TORONTO—Three points are three points. Good teams get lucky. An ugly win is still a win. Any of those clichés—take your pick—fit United’s 1-0 win against a hapless Toronto F.C. on Saturday afternoon.
On a cold, blustery day where neither team looked particularly eager to emerge from BMO Field with three points, United (with the assistance of Toronto goalkeeper Miloš Kocić) managed to steal a victory and gain ground in a congested Eastern Conference, leaving the team just a point shy of its first playoff berth in almost five years.
“I felt a little bit like a thief,” United Head Coach Ben Olsen said after the match. “The game could’ve gone either way. Most of our games could go either way, we’re just finding ways to win right now.”
United’s lone goal came in the dying moments of the match, courtesy of the oft-discussed and infrequently used striker Hamdi Salihi—and it wasn’t pretty. Salihi’s fellow second-half substitute, Maicon Santos, got the ball at midfield and fought his defender off while making a path down the right flank. After cutting back, he sent an audacious shot toward the goal, which was promptly mishandled by Kocić. Salihi—who continued his run into the box even after the shot—was right there to clean up the rebound.
“It’s always good when you score, for me it’s something special because it’s been a long time—I [haven’t] scored in a long time and haven’t played much,” Salihi said. “This is, for me, a period that every player has in his career, when you don’t play much. I feel like I trust in [my] ability and believe in myself.”
A dejected Kocić kept it simple when asked about his gaffe: “I lost the game.”
Olsen couldn’t help but be happy with his forward’s performance. “That’s what Hamdi is. He’s a finisher,” he said. “He smells blood. He will always do the right thing, as a forward. That’s why he’s scored so many goals in his career.”
Salihi’s finish was a stark contrast to the lackluster performance of Lionard Pajoy, who Olsen again used as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation that has yet to impress. The team looked sharper in the second half, with Salihi paired up top with Santos, and Branko Bošković directing traffic in midfield.
There have been calls for Salihi to play a larger role, perhaps even starting in place of Pajoy, and Olsen did nothing to dispel the notion that that could be a possibility moving forward. “I told [Hamdi] that if we’re going into the playoffs and we’re going to do well, he’s going to be a big part of it. He’s our best scorer,” Olsen said.
I find it hard to disagree with Olsen on that last point—our friend Thomas Floyd over at The Washington Times points out that Salihi’s goals per-90 minute rate is 0.58—only topped in MLS by seven players who’ve played a minimum of 700 minutes: Alan Gordon, Chris Wondolowski, Alvaro Saborio, Thierry Henry, Danny Koevermans, Steven Lenhart, Kenny Cooper and Eddie Johnson. That’s good company.
Toronto had its share of chances, but United relied on goalkeeper Bill Hamid to come up with several big stops, including a spectacular reaction save in the first half and an equally impressive second-half stop that robbed Toronto forward Ryan Johnson of a sure goal.
The victory catapults United into third place in the Eastern Conference, and leaves the team just one point shy of its first playoff berth in five years. The team only needs a draw out of its last two games to guarantee a playoff spot. Even if United loses both of its remaining games, it could still qualify if New York, Houston or Columbus fail to make up sufficient ground on it in the standings. With United unbeaten in their last five games, the focus at this point seems less on qualifying for the playoffs, and more on securing one of the top three spots in the Eastern Conference, which would effectively earn the team a first-round bye and guarantee them at least one home post-season match.
As for Toronto F.C. (5-20-7), the team is now winless in its past 12 league matches, a stretch that dates back to mid-July and includes nine losses. Though the crowd was announced at 15,281, the stadium seemed far emptier—and eerily quiet. Toronto’s fan groups—once among the loudest and most raucous in MLS—stood quietly in protest for most of the game, hoisting banners that proclaimed their manager and front office staff as the “Three Stooges” and at one point in the first half chanting, “We’re shit, and you’re tied with us.”
The team, owned by Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment—which also owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors—is the only squad in MLS history to not qualify for the playoffs in their first five years of existence. Subjected to higher ticket prices, a directionless front office and at times a questionable work rate from the players on the field, many Toronto F.C. fans have stopped coming to the games and have publicly stated that they won’t be renewing their season tickets next year. The future for the club looks bleak, and I have to say you could really feel the negativity at BMO Field on Saturday. Toronto is a great town, with a great soccer facility and great fans. They deserve better.
United, though, seems to be headed in the opposite direction. The team’s next two matches are easily their most crucial of the year: a showdown with Columbus at RFK Stadium on October 20 and the regular season finale on the road against the Chicago Fire a week later. If the black and red earn points from both of those games, we could be looking at our first home playoff game in a long, long time.
Team Notes: If you’re looking for help with the playoff picture, the team’s website has a thorough breakdown right here. … United’s reserve league match with Toronto was set to follow the first team match, but was cancelled earlier in the week due to United’s ongoing injury issues. Here’s the full rundown of injured United players. … Ben Olsen took exception to several of the calls made during the game, and was at one point a little too close to a hot mic on the field when he screamed “Why do they bring these fucking 14-year-olds to ref these games?” I had a chance to ask him if he cared to make a comment on the officiating after the match. Olsen said: “If I tie this game, or lose this game, I’d probably have some different words for you. But I’ll just say they were pretty good and leave it at that.” … If you want a closer look at Toronto F.C.’s woes, read this post on Waking the Red, the team’s fan blog. Good stuff.
