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Toronto searching for first road win at K.C.

Jul 22, 2011 - 4:38 PM Kansas City, KS (Sports Network) - Toronto FC coach Aron Winter was confident after a loss to FC Dallas his club will become stronger in "one or two games," and Saturday's trip to Sporting Kansas City should provide another good gauge.

Toronto FC debuted five new players in a 1-0 defeat to FC Dallas on Wednesday, including designated players Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans, and Winter's view was that they "did quite well."

Frings, who played 79 matches for Germany, quickly settled in as the midfield general, and the former Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen star said through a translator that the team "could grow together very strong."

"You can notice also that on the pitch he's always asking for the ball," said Winter of Frings. "He needs, maybe, another game, then he's very sharp.

"But [Wednesday] he played very well. He made a difference on the pitch."

Although it might be too fast to expect a big turnaround for Toronto, with the talent added to the lineup, the struggling Canadian club needs a spark soon.

Toronto (3-10-9) has lost three straight, five of its last six, and has just a single win in its last 13 games. And on the road, Toronto is one of just three winless team in MLS, along with the Houston Dynamo and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

TFC has six losses and four draws on the road, and visits Livestrong Sporting Park this weekend, where K.C. (5-6-8) is unbeaten this year. Ryan Johnson, one of the new additions for Toronto, is excited to have a quick chance to rebound from Wednesday's loss.

"You don't wanna be thinking about a loss all week. So we have an opportunity to redeem ourselves on Saturday," Johnson said. "I feel like, going into KC is gonna be a tough game."

Sporting opened their new $200 million stadium in early June, and has two wins and three ties since. Only Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia and Western Conference leaders Los Angeles are also unbeaten at home this season.

K.C. tied English Premier League side Newcastle 0-0 on Wednesday in a friendly and is unbeaten in 11 straight league matches dating back to a loss to Seattle in May.

"We're continuing to grow as a team," Sporting manager Peter Vermes said, "and I think we're getting better."

Newly-signed designated player Jeferson made his K.C. debut against Newcastle, and Magpies manager Alan Pardew was impressed with the Brazilian.

"Jeferson definitely caused a lot of problems for us while he was in, he was definitely the catalyst for most of what Sporting Kansas City did well during that period," Pardew said.

Jeferson should make his MLS debut on Saturday, and if Toronto is going to end its woes and hand K.C. its first home loss, it needs Frings and Koevermans to trump Sporting's new addition.