COMMERCE CITY, Colo. ā Thereās no MLS Cup hangover for Toronto FC.
The Reds proved as much on Tuesday night, dispatching the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in subfreezing conditions to take an early aggregate lead in in the first leg of the teamsā 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 series at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
āI think from the standpoint of confidence, continuity, things like that, thereās some carryover,ā TFC manager Greg Vanney explained to reporters postgame. āI think the group understands that you never finish a season or start a season in the same place. Weāve got to work through some details still, get back in sync and get a little bit sharper. But the foundation for things is there. Thereās some confidence and continuity thatās already in place with a group in which youāve been successful.ā
On the other side, newly-hired Colorado head coach Anthony Hudson continues to build his program, and was stuck in a Catch-22 of sorts, looking to balance preseason preparation with trying to win a competitive CCL match against a quality MLS side.
āI think itās overall disappointing to lose the game. It was certainly an incredible test for us against the [MLS Cup] champions here in preseason,ā he said. āIn terms of where weāre at, six new players in the starting 11, three to four weeks into the preseason, although Iām personally disappointed we didnāt get the result, Iām really pleased in terms of progression. A new team is developing and there were a lot of positives tonight.ā
Flash Zone Interviews: Colorado Rapids vs Toronto | @ColoradoRapids@torontofc#SCCL2018pic.twitter.com/UdycfishvM
ā CONCACAF (@CONCACAF) February 21, 2018
In the first half, the Rapids did well to create chances, outshooting the visitors 8-5, including an inviting opportunity in the 27th minute when Dominique Badji went one-on-one with TFC goalkeeper Alex Bono, only to see his shot denied. But instead of a 1-0 Rapids lead at the break, both teams entered halftime deadlocked and scoreless.
āWe had better chances than them and theyāre a top team with players that cost many millions,ā said Hudson. āSome of the football that led to those chances was very good. Iām pleased that all of the things that weāve been working on were coming off in the first half.ā
But the second half brought forth a glimpse of the TFC side that won a domestic treble last season. Sebastian Giovinco set up Jonathan Osorioās goal to open the scoring in the 55th minute, followed by a dagger of his own on a side volley in the 73rd minute.
With the result, Toronto survived both the Rapids and the frigid weather, taking their 2-0 aggregate lead to BMO Field in next weekās second leg.
āTough night to play; obviously, itās cold, weāve got a layer of ice and itās chilly,ā said Vanney. āBut I thought both teams tried to do their best to play on the night. They gave us some challenges. We were a bit too spread out in the first half. We re-organized ourselves a bit better in the second half and I thought we took control of things and got the better of the chances. It was a challenging night to play, so I think the most important thing is both teams got through healthy on both sides.ā