The same old sayings flooded the web over the weekend following Toronto FC’s 1-0 loss to the Columbus Crew.
There were the typical, overtly positive “It’s just pre-season,” people. After that came fan banter that labeled Saturday’s loss to the yellows as “semi-competitive” at best.
But of the four teams I watched — Toronto FC, Columbus Crew, Sporting Kansas City and Montreal Impact — here Saturday, TFC trailed the pack.
Columbus, although missing Costa Rican international Jairo Arrieta and long-time professional Eddie Gaven, looked the more complete side in TFC’s opener.
As usual, Sporting K.C. looked fit and more technical with Benny Feilhaber in the fold while the Impact’s back four, anchored by former Italian internationals Alessandro Nesta and Mateo Ferrari, looked in mid-season form.
Most notably, though, was the ease and confidence in which most sides here pinged the ball around, which wasn’t the case for the Reds on the weekend
