Toronto FC 's Alen Stevanovic (left) tries to curl a shot at goal despite pressure from DC United's Chris Korb during first half MLS action in Toronto on Saturday April 16, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris YoungChris Young/The Canadian Press
Put people in positions to succeed.
It's a simple rule, a basic tenet for most successful organizations around the world, but one that the Toronto FC brain trust somehow chose to ignore Saturday.
The result was predictable - a 3-0 win for the visiting D.C. United - but the damage inflicted in Toronto's first home loss of the season could and should have been minimized. Head coach Aron Winter is still new to the Major League Soccer game, with Saturday's loss, TFC's second of the season, coming in just his sixth game in charge on this side of the Atlantic. But the lineup card he submitted to referee Mark Kadlecik left many in the season-low crowd of 16,323 scratching their heads.
Despite signing right-back Richard Eckersley, on loan from Burnley, on Friday, and with both Dan Gargan and Nana Attakora - to say nothing of draft pick Demetrius Omphroy - available for selection to fill in on the right side of the back four, Winter plumped for Jacob Peterson, an attacking midfielder by trade.
The folly of his decision was exposed within the first five minutes, as Peterson was roasted by the speedy Chris Pontius, who easily stepped around him before burying a left-foot shot into the far corner.
And the slow-starting malaise that has plagued TFC all season got even worse in the 10th minute. Left-back Danleigh Borman, who has struggled to make an impact since his arrival from New York in the Dwayne De Rosario trade earlier this month, inexplicably passed the ball inside to United forward Charlie Davies, who was allowed to stride forward before releasing Josh Wolff through on goal. Though Stefan Frei got a leg to his shot, the rebound fell neatly for Davies, who fired home his fifth goal of the young season. To compound Toronto's misery, centre back Adrian Cann bruised his ribs in a clash with Davies in the process, forcing Winter to shuffle his deck early, bringing on Attakora to replace him.
Despite the setbacks though, the home side did little to claw its way back into the contest, if that's even a fair description of what was a very one-sided game. Toronto struggled to string even three passes together, meaning United could simply absorb what little pressure there was for the remainder of the first half.
While Winter likely read his squad the riot act at the intermission, the gloom that had descended over BMO Field - glimpses of sunshine were few and far between on a grey day - didn't get any better in the second half. Much like the first, the home side started slowly unlike Pontius, who raced through on goal only to be brought down by Ty Harden. Kadlecik - refereeing his first MLS game - had no choice but to produce a red card with Harden denying a clear goal-scoring chance and the game was all but up.
Winter did take the time to bring on Gargan, allowing Peterson to return to his normal position further up the park, but whether or not it was an admission of a mistake was mattered little.
Pontius added to the misery with a third goal on 73 minutes, but the result had long been a formality by that time.
Paul Attfield