|
MONTREAL -- Toronto FC's 2-0 victory on Saturday against Canadian rival Montreal Impact was their best performance since Greg Vanney took charge in 2014, the coach said following the win at Stade Saputo. In the Reds' first trip to Montreal since the Impact routed them 3-0 in the first round of the 2015 MLS playoffs, the visitors got two goals from reigning league MVP Sebastian Giovinco and outplayed the hosts, who started the day atop the Eastern Conference standings, from start to finish. The three points give TFC 11 through their first seven games, all of which have all been on the road while BMO Field undergoes renovations. Vanney's team travels to Portland next weekend before their May 7 home opener against FC Dallas. "I thought the performance today was maybe arguably our best performance that we've had in two years," Vanney said. "In terms of front-to-back, defensive organization, attacking and creating chances-I thought we were solid all around. And to do that in the seventh game of a long road trip shows that this group is resilient and they're coming along and continuing to progress." The clean sheet was Toronto's third of the season and, with just five goals allowed, they own the best defensive record in MLS. Saturday's shutout was particularly impressive, as the Reds were able to contain Impact attackers Didier Drogba and Ignacio Piatti. Playmaker Piatti came into the contest with four goals in six games while Drogba, who scored 11 times in 11 regular season games last year, made his first start of 2016 after scoring off the bench last week in Dallas. "We made the game very hard on their big attacking players," TFC captain Michael Bradley said. "It's a win that every guy in here should be very proud of and we can use to build on in a big way. I thought we played very well against a very good team." Toronto's first goal was set up by Jozy Altidore, who drew a penalty against Montreal defender Victor Cabrera that Giovinco converted. A hamstring injury limited Altidore to two substitute appearances in the Reds' first three games, but he's now made three starts in a row. The U.S. national team striker hasn't scored yet, but Vanney said the 26-year-old's return to the lineup has been a crucial ingredient in their hot start. "Early on this season, it was very difficult for us to get out of our defensive shape," Vanney said. "Jozy, with his size; obviously we saw today he's a target. He can hold off defenders, he can hold the ball; he can bring a team out of their defensive shape and bring numbers into the attack. So his addition has made the group better. He's obviously helped Sebastian as well, because he takes a little bit of the attention off Sebastian and it's very difficult to defend Jozy one-on-one." "The goals will come -- that's a lot of timing and just getting a rhythm around the goal," Vanney continued. "It's going to come but the amount of work he put in today was incredible just to help us on both sides of the ball to get a result."
|
