Preki returned to the Home Depot Center on Saturday for the first time, the place where he enjoyed success for three years as coach of Chivas USA.
And while his new team Toronto FC didn’t gift him with a win, it gave him what amounts to a party in holding on for a scoreless draw against the league-leading Los Angeles Galaxy.
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He can thank the club’s top two young players for organizing the shindig. Defender Nana Attakora and goalkeeper Stefan Frei were both outstanding in Toronto FC’s best road performance of the season by far.
“We know we’re good,” Frei told Rogers Sportsnet after the game. “We just gotta show up, and I think today, we deserved the point and we weren’t going to give that away in the last two minutes.”
Toronto came into the game facing a Galaxy team that had seven wins in eight games and featured the league’s most potent scoring tandem in Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan. On top of that, The Reds hadn’t won in four MLS road games and were in the midst of their third game in a week. All signs pointed to a Toronto loss.
But TFC did the surprising, going toe-to-toe with the league’s most potent offense. Moral victories usually ring hollow, but the draw was as close to a real win as Toronto can get given its road woes.
“It means everything,” said Frei. “We proved that we can perform well for 90 minutes at home and obviously Nutrilite Cup, but we wanted to keep that going keep, that momentum going for the next game.”
Attakora, who gets better day by day, was everywhere, shadowing attackers, blocking shots and clearing balls out of trouble. It’s no surprise TFC fought to keep him from being named to Canada’s roster for its upcoming two South American friendlies.
Meanwhile, Frei was nothing short of spectacular keeping his defense composed amid waves as relentless as those off the Pacific Ocean. Late in the second half, he came up big with two huge saves, first diving to stop a low shot and then blocking the rebound while on the ground with just seconds to go in second half injury time. It was an impressive performance under pressure from the Berkeley, Calif., native, who may have had the added pressure of a sort of homecoming.
But handling that pressure is what TFC must address if they hope to have a chance of winning a game on the road this season. It’s a recurring pattern that seemingly plays itself out every road game.
It goes something like this: Toronto stays with (insert team here) for the first half or so. Home team then starts to put on pressure. Toronto are sucked deep into their own end and forced to defend to the final whistle.
This can’t continue. Despite the afterglow from the draw, TFC must figure out a way to stop the home team from dictating play at will.
Against the Galaxy, a balanced game turned into a fight for survival, as TFC withstood pressure for most of the second half. Sensing trouble, the Reds sank further back into their own end, giving the Galaxy free reign to forge ahead.
Preki’s removal of strikers Dwayne De Rosario and Chad Barrett took the offense out and conceded half the field to Los Angeles.
When Toronto got the ball, a lack of composure in their own end affected their ability to mount any offense.
Granted, other factors were in play. TFC played Montreal just three days ago, so fatigue may have been an issue. Also, knowing his side can clinch the NCC with a win over Vancouver on Wednesday, Preki made moves to preserve his players.
Regardless, Toronto must be more assertive in their end, smarter on the ball and build more effective counterattacks.
That's easier said than done, but the sooner they can develop this ability, the sooner they can steal the odd road game that could mean the difference between the franchise’s first playoff appearance and another disappointing playoff-less season.
