Between my time-zone of choice (PST) and Major League Soccer's game-bookers, I caught this one in pieces; I still have yet to see Eddie Johnson's opening goal (whoops! till now...thanks quick kicks!). Here are some brief observations based on what I saw, starting with the Toronto FC side of things:
- Dude, Toronto FC is in for one long motherfucker of a year. Till this team improves defensively, it might be advisable to place an asterisk next to these wins and keep a separate ledger for the goals they allow.
- On the same subject, Toronto glumly demonstrated last night that simply packing 10 players behind the ball - as they appeared to be doing after KC's first goal - isn't sufficient; they still have to be organized.
- On the other end, Alecko Eskandarian came close enough that I believe Toronto capable of scoring - and almost expect that will happen this weekend. If it doesn't, holy crap...I don't know if I can watch this team. Too painful...
- Speaking of bright spots for Toronto, Carl Robinson doesn't look half bad. He's no All-Star at this point, but he's showing signs.
- Think of what the recent trades must feel like for Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite - and this goes double for Wynne, who left the team everyone's talking about right now. The only comparable experience that comes to me would be getting picked early when the captains divvy up teams - y'know, like they used to do in gym class or on the playground - only to be shipped to the crappy side to help for the sake of closer balance.
From the KC side:
- I have read, and have probably written as well, that Eddie Johnson should concentrate on getting back to form with a club team before he gets a shot with the national team again; based on the past two performances I saw, EJ is making progress.
- And a big part of that, last night at least, came courtesy of Carlos Marinelli. He delivers a pretty good ball and looks like a good find for the Wizards.
- Hartman showed on at least one occasion the importance of having a good 'keeper; his near-post stop on one of Eskandarian's attempts was impressive.
- Sadly, though, the jury has to stay out on this Wizards team - and probably through the weekend. Given not just last night, but Toronto's season as a whole, betting on the Canadian team to win seems like a brave call.
(########)
No comments:
Post a Comment