New England win 'the type of game' to kickstart Toronto FC: Fraser

Better now than never, TFC fans.

The number 13 may be lucky for Toronto FC after all, as Toronto FC snapped their 12-game winless streak on Saturday night with an emphatic 2-1 win over the New England Revolution in their first home game at BMO Field since May.

It’s a win that the Reds had been ever so slowly marching towards since their last win on April 4 over the Colorado Rapids, with a run of form that had perked up slightly since returning from the World Cup break, despite not winning until Saturday.

“Sometimes, games like (Saturday night’s win over New England) are what you need to kickstart your season,” head coach Robin Fraser told reporters, including Waking The Red, post-game.

“We didn’t play as well as we would like to have, and it’s certainly things we will continue to work on, but I do think games like this can be a turning point for you and we’d certainly like to think that that’s the case.”

The Reds had been desperate for that turning point since April 4, coming close to grasping a result, only to be knocked back down into an emotionally and physically draining hole that they couldn’t find a way to climb out of.

Toronto FC’s 12-game winless run had its own ‘highs’, namely two smash-and-grab draws that saw goalkeeper Luka Gavran score a last-minute equalizer against the Philadelphia Union. But it also had more than its fair share of lows.

Less than three weeks ago, they had clawed back to level terms against D.C. United, only for Tai Baribo to score a winning penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time. There was also the four-game losing streak, which included an embarrassing defeat to Atlético Ottawa — and a Ballou Tabla hat-trick — in the first round of the Canadian Championship.

Courtesy: Shaun McLeod/Canadian Soccer Daily

“So many times in my playing career and coaching career you go through a rough patch and you have a game that you just grind and you fight and your commitment to each other and your determination is what makes a difference, and then from there you kick on to good things,” Fraser added.

When Djordje Mihailovic was shown a straight red card in the 76th minute on Saturday — a loss that Fraser will need to resolve ahead of Charlotte FC’s visit to BMO Field on Wednesday — that commitment needed to be on full show, with just one goal.

Survive.

And survive, they did, as New England peppered TFC goalkeeper Luka Gavran with seven shots in the final 13 minutes. Whereas two, maybe three goals would have been ‘expected’, they came out conceding, crucially, just one.

Courtesy: Shaun McLeod/Canadian Soccer Daily

“The coach told us — also last game in New York — these are the games where we can switch the momentum a little bit to our side,” Toronto FC goalscorer Niklas Dorsch said after the win. “I think a game like this today, 13 minutes one man less, you can stick even more together and you can build this team spirit, which you need every game to win games.”

Robin Fraser agreed that while TFC “(weren’t) perfect tonight, or even close to it,” they were at long last, able to stop their opposition and finally put all the pieces together — something that they are vying to repeat against a tougher Charlotte side on Wednesday.

“We’ve done some really good things with the ball over the last couple of weeks, we had a few moments today where we did some good things with the ball, but if we don’t stop teams, we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to do that.”

While it’s much later than one would otherwise want to be “kickstarting” your season, time is on the Reds’ side, thanks to the World Cup and Leagues Cup pauses.

Nearly half of TFC’s season — 15 out of 34 games — has yet to be played, and if this moment can truly be a turning point, they need just to make up four points against D.C. United to earn their first playoff berth since the 2019 and COVID-impacted 2020 seasons. Additionally, if they dare look up the table, only a single additional point separates each of New England in third, down to ninth-place D.C.

But, it first starts with focusing on their next game, says Dorsch.

“I think (Saturday’s win) is where maybe the momentum changes to our side. The good thing is, in football you don’t have a lot of days to celebrate, or when you lose to be sad, so on Wednesday is the next game at home and I think everybody’s looking forward to it.”

New England win ‘the type of game’ to kickstart Toronto FC: Fraser

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