In the end it came down to fatigue and inexperience, two factors that play a significant part in any fixture and both areas where TFC have a lot to learn. After playing competitive in all facets of the game for an entire half, TFC were unable to match the conditioning of a Chivas side that was determined to hang on to their slim 1-0 lead earned in the first half. TFC had the best early chances and could have easily been up 2-0 midway through the first half. Edson Buddle’s downward header was brilliantly stopped by Brad Guzan and later it was Alecko Eskandarian who was denied by Guzman from 12 yards out as he batted a hand on a bullet shot sending it over the crossbar. Unfortunately for TFC, that was where the offensive challenge ended for the night.

The back four of TFC are a physical bunch that throw themselves in front of balls with a recklessness that can win you games. The 3-5-2 formation featured Jim Brennan, Marco Reda, Andrew Boyens at the back with constant help from Miguel Canizalez dropping back from midfield. Boyens had an impressive game often causing problems for the Chivas forwards who underestimated his pace and tackling ability. The defense came up with some big blocks and tackles outside the area to extinguish any threat that might have been. But it was the long ball that undid them, after Maykel Galindo latched on to a long pass on the right, the back four, although beaten, appeared to be recovering by forcing Galindo to his right, but Greg Sutton made the decision to pass a lot easier for Galindo by coming too far out of his line and leaving open an empty net. Ante Razov did the rest.  Kljestan later struck in the 88th minute from outside the area to seal the deal.

Sacha Kljestan celebrates Chivas’ second goal

Sutton looked strong in goal throughout the game, the 6′ 6″ goalie came out bravely in the first half to collect a through ball which if he was an instant too late would’ve been an easy goal. Sutton rarely spilled the ball, even when the shot was of a higher velocity and looked like he will be a reliable goalie for TFC. Even the first half goal that was conceded can’t be entirely blamed on him, somebody should’ve covered Razov’s run from the right. Check out the TFC MLS blog for complete player ratings - I do disagree with the Maycoll Canizalez rating, I thought he held his position well, was rarely caught behind the play and made a couple great tackles that won the ball. He didn’t do much attacking but when you’re playing only three in the back, attacking isn’t your primary concern.

The first half was an evenly contested period where TFC passed the ball around with a legitimate purpose and managed to create half-chances that if not threatened the Chivas defense, did force them to make plays to prevent disaster. Mo Johnston was relying on Andy Welsh to take advantage of his pace on the left side but Welsh never produced anything of interest and often looked labored. He runs like he’s carrying a piano on his back. No offense to Welsh but Johnston’s reliance on him to create chances might have backfired.

Despite conceding, the first half was a promising period. But if the first half was good, the second half was simply ugly. We rarely (never) threatened to score, our midfield passing was horrible due to fatigue and even Buddle who had a decent first half, often passed backwards simply because he didn’t have enough to make a forward run. Our midfield passes were often too short and too crooked for them to be meaningful and whenever there was an opportunity for a through ball, we recognized it too late and the defense had easily recovered. The substitution of Conor Casey (big physical man) for Welsh helped matters momentarily but finesse doesn’t appear to be Casey’s game, he made his presence felt but needed a lot more service to make an impact. Fatigue due to lack of conditioning and experience caught up with us. It’s going to happen a lot more this season, so get used to it. We played well, almost well enough to take something from this game but in the end, the result was a fair one.

Game Notes: Gerry Dobson kept referring to Toronto FC as Team Canada…They were talking to Tom Anselmi during the game and you buy Toronto FC jerseys Centre Sports and BMO field in late April…Claudio Suarez is 38 years old…The officiating was pretty bad, I’ve never seen a guy was 10 yards onside given offside…Chivas almost scored their second midway through the second half after Boyens had fallen down only to be denied by a delayed offside flag…Sacha Kljestan celebration of tearing a piece of grass doesn’t seem to make sense…The Home Depot field is a library…Thanks for reading.