The Philadelphia Union head north of the border for their first meeting with Toronto FC tonight. It’s going to be a season of firsts for the U, and coming off their first win, they look to start their first winning streak.
After their sloppy win over Eastern Conference cellar dweller D.C. United, the Union has a very good shot at grabbing another 3 points in this match. Toronto has given up 6 goals in it’s two games so far this season and only scored once. With Sebastien Le Toux coming off the first ever (see a theme emerging here?) goal and hat-trick in Union history, he’ll be looking to continue that streak against Toronto. He’ll clearly be the focus of Toronto’s defensive strategy, but that should open up opportunities for Alejandro Moreno. There should be more opportunities for Roger Torres and Fred to notch their first goals of the season as well. Toronto isn’t very solid on defense, so if the U keeps pushing, they should be able to score a few goals.
The defense didn’t have much of a challenge last week against United, but still gave up two goals. Even though Chris Seitz’ dropping of the ball should have been ruled interference, he should have never let that happen. The defense was under pressure from United at times, but held their own for the most part.
The home crowd in Toronto will make it difficult for the Union, but if they can grab an early goal and play their physical style, they might just be able to take the crowd out of the game. In their first road game against Seattle, a very young Union team folded under the pressure and was never really in the game. With two games under their belt now and an entirely different look, the U should be able to bring some points back from Canada with them.
