TORONTO – Toronto FC is feeling hard done after their 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake on Sunday night.
TFC looked to have secured a precious road result at Rio Tinto Stadium after Jackson scored to make it 1-1 in the 87th minute. But their late euphoria turned quickly into a nightmare, with RSL’s Jordan Allen finding the back of the net not even one minute after Jackson had pulled TFC level to give the home side all three points.
The result was made even more bitter by referee Hilario Grajeda’s decision to call off a goal scored by Nick Hagglund. The center back headed home a Sebastian Giovinco corner kick in the 73rd minute, but had it disallowed after Grajeda whistled him for a foul on a RSL defender.
The late concession and controversial decision left TFC head coach Greg Vanney searching for answers after the match.
“I’m frustrated with the team for giving up a goal late, one minute after we equalized,” Vanney told reporters over the phone. “That was one of my frustrations with our team, things we need to be better at. My other frustration is with the endless guessing by the officials. I felt like the goal was Hagglund just opening himself up and then we get that called back.
“There were a lot of moments in the game where we just couldn’t buy an inch. That’s tough when you’re on the road to begin with so you just need things to be a little more real, I guess.”
It’s the second big, game-altering decision to go against Toronto in as many games, with the club losing Justin Morrow to a red-card call against Columbus Crew SC in its last match.
“I don’t think it’s anything intentional – I think it’s just referees missing calls. Period,” Vanney said of the series of decisions. “Unfortunately, they’re game-changing calls. Referees will always miss calls. That’s part of it and we live with it. But there needs to be less calls that alter or change the game. That’s where it gets incredibly frustrating.
“It’s very difficult to get explanations these days.”
For Vanney, this game was always going to be a test of his depth, with five starting players – including Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore – missing due to a combination of international duty, injuries and suspension. And, while he was pleased with the professional debut of his new defensive signing Clement Simonin, he still had a few points he’ll be addressing with his team in the coming week.
“I thought in the first half we played, you know, timid at times,” Vanney said. “They gave our center backs time a little bit of time on the ball and they had to make that first entry pass. We were slow and unsure in that first pass to initiate our attack. I actually knew we could control the game if we got ourselves in the right positions and we did.
“We put enough in the second half to deserve something more out of the game. But, you have to make plays in front of your own goal; you can’t just give away goals. That’s the frustration of that second goal we gave up.”
