Toronto FC Makes Quick Work Of Rapids
Posted June 14, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto FC‘s record at home this season remains unscathed.
Rohan Ricketts scored a pair of goals, including his first in Major League Soccer, and Danny Dichio added one, as Toronto FC defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-1 on Saturday, stretching their unbeaten streak at BMO field to seven games.
The victory came despite the fact Toronto was missing five starters to international assignments.
Dichio scored his fifth goal of the season in the 37th minute with a right-footed volley from just inside the penalty area to the right corner past Rapids ‘keeper Preston Burpo, bringing the red-clad crowd of 20,135 fans to its feet.
Ricketts notched his first MLS goal to make it 2-0 in the 58th minute when a long pass bounced over the head of a Rapids defender to the wide open Toronto midfielder, who booted the ball into the right corner from 18 yards out.
Ricketts, who was acquired in April after he was released from English side Barnsley, padded Toronto’s lead in the 66th minute with a shot from just inside the penalty area.
Colorado’s lone goal came in the 81st minute, when Christian Gomez connected on a free kick, beating Brian Edwards, who was making his third start in goal for Toronto.
The victory boosted Toronto’s record to 6-4-2, and an impressive 5-0-2 at home. Colorado dropped to 5-6-0.
Toronto hasn’t lost in the rowdy, friendly confines of BMO Field since Sept. 22, 2007, the third last game of their inaugural Major League Soccer season.
The victory was an impressive one for the undermanned Toronto side, which was without several key players. Goalkeeper Greg Sutton and defender and team captain Jim Brennan are with Canada’s World Cup squad, which faces St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Sunday in the first leg of a home-and-home qualifying series.
Midfielder Maurice Edu is with the U.S. team, which faces Barbados in a regional qualifier, defender Tyrone Marshall is with Jamaica, which is playing the Bahamas, and midfielder Amado Guevara is with the Honduran side for its game against Puerto Rico.
Without Brennan to patrol the back line, there were several defensive blunders in a shaky first few minutes for Toronto. But the home team quickly settled down and held possession for much of the first half.
They had several significant scoring chances before Dichio finally connected. Cunningham looked poised to record his 100th career MLS goal in the eighth minute, when he got his head on a cross, but sent the ball just over the top of the net. The striker had another glorious chance in the 30th when he squeezed through a pair of Colorado defenders, but fired the ball just wide left.
Toronto had five shots on goal to the Rapids’ two to finish the first half.
The home side continued to control the second half with several more near-misses, including a free kick by Laurent Robert in the 66th that clanged off the post.
