Final
Toronto FC battles Portland in home opener
Mar 25, 2011 - 8:28 PM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Toronto FC opened the 2011 season with an all to familiar result, falling 4-2 at expansion Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Dwayne De Rosario realizes it will take time to adapt to new manager Aron Winter, but "I hope it's sooner than later."Toronto struggled in its season opener under new boss Winter, being outclassed by Vancouver in the first-ever clash of Canadian clubs in Major League Soccer. Toronto FC has to shift its focus to the expansion Portland Timbers, who visit BMO Field on Saturday.
De Rosario, who scored last week, believes Toronto has the talent to thrive in Winter's offensive style, but a sluggish start could be disastrous. Especially considering TFC opens with back-to-back matches against expansion clubs.
"It's going to take time for guys to adjust. I hope it's sooner than later because games are going to start coming fast," De Rosario said. "It's hard to implement our new system and new style of play."
Toronto has thrived at BMO the last three seasons, losing just eight of its 45 matches in front of a usually boisterous crowd. TFC is 20-8-17 in that stretch and needs a solid bounce back performance this week.
Without success at home, Toronto will struggle to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. And the best way to forget about the loss to Vancouver is to get a win this weekend.
Winter signed Serbian youth international Alen Stevanovic on loan from Torino, and added Ecuadorian Joao Plata to the roster this week, as changes could very well be made to last week's lineup.
Portland made its MLS debut against defending champion Colorado and the Rapids punished the Timbers, scoring three times in the first half of a 3-1 victory. The Timbers allowed just three goals in eight preseason matches.
Luckily Colorado settled in after taking the three-goal lead, and Portland was able to escape with a late goal from Kenny Cooper. Timbers coach John Spencer needs more from Cooper this week, or the expansion club could open with a pair of losses.
"I think we made individual errors and got punished badly for them," Spencer said. "When you come and play against a good team, champions of the league, and you give them chances, you dive in and you don't win tackles, you don't compete, you're going to get punished."
- PORTLAND: 0
TORONTO FC: 2
Final
Mar 26 4:00 PM - PORTLAND: 0
TORONTO FC: 0
1st Half - 1'
Mar 26 2:08 PM
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