After allowing 10 goals in their first four games, it would've been hard to believe that Toronto FC would suddenly become a defensive powerhouse.
Yet just two games later, Toronto notched the first shutout in club history with a 1-0 win Wednesday night against no less an opponent than MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo.
Toronto was outshot 13-7, but excelled at making sure Houston's shots were not quality scoring chances. Dynamo pushed the tempo of the game and spent a lot of time with the ball in TFC's end, but Toronto kept the clean sheet thanks to a strong effort from the back line and goalkeeper Greg Sutton.
The defensive effort made Andy Welsh's goal in the 26th minute all that was needed for Toronto to notch a big win against the defending MLS Cup champions.
"I think we had the clear chances in the game, but I'm more pleased at not giving up any goals," said TFC coach Mo Johnston. "We've worked very hard these last 2-3 weeks on defense."
One of the big keys for Toronto was keeping Houston midfielder Dwayne De Rosario off of the board. The two-time MLS All-Star had extra motivation in Wednesday's game, as the native of the Toronto suburbs was playing in front of a home crowd. De Rosario only managed three shots in the game, none of them on goal.
"He's a very dangerous player who can score from anywhere," Johnston said. "But we had two guys in the midfield who worked very, very hard in [Carl] Robinson and [Maurice] Edu."
The game was also a personal high for 'keeper Sutton, who collected his first career MLS shutout. Sutton downplayed his own achievement and preferred to give credit to his teammates.
"I think we deserved it," Sutton said. "We've put in a lot of work over the last couple of weeks to make sure we do the right things defensively. It takes times, like it has offensively. Now we're seeing the rewards."
From his vantage point from between the posts, Sutton said his defenders are doing a number of things differently now than they did in Toronto's first few games.
"We're in good formations, not five feet behind or five feet ahead of the play," Sutton said. "It's knowing we're [each] over the other's shoulders. The spacing has been a lot better and we're putting more pressure on the ball."
Welsh, whose goal was his first in MLS, attributed the team's better play on both sides of the ball to the simple fact that the first-year club has had more time to get used to playing together.
"Ask any of the lads, the first four games were difficult," Welsh said. "We weren't really enjoying our football. We were a new team, we didn't know each other's strengths and weaknesses, but I think you can see in our play now we're getting to know each other a lot better."
After their tough start, Toronto has now outscored their opponents 4-1 in the last two games, both wins. The club will try to continue its hot streak against Eastern Division cellar-dwellers D.C. United on Saturday at BMO Field.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
