TORONTO – Danny Dichio scored the game’s lone goal and Toronto FC extended its unbeaten streak to six games with a 1-0 win over D.C. United in Major League Soccer action Wednesday.
Dichio scored in the seventh minute to open the home-and-home series as Toronto (4-2-2) avenged a 4-1 loss to D.C. (2-7-0) in United’s home opener on April 5. Since then, Toronto hasn’t lost a game.
Dichio, bothered by a groin injury recently, capitalized after D.C. defender Devon McTavish failed to get much of his foot on a poor back pass. With United goalie Zach Wells out of position and sprawled on the ground, Dichio tipped it home while being hauled down by McTavish for his second goal of the year, delighting a crowd of 19,791 on a damp, crisp evening.
Toronto, 4-0-2 since the loss against D.C. on April 5, is unbeaten in its past seven games at noisy BMO Field, a streak that dates back to last September for the second-year franchise.
It was Toronto’s first win against D.C. in five attempts. The teams meet again Saturday at RFK Stadium.
Toronto goalie Greg Sutton recorded his fourth shutout in the past five games. He had to be sharp in the 64th minute when he got right in front of Brazilian-born midfielder Fred to block a header from in close after a wonderful cross from Marcelo Gallardo. The rebound ended up back at Fred’s foot, but it deflected high and wide.
A minute later, Sutton leaped to pull down a tricky long shot from Jaime Moreno.
With the win, Toronto FC jumped into fourth in the seven-team Eastern Division. D.C. United is last.
Aside from Dichio’s goal, the first half was relatively dull. D.C. United had the better chances as Luciano Emilio fired a shot high from just inside the penalty area in the 11th minute. Later in the first half, Toronto defender Tyrone Marshall made a nice diving block on a shot from Santino Quaranta.
Toronto is finding a way to notch points despite having trouble scoring goals. TFC has just two goals in its past three games.
Notes – Reports out of England on Wednesday indicated that Toronto FC is interested in signing striker Shola Ameobi, who is on loan to Stoke City from Newcastle. TFC head coach John Carver, who was with Newcastle when Ameobi was in the club’s system, praised the player in the reports and said his team would like to sign the striker … After the rematch against D.C. United, TFC will travel to Montreal Tuesday to play the Impact of the United Soccer League First Division in a Canadian qualifying match for the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League.
