TORONTO – It's funny isn't it?
How in a game played on such a vast expanse of a field, it always comes down to key moments in key pieces of real estate that determine the winner.
Toronto FC were left shaking their heads after a 2-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday night saw them end a four-game home stand having collected just three of the 12 points on offer.
“When you play the way that we did, put into it what we did, and were on top of the game like we were, it's a game that is almost impossible to lose … and we did,” said midfielder Michael Bradley. “That leaves an incredibly bad taste in your mouth.”
“At the end, you're left pissed off, frustrated, shaking your head. We gave up bad goals at bad times … If we're not able to take care of the key moments on both ends of the field then [it's] hard to win.”
Toronto dominated large stretches of the match and even took the lead through a wonderful effort from Jozy Altidore in the 36th minute. But Lamar Neagle responded just three minutes later and added the game-winner in the second half to complete the upset.
“The game can look nice, you can dominate it, you can have possession, but ultimately it comes down to the two 18-yard boxes,” said TFC head coach Greg Vanney. “We weren't clinical enough in the final third.”
“They get a couple chances, they score two goals. We get a lot of chances, we score one goal. That's not good enough.”
The defeat casts a pale on any hopes of a Supporters Shield run and makes a first-place finish in the East less likely – both New York sides have moved ahead of TFC on recent results.
“We left too many points on the table in this stretch, far more than we had anticipated,” Vanney said. “If you're looking at a Supporters Shield race, yes it was squandered. If you're looking at winning the East, we've got to be perfect now and probably get help from other teams. It's points that we should have taken; that we thought we would take.”
