Things are going well for Toronto FC right now
The team that started the season with nine losses in a row is undefeated in the past five games – one win and four ties – after Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at FC Dallas.
OPTA Chalkboard: TFC start slow yet again
But once again, the Reds made things a little more difficult than they needed to be by allowing a goal in the first five minutes.
“I don’t really know what happened, we need to do a better job of coming out for games,” defender Logan Emory told MLSsoccer.com by phone after the game. “We didn’t come out with a lot of energy for whatever reason. We can’t give them a head start like that.”
HIGHLIGHTS: DAL vs TOR
It was something to reflect on for a team that is starting to build confidence under new head coach Paul Mariner. The Reds are 1-1-4 since he took over from Aron Winter on June 7.
Toronto are in the midst of a busy schedule with another game scheduled for Sunday at Philadelphia, but Emory is not certain that fixture congestion is a factor.
“Maybe if it was at the end of the game, that might be the cause,” he said.
Toronto had a similar problem with a slow start last Saturday against the New York Red Bulls at BMO Field, conceding a goal four minutes into the game. Danny Koevermans answered a couple of minutes later and that one finished 1-1 as well.
The red-hot Koevermans got Wednesday’s early goal back in the 31st minute and now has six goals in his past five games for a total of nine on the season.
It was just another example of how the team’s attitude is changing now that they are able to come back from early setbacks.
“We’re developing warriors now, they’re really fighting for the cause,” Mariner said.
Added Emory: “We need to be. We need to fight for everything we get. I think that Paul has really got our confidence up.”
And no one has flourished more under Mariner’s guidance than Emory.
“I had a bit of a joke with him after the game,” Mariner said. “I said to Logan, 'I might not be able to keep hold of you too long if you keep playing like this.'”
