Amado Guevara scored a pair of second half goals and Toronto FC held the Kansas City Wizards scoreless for the second time on the season, recording a 2-0 victory Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.
Guevara became the TFC player to score twice in one match, while leading the Reds to the first three-game winning streak in club history. Last season, Toronto didn't win their third game until June 2, 2007. The Wizards lost for the second time on the season, this time as joint leaders of the Eastern Conference.
Guevara's opener wasn't without some controversy, as found himself within the goal area with the ball on his foot thanks to a somewhat lucky bounce. TFC defender Marvell Wynne's long charge was held up by two Wizards defenders, and a clearing attempt by one bounced off the back of another. The ball came right to Guevara, who scored his first league goal since 2006, when the former MLS MVP played for New York.
Replays showed that both Guevara and another TFC player appeared to be behind the last attacker, but much to Kansas City's chagrin, no offside call came from the officials. Wizards captain Jimmy Conrad was booked by the assistant referee for vehemently arguing the goal.
Guevara's second goal was much less controversial, whipping a free kick over the wall and off the inside of the left-hand post to seal the match.
The opening minutes of the game were controlled by the Reds, though their best actual scoring chance came in just the second minute. Guevara, again playing in an out-and-out attacking role behind lone striker Danny Dichio, launched a point-blank shot from within the penalty area at Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, but the 'keeper kept his focus and knocked the shot away.
The Reds seemed to spend most of the first 20 minutes getting the ball to midfield and then passing it backwards or sideways in an attempt to look for cracks in Kansas City's defensive formation. The Wizards kept many men in the middle to cut off any attempt at a cross. TFC midfielder Rohan Ricketts finally managed a successful cross to Dichio in the 17th minute, but the forward was ruled offside.
Kansas City's backline disrupted several of TFC's passing plays and showed the form that netted the Wizards three clean sheets in their first five matches. Following a Laurent Robert corner kick in the 22nd minute, there was a wild scrum in front of the K.C. net that saw the ball bounce off no less than three players. Defenders Michael Harrington and Conrad were both forced to make goalmouth blocks, the latter off of a shot by Reds midfielder Maurice Edu that was within the six-yard box.
The half was reminiscent of the matches for both teams from a week ago -- certainly the opening 45 minutes of Toronto's 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake, when Toronto controlled play and kept their opponents buried in their own end, while Kansas City doggedly defended a 1-0 victory against Chicago after scoring after just four minutes.
The one major difference, however, was the early goal. Guevara even attempted a bicycle kick in the 35th minute that brought the BMO Field crowd to its feet, but the shot sailed wide of the net.
K.C. coach Curt Onalfo made just one change to the lineup that picked up the win last Sunday. Ivan Trujillo made his third start of the season at forward in place of Scott Sealy. No matter the personnel, the Wizards attack was almost non-existent in the first half.
Though K.C. and TFC ended the half tied in shots (six) and shots on goal (two), the Wizards' only real chances came in a brief flurry of attack around the 30th minute. This time, it was Toronto who had to come up with a pair of goalmouth blocks. The first was in the 31st minute from Tyrone Marshall off a Trujillo shot, and the next came just over a minute later from Carl Robinson, in defense of a shot from K.C. midfielder Kurt Morsink.
The second half began much like the first, except Toronto was finally rewarded for their attacking persistence in the 60th minute. Wynne carried the ball deep into the K.C. penalty area, but when two K.C. defenders covered him in front of the net, it looked as if Wynne had erred in not attempting a pass. Guevara was fortunate enough to be in position for the rebound and his strike gave the Reds the lead.
Guevara's goal was followed by a pair of substitutions for the Wizards, who tried to shake up the attack by inserting Sasha Victorine and Carlos Marinelli into the midfield in place of Roger Espinoza and Kerry Zavagnin, respectively.
The change in personnel almost paid off in the 67th minute when K.C. had their best chance of the game. Claudio Lopez had the ball and some space on the left side, with fellow striker Trujillo trailing. Lopez's pass found Trujillo in front of the net, but Reds 'keeper Greg Sutton was there with a diving save to his left keep his club ahead.
There was no question about the quality of Guevara's second goal. After a Marinelli foul set up a direct free kick some 20 yards straight out from goal, Guevara sent a perfectly-placed strike over the wall and into the top left corner, past a diving Hartman. It was Guevara's first multi-goal game since he scored a hat trick for New York on Oct. 14, 2006, also against Kansas City.
Toronto FC has a short training week before facing the New York Red Bulls on Thursday night at BMO Field. TFC picked up a 2-1 win the last time the two clubs met in Toronto, Oct. 4, 2007. The Wizards head to Columbus on Saturday for the third stop on their six-game road trip. Kansas City is 6-1 against the Crew over the last two seasons.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
