conference, stating that his team's turtle impersonation allowed Dallas to steal a precious point.
"I don't think they were a threat at all, until the goal. After we scored, we relaxed. Until that point, Dallas wasn't having any kind of success. Once we scored, we let them come in our half," Preki said.
Toronto's withdrawal into a defensive posture smacked of unmitigated hubris — to think that the Reds actually believed that a one-goal lead against Dallas was impregnable is proof of the players' delusions of grandeur.
It would be one thing if Toronto boasted fullbacks the quality of Ashley Cole and Dani Alves, or a central defensive pairing of Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique to anchor its back line.
But it doesn't. The likes of Dan Gargan, Nick Garcia, Adrian Cann and Raivis Hscanovics — the four starters against Dallas — are not even in the same universe (let alone same league) as the aforementioned quartet.
But they carried on as though they were, abetted by their equally deluded teammates, smugly inviting Dallas to attack them, confident that they could repel their opponent's challenge at every turn.
Where did they muster up such misguided nerve? One can only imagine, because it certainly wasn't implanted in their heads by Preki.
"It's almost as though somebody told them, 'OK, let's drop back, let them have the ball,' and that's something we never talk about. We want to have the ball, we want to defend with the ball," Preki stated.
Maybe we shouldn't be surprised by Saturday's result.
Toronto has, after all, perfected the art of the late-game capitulation. The Reds gave up a league-worst 16 goals in the final 15 games of the 2009 MLS season and eight late-game collapses cost the team 15 points and, in the end, a playoff berth.
This is clearly a club that refuses to learn from past failures.
Toronto went through three different coaches (Mo Johnston, John Carver and Chris Cummins) in its first three seasons in the league, none of whom were able to convince the players that a match lasts 90 minutes — and not 75.
Now the daunting task falls to Preki, who has half a season left to deliver the message.
