TFC falls to Crew, still searching for 1st win

TORONTO — Toronto FC’s search for its first win of the Major League Soccer season continues.

Fresh off earning a credible midweek tie in the CONCACAF Champions League, TFC dropped a 1-0 decision to the Columbus Crew before 18,944 spectators on a sunny but crisp Saturday afternoon.

The Canadian outfit has now lost all three of its games to start the MLS campaign, and has been outscored 7-1. And the club’s misery was compounded later in the day when Philadelphia earned a draw against Vancouver, a result that sunk TFC to last place in overall league standings.

Toronto travels to Torreon, Mexico to take on Santos Laguna in next Wednesday’s return match of the Champions League semifinal. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at BMO Field.

Coach Aron Winter made two lineup changes from Wednesday’s stalemate against the Mexicans, swapping in defender Logan Emory and forward Joao Plata for the injured Miguel Aceval (hamstring) and Reggie Lambe (flu).

TFC is in the middle of a gruelling stretch that sees them play five matches in two weeks. This was game three of the run and it’s clear the team’s depth is being tested. With captain Torsten Frings and several players out injured, Winter only named six substitutes (teams usually have seven), including defender Adrian Cann, who hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury last May.

It’s great that TFC is over-achieving in the Champions League, but after five years of playoff futility, it’s time for this club to qualify for the MLS post-season. Dropping nine points from three games makes reaching that goal all the more difficult as it forces the Reds to dig themselves out of a hole — and knowing how this team has historically struggled on the road, home games like this one, even this early in the campaign, really are must-wins.

On the balance of play, Toronto more than held its own against Columbus, which makes Saturday’s loss all the more disheartening. Unless TFC can find a way to score goals on a consistent basis and not make silly mistakes at the back, it’s hard to see how they are going to make a push for a playoff berth.

Winter was disappointed with the result and felt Toronto deserved to win, stating his team was “missing a little bit of sharpness” in front of goal.

“It’s coming, I’m not worried about it,” Winter said when asked what Toronto has to do to break out of this scoring funk.

He should be worried, though. The “sharpness” reply has become a pat answer from the Dutchman, but it’s an explanation that forward Danny Koevermans doesn’t quite buy.

“A word like sharpness, it’s a simple word. It’s like if we don’t score (then) we’re not sharp,” Koevermans told reporters. “Everybody wants to score who is in a position to score. I was there today three times, and of course I want to score. So what’s the word, sharpness?”

The first half was pretty uneventful, with very little entertainment value, although the Reds enjoyed nice stretches of possession and Koevermans squandered an early scoring chance with a tame effort from in close.

Things came alive in the 41st minute when Toronto defender Ty Harden was adjudged to have fouled Olman Vargas in the 18-yard box. It was a harsh call but justice was served when Reds goalkeeper Milos Kocic expertly tipped Milovan Mirosevic’s penalty shot around the post to send the teams tied into halftime.

The breakthrough came in the 56th minute after Julian de Guzman conceded possession in the middle of the field. Columbus quickly broke on the counter-attack and Emory had a chance to clear the danger inside the box, but the ball fell favourably to Bernardo Anor who roofed it into the net.

It was cruel on Emory, who hadn’t put a foot wrong in his second start of the season.

Toronto furiously pressed for the equalizer, with Plata and Ryan Johnson forcing Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum to make some crucial saves. Substitute Junior Burgos nearly netted a late goal for Toronto with a shot that just flashed by the post.

NOTES: Toronto FC returns to MLS play on April 7 when it visits the Montreal Impact… Prior to kickoff Saturday, TFC honoured team equipment manager Malcolm Phillips with a video tribute marking his 400th game in MLS. Phillips previously worked for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and San Jose Earthquakes. He’s been with TFC since it entered the league in 2007… The Reds were missing defender Doneil Henry and midfielder Matt Stinson who were away on international duty with Canada’s Olympic team… Toronto has never beat Columbus at home — all five previous matches between the two sides dating back to 2007 ended in a tie… Winter confirmed that Aceval will make the trip to Mexico for Wednesday’s match… Koevermans will miss the Santos match due to suspension