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United-Toronto FC Preview

Sep 10, 2010 - 8:26 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

D.C. (4-16-3) at Toronto FC (7-9-7), 4:00 p.m. EDT

A scoring drought is threatening Toronto FC's chances for a first postseason berth in team history. A matchup with woeful D.C. United could give the club the opportunity to end those struggles while earning a much-needed three points.

Trailing in the playoff race, Toronto will try to take advantage of a visit from the league's worst team to snap its 0-3-2 skid Saturday afternoon.

Toronto (7-9-7) has scored once over its past five games and is four points behind San Jose for the final postseason berth. It was shut out for the third straight time Wednesday in a scoreless draw at Chicago.

"We just got to create our own luck," captain Dwayne De Rosario said. "We have to create something out of nothing. We're not doing that right now. The chances we do get, we have to be more clinical and finish them."

Injuries have played a part in Toronto's drought, especially forward Chad Barrett's strained hamstring. Barrett, who has missed the last three matches, is second on the team with six goals.

TFC is also expected to be without forward Fuad Ibrahim (groin), midfielder Amadou Sanyang (concussion) and defender Emmanuel Gomez (knee). Two other forwards, Maicon Santos and Mista, are probable but have been dealing with nagging ailments this week in practice.

"We do have a little bit of injuries in important positions," De Rosario told MLS' official website. "We gotta carry on with it and, hopefully, the guys that do get their chances are 100 percent ready and focused and take the opportunities."

Even short-handed, Toronto has a good chance to break out of its funk against D.C. (4-16-3), which is 1-8-2 in its last 11 in MLS play. United have dropped four of five since Ben Olsen took over as interim coach for the fired Curt Onalfo, falling 1-0 at home to Eastern Conference-leading Columbus last Saturday.

United, 0-4-2 in their last six road games, will likely need to find a replacement for 19-year-old goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who is expected to undergo shoulder surgery in the near future. Troy Perkins, who is 1-11-3 with a 1.80 goals-against average, will likely be in net Saturday.

"This is a real character check for myself, this team, our fans, the whole organization," Olsen said. "It's a very easy time to give up, but hopefully that's not what we're about and that's not what we're made of."

United, expected to have defender Dejan Jakovic and midfielder Branko Boskovic back from international play, will face a Toronto team that's 6-1-5 at home. D.C. has dropped three straight on the road and is 1-8-2 there this season.

After winning their first two games in Toronto, United have dropped their past two there. D.C. leads the all-time series 5-2-1.