It can be read on the banners at BMO Field, and it can be heard chanted throughout the game.
"This is our house."
The mantra of the Toronto fans is reverberating throughout MLS. Toronto FC's latest home victory, a 4-0 rout of FC Dallas on Sunday, was the most impressive win in the club's short history. Not only was it Toronto's largest margin of victory, the four goals scored set a team record.
Seven of Toronto's last eight games have been at BMO Field, and the team has compiled a 4-3 record in that span. While the record itself may not seem special, the quality of the defeated opposition stands out -- MLS stalwarts Colorado and Chicago, defending MLS Cup champion Houston and now FC Dallas, who entered the game with an MLS-leading 22 points and four road wins.
It is clear that no matter who comes to Toronto, they will be facing a raucous crowd and an increasingly confident club.
"We've been getting better with each game," said midfielder Carl Robinson. "The boys are learning how to play with each other. We've been working hard in training, on formation playing and bits and pieces like that. You can see it in games because we've taken it from training to games. We know the lads are working their socks off for 90 minutes and now we're putting in that extra bit of quality."
Robinson had his best game as a member of TFC, collecting an assist on Danny Dichio's first-half goal and heading in his first MLS goal in the 65th minute to make the score 3-0 and put the game away.
Robinson said Maurice Edu usually carries the brunt of the offensive load in the midfield, and in fact Edu scored TFC's opening goal against Dallas. But Robinson took advantage of a moment of weakness from Edu to step up himself.
"There's going to be times in games when Mo can't continually do it," Robinson said. "There was a time when I looked at him when he was a bit tired. He's a young kid but he's such an athlete. Eighty minutes he can go, but there will be a period of about 10 minutes [where] he needs a bit of help. I decided to go and it was a great cross by [Kevin Goldthwaite]. I did the easy part."
It took Toronto six games into its MLS tenure to score four goals, but Sunday's game marked the fourth time in seven games that the club had scored at least twice. The attack was once again fueled by strikers Danny Dichio and Jeff Cunningham, who each scored a goal and combined for seven shots on FCD goalkeeper Dario Sala.
Cunningham, in particular, was all over the field, stretching the Dallas defense, albeit sometimes to his club's detriment. The forward was called for five offsides, but finally broke through in injury time with a well-deserved goal.
"I keep saying, the more you knock on the door, someone's going to answer," said TFC coach Mo Johnston. "[Cunningham] apologized after the game and says [he's] going to get better. Hey, I'll take a goal a game from him."
Aside from an ankle injury to Dichio that caused the forward to leave the game at the half, there weren't many negatives to find in Toronto's play. The attack was at full strength, the defense limited the Hoops' chances and goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic stopped four shots to earn his first MLS clean sheet.
The rookie couldn't keep the smile off his face after the game as he described his progress from making his first start two games ago as a fill-in for Gold Cup call-up Greg Sutton to shutting out MLS's top team.
"It's a great feeling," Djekanovic said. "We played well as a team and it was a good result for us. I've got a couple of games behind me now and I felt a lot more comfortable. I feel like it's my team now and I'm there. In the first game I was a bit nervous coming in, and today it was a totally different feeling."
TFC's four home wins are tied for the most in MLS, but they are still searching for their first victory away from BMO Field. The club will get a lot of opportunities for that elusive road win as TFC will play their next six games away from home. With this daunting schedule ahead of them, the win over Dallas became all the more crucial.
"When you're at home one game and then on the road for five or six, it's vital you get three points here," Johnston said.
The first stop on the road trip is in New England, where Toronto suffered their own 4-0 loss on April 14. No matter where they play, however, there is bound to be a loud contingent of TFC fans in attendance to root on their team.
Even Robinson, who is used to warm support from playing in England, is amazed at the support of the Toronto fans.
"They're like a twelfth man," Robinson said. "Today at about the 60-minute mark before we got that third goal, it was difficult in that period of play. They keep showing it and keep roaring you on, and it's a massive help."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
