Preki spent nine illustrious years as a player for the Kansas City Wizards, racking up an impressive goal count. So it was fitting he be honored by his ex-club, which distributed 4000 figurines of his likeness before the Toronto FC vs. Kansas City match on Saturday.
His current team could have used some of the goal scoring magic that made Preki a Wizards legend. Something, anything would have helped a moribund Toronto FC, which fell 1-0 to the Wizards in an abysmal offensive showing that is not only untimely, but unsettling.
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Toronto is loosely holding onto a playoff spot, so there’s little room for error, yet issues abound. It’s vividly clear that it will still take some time for offensive reinforcements Mista and Maicon Santos to integrate into the attack.
But does Toronto have time to wait?
Cries over the lack of offense are sounding like a broken record, but the sense of urgency is growing as the team delves deeper into the second half of the season.
If the offense was doing its part, defensive mistakes like the one Adrian Cann committed, leading to Teal Bunbury’s game-winning goal, wouldn’t have mattered. Instead the error was magnified tenfold.
But the strikers take cues from the midfield, which provided little to no service on a steamy evening at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Passes too often were wayward and balls were given up too easily, leading to broken forays. Strikers are only as good as the service they receive.
And the problem seems to be more pronounced on the road.
Toronto FC is a totally different team away from friendly BMO Field. Teams typically are better at home, but the chasm between the two records is startling. While Toronto is undefeated at home (5-0-4), after Saturday’s loss they just have one win in eight away matches (1-6-1). A strong home record and a .500 road record are the recipe for the postseason.
To top it off, TFC had a chance to take control of this game as Kansas City showed no signs of being the home team, seemingly wilting in their own heat. Yet Toronto wilted even more.
The end result is Toronto is winless in its last three MLS matches after an eight-game winless streak.
And things don’t get any easier.
Toronto is in another one of those busy stretches with three matches in eight days. A trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to face Club Deportivo Motagua Tuesday in the second leg of a CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round series will be followed by a home date with Chivas USA Saturday then a game in New York four days later.
In fact, the Reds could be setting themselves up for their own demise in the MLS season - a victim of their own success. Up 1-0 on aggregate, if they tie or beat Motagua on Tuesday, then they’ll reach the Champions League group stage for the first time in franchise history.
But it could come at a cost.
The feat would add six more matches to TFC's schedule beginning at the end of August, a critical time in the MLS schedule with teams jockeying for playoff seeds. With the battle for a playoff spot appearing as though it may come down to the wire, the extra games, while raising the club’s profile off the field, may do more harm than good.
It’s the proverbial “stuck between a rock and a hard place” with the only out being the start of another MLS unbeaten streak beginning Saturday against Chivas USA.
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