Toronto FC 1-0 Philadelphia Union: It's Like That Etta James Song

At last!
My love has come along,
My lonely days are over,
And life is like a song.

- Etta James, "At Last"

Okay, maybe there's a bit of a hyperbole there...but give us a break, okay?

The MLS losing streak is over! A late, late strike in the 88th minute by Danny Koevermans stops the bleeding at 9 games, and TFC finally has three points to add to the standings. It's a far cry from anything significant stats-wise and the misses were still just as heinous (18 shots on goal to Philadelphia's 11), and the game lived up to its basement-bowl status, but hey...a win is a win.

With the win, the Reds are now 5 points behind Union for second last in the league, but heading into a two-week international break, this will only lift spirits up at practice next week, and make life just a little easier for an under-pressure Aron Winter.

The game once again started with the Reds showing the same early attacking intent they did against Vancouver on Wednesday night. However, the finishing was off the mark as per standard, and three early chances went begging. Joao Plata drew a few early fouls using his smaller stature to lure the taller players in, but all the chances created were scuffed by his fellow forward Ryan Johnson and Reggie Lambe, who missed a wide open net.

TFC kept on attacking, but time after time the shots only found the arms of Mary Philly's third string goalkeeper Chris Konopka, who played in the stead of the injured Zac MacMath. Konopka continued to frustrate the Reds, while the Union's chances were few and far in between in the half. They did draw two cards on Morgan and de Guzman (who had another acceptable game), but the teams went into the dressing room at the half with TFC clearly controlling play.

Second half the Union roared out, and started going forward while holding onto more possession but still not finding a way past Milos Kocic. Koevermans was subbed in for Plata in the 62nd minute, and off the corner that was won almost converted immediately. A few more attacks and all of a sudden Philadelphia took to the attack in the 70th minute, forcing a few nervous moments for the TFC defence.

Torsten Frings made a number of runs into the box, but in the 82nd minute met Konopka, with the latter getting the worst of the damage. It was only six minutes later, with Nick Soolsma not giving up after falling down on the ball, passing it to Koevermans who shot it right at Konopka, who gives up a juicy rebound which the Dutchman says "dank je" and buries it in for the winner, sending Lakeshore House's south stands into a wild frenzy.

Once again, the finishing was a huge problem for the Reds forwards, who still seems to have no clue as to how to bury the shot. The defence had a good game overall, but a number of nervous moments caused a bit of stomach upset amongst the faithful. The fact that it was a Basement Bowl match between the cellar dwellers of the Eastern Conference (and it showed in both teams' play) -- likely won't dent the supporters' celebrations tonight, but the problems still persist, which must be addressed during the break.

Meanwhile, the team is now off for two weeks to rest and recover during the international break (except for those who've been called into the Canada squad for the World Cup qualifiers), but will be walking in with a bit of a spring in its step as they await a date with Sporting Kansas City on June 16th. Tonight the Reds will be somewhere over the rainbow, as at last - they have something to cheer about.