Toronto was lucky to head into half time up 1–0 after an unconvincing display against the winless expansion team. A rejuvenated squad started after half time and put the game out of reach for the visitors.
The home side dominated possession last week in Vancouver but was unable to do so against Portland, Stefan Frei described a difficult playing surface as the culprit.
“The field was in terrible shape, so it made it very risky at times to play out of the back.” Toronto shot stopper Stefan Frei said. “More than we would have probably liked to, we ended up playing longer balls. But I think you have to adjust to the situation, to your surroundings, and we did a decent job of that.”
Alen Stevanovic was introduced into the game at half time despite arriving in Toronto the day before the game. He started as one would expect from jet lag and never playing with his new teammates, but he quickly adapted and became an integral part of Toronto controlling the second half of the game.
Alan Gordon also made his first appearance in a Toronto uniform as the target striker in Aron Winter’s formation. He held up play well, and gave a wonderful flick that sent Santos alone on net, but the Brazilian was unable to finish. Gianluca Zavarise once again impressed coming on as a substitute later in the game, he looks poised for a starting position next week against Chivas.
“It’s like a dream, you know, to play a first game for the Toronto fans and score two goals.” An overjoyed Javier Martina said. “After the goal, you only hear the fans are screaming, it’s beautiful, beautiful.”
Despite the convincing display from the Reds in inclement weather, Aron Winter remains cautiously optimistic. “We scored only twice, instead of more times, because we had a lot of opportunities in the first and second half, and also the end passes from our strikers or midfield players was not the best.” Toronto Head Coach and Technical Director Aron Winter said. “But still, that was better than last week.”
Winter will have to adjust his back line once more for next week following Mikael Yourassowsky’s red card late in the game. Also, Dan Gargan struggled to complete his passes throughout the game when put under pressure by the Timbers offense.
Toronto’s new signings are providing immediate positive impact’s to the team’s overall play. Winter has his system in place and is inching closer and closer to having the players on the field that are able to properly implement that system.
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Toronto FC Earn First Win Of The Season In Home Opener