Toronto FC draws their fourth game of the season

Toronto FC can’t seem to bury their chances as they draw Atlanta 2-2 at home.

It’s the second straight game where Toronto FC can’t bury their chances. While they were dominant in possession they struggled to take control of a game that was theirs for the taking.

It was a weird game as Toronto, a solid defensive unit, looked out of sorts. The insertion of Chris Mavinga into the starting lineup was a good idea, but it will be a game Mavinga would love to have back.  Going against a solid offensive unit like Atlanta, Mavinga struggled to keep pace with the runs of Hector Villalba, who would score twice on the night.

The Chris Mavinga experiment

Toronto FC brought in Chris Mavinga for defensive depth and his ability to close down. Mavinga finally got his first start of the game, but looked miles behind. It was a horrendous start for Mavinga as he struggled to keep pace with Villalba who beat him twice to score two goals. It was a great through ball from Almiron that created the first goal, no doubt, but Mavinga was playing too far off his man. Sometimes they say it’s better to leave well and well enough alone.  So look for Greg Vanney to go back to the back line of Hagglund, Moor and Zavaleta in Columbus next weekend.

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Giovinco on the board

Finally Toronto FC got their star player on the board. When Giovinco is going so is Toronto FC and he looked a force all game. While they did end up with a tie, Giovinco was around the ball all-night and creating chances. He latched into a perfectly weighted through ball from Altidore to slot it past Atlanta goalkeeper Alec Kann. If Toronto FC want to have success they’ll hope that goal will give him a boost of confidence to continue to score goals.

Possession

To win games or control games you need to control possession. Through the first five games of the MLS season Toronto FC has controlled possession in all games. During the first half Toronto looked dominant, especially in the midfield. Armando Cooper and Michael Bradley were all over the opposition winning balls and starting counter attacks. Against a team that likes to play through their midfield like Atlanta does, winning the midfield battle was imperative, and that’s what Toronto did.

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Toronto FC will travel to Columbus to take on the Crew who are currently sitting in fisrt place in the Eastern Conference