Toronto FC played one of their best overall games of the season to earn a solely-needed three points against an Eastern Conference rival on Saturday, defeating D.C. United 2-0 at BMO Field.
Dwayne De Rosario's first-half header gave the Reds an early lead, and the first career goal from 2009 MLS SuperDraft No. 4 overall pick O'Brian White cemented the victory for TFC. The victory snapped a five-match winless streak for Toronto, and allows the Reds to move two points ahead of United for third place in the East standings.
While Toronto looked good on attack, their real triumph in the match came on the defensive side of the field. With several young and inexperienced players on the back line and in the middle of the field, TFC became just the third team this season to shut out the high-scoring Black-and-Red. D.C. was limited to just four shots on goal in the entire game.
With a number of regulars injured (Marvell Wynne, Nick Garcia), suspended (Chad Barrett) or on the bench due to fitness or fatigue concerns (Amado Guevara and Ali Gerba), the Toronto starting XI had a very different look. Emmanuel Gomez, Amadou Sanyang and O'Brian White all made their first Major League Soccer starts in the back, midfield and up front, respectively, while Nana Attakora made his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury on July 22 against River Plate. Team captain Jim Brennan moved up from left back to left wing as the Reds began the game in a 3-5-2 formation.
United also made some lineup changes due to the absences of Chris Pontius to injury and Ben Olsen to a yellow card accumulation suspension. John DiRaimondo made his first appearance for the Black-and-Red after spending much of the season playing on loan in the United Soccer Leagues. Luciano Emilio and Santino Quaranta comprised the D.C. strike force, with Jaime Moreno starting the game on the bench.
The Reds held the majority of possession through the first 10 minutes, and also collected the first chance of the match in the eighth minute. Sam Cronin fought off a strong challenge from Rodney Wallace on the right side to burst past the D.C. defender and find room for a cross to White in front of the net. The rookie striker aimed and fired, but his shot was blocked wide by a sliding Bryan Namoff.
Brennan's versatility was an asset for TFC, as the captain freely moved between left wing and fullback as the situation warranted. After dropping back to help guard against some pressure from D.C., Brennan moved back up to nearly put Toronto on the scoreboard.
In the 15th minute, Pablo Vitti maneuvered his way into the penalty area and, despite being covered by two defenders, still managed to chip a cross to Brennan on the other side of the box. Brennan delivered a header that sailed softly towards the right corner of the net, but banked off the post at the last moment.
The match had a quick tempo and lots of end-to-end ball movement, as befitting two high-scoring teams as these. The game also had a physical edge to it, as three yellow cards were handed out in the first 24 minutes; two to Toronto (Cronin and Carl Robinson) and one to D.C. (Dejan Jakovic).
TFC's crisp passing was finally rewarded in the 30th minute. Brennan sent a long outlet pass to Cronin on the right, and the rookie midfielder worked the ball to the right of the penalty area before putting a cross on the front of the net. Cronin's pass found the head of De Rosario, who deposited a glancing header on a bounce into the left corner to put Toronto in the lead.
It was the team-leading ninth goal for De Rosario, adding to his already-established TFC record for goals in a season. It marks the third time that the midfielder has reached the nine-goal plateau in his career, and his first since scoring 11 for Houston in 2006.
De Rosario's goal sparked United, as the Black-and-Red came back with a spirited attack in search of the equalizer. TFC's young back line, however, held steady against the highest-scoring team in Major League Soccer, preventing D.C. from getting any serious scoring chances. The Reds twice kept United direct free kicks from even penetrating the wall, including one dangerous chance in first-half stoppage time caused by a Sanyang booking.
Each side made one substitution at halftime. D.C. inserted Andrew Jacobson into the match for DiRaimondo, while TFC put Guevara in for Robinson. Guevara missed a week of training as he played for Honduras in a 4-0 World Cup qualifier victory over Costa Rica last Wednesday, and just returned to Toronto late Thursday night.
The Black-and-Red had the first good chance of the second half when defender Marc Burch lined a direct free kick toward goal in the 51st minute. TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei had to react quickly to the shot that suddenly curved in on him, but the first-year 'keeper knocked the ball over the net. United almost created another quality attempt on the ensuing corner kick, but the play was called offside.
Toronto adjusted their tactics to put the focus on defending, leaving just White and De Rosario downfield for counterattack chances. The strategy nearly paid off in the 57th minute when De Rosario took a long pass and out-maneuvered Jakovic to get an open look at goal. De Rosario's shot froze D.C. goalkeeper Josh Wicks, but went wide to deny the striker a brace.
The Reds were given another booking in the 58th minute, one that cost them not in this match but will so in the future. Brennan was booked for his foul on Jacobson, meaning that the TFC captain will miss next Saturday's match against Chivas USA due to yellow card accumulation.
TFC entered the game having allowed a league-high 11 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches, while D.C. were tied for second in MLS with 10 goals scored in the same timeframe. The stats indicated that a one-goal lead would've been difficult to hold, which is what made White's goal so important for the Reds.
Guevara sent a corner kick in front of the net that found Attakora, who sent a short pass to White a few feet away. The rookie striker had the angle for a strong shot that Wicks managed to get a hand on, but found the upper right corner of the net to put the Reds up by a 2-0 margin.
It was White's first career professional goal, and it represented the pinnacle of a long recovery from an ACL injury suffered last October while White was playing for the University of Connecticut. Saturday's match was only the second MLS contest that White has participated in, and just his fourth game overall for Toronto.
Despite facing a large deficit, United didn't give up. In the 75th minute, Rodney Wallace found room on the left side and just missed finding Christian Gomez in front of the net on a cross. The play was a metaphor for the Black-and-Red's afternoon -- good movement, good passing, but not a real chance on goal to show for it.
As the game moved into stoppage time, TFC's only focus was on keeping the clean sheet. United had a terrific chance, arguably their best of the game, when Santino Quaranta came out of a scrum in front of the Toronto net and fired a shot, but Guevara was on the spot to block the ball and knock it away to keep the shutout intact.
TFC begins a three-game road swing through the Western Conference when they head to The Home Depot Center next Saturday to face Chivas USA. D.C. United begin the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday in San Pedro Sula against Honduran side CD Marathon before coming home to Washington to face the Los Angeles Galaxy next Saturday.
