Toronto FC have still never won at Gillette Stadium. But at least this time they did not lose.
Considering the humiliation they have suffered there over the previous four years, a 0-0 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night is at least something positive — even if they are a team that has been quite beatable this year.
WATCH: Full Match Highlights
It was just Toronto FC’s second point in six matches in Massachusetts since 2007, during which they have been outscored 14-3.
But head coach Aron Winter was not there for those past embarrassments in Foxborough. The first-year coach is trying to forge a brighter future for the club, one that includes some playoff appearances. He knows that at some time, preferably sooner, his team must start to win some games.
“A point away, but it’s otherwise good,” he said after the game. “We wanted more … but also we had a lot of chances and we’re better for it. A couple times they had some good opportunities, but still one point is good.”
So while the draw was OK, he said, “I’m waiting for a victory because every time to play a tie, it’s good. But it’s not changing anything in the standings.”
They will have a better chance to win with Alan Gordon in the lineup. The big forward played his first full game Wednesday since April.
After missing six games with a groin injury, he was a late first-half substitution Saturday against the LA Galaxy and scored two games in the second half, including one in the last minute of stoppage time, for a 2-2 draw that felt better than Wednesday’s.
If a goal was going to come against the Revs, he was going to be part of it in some way. His presence is that positive.
“Alan has been very good and he’s important for the team,“ Winter said. “You saw it today, and it’s really good because he gets good opportunities and was sometimes not sharp at that moment, but still it was his first [full] game after he was away. At the end he was a little bit tired, but it’s important because we have to take care and prepare him for the next game.”
If a win does come soon, ‘keeper Stefan Frei also will be a big part of it. He took the positive view.
“It’s not three points,” he said. “I think the good thing is it’s the second game in a row on the road where we came out to fight for 90 minutes. We kept it pretty clean in the back, played fairly decent I think defensively as a team — just looking for that little luck and spark up top.
“I think, as a whole team, we have to stay positive and look at the fact that we worked fairly decent. Of those seven shots I think there were maybe one or two that were threatening. Other than that it was pretty routine, so that’s a very positive thing for the team to look at defensively.”
