TORONTO - Oswaldo Minda scored in the first half Saturday to give Chivas USA a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC that extended Toronto's season-opening losing streak to a franchise-worst five games.
Toronto (0-5-0) has yet to win or tie, score at home or even hold a lead in five MLS games this season. And it has a 1-6-2 combined record in league and CONCACAF Champions League play, having been outscored 20-9.
The defeat also marked the franchise's first ever five-game losing streak.,
Still on this day, Toronto could have won 5-1, with a slew of second-half scoring chances. But one ball after another deflected off a defender, bounced the wrong way, hit a post or found goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. The only thing missing was a black cat crossing the field in front of goal.
Chivas (3-3-0) has now won all three games on the road and lost all three at home.
Toronto lost four straight to kick off its debut season before beating the Chicago Fire 3-1 on May 12, 2007. The Fire visit Toronto next Saturday.
Perhaps the only other good news for the announced crowd of 18,476 at BMO Field was that captain Torsten Frings dressed for the first time since straining a hamstring March 17 in the season-opening loss in Seattle.
The former German international, however, was rooted to his seat and did not warm up with the other substitutes as the game wore on. Frings and fellow designated player Julian de Guzman were part of a bench with more than $3.2 million in combined salary last season.
Chivas, a tidy defensive side with few attacking options in the absence of the injured Juan Pablo Angel, made the most of its limited chances. Toronto didn't and once again paid for a defensive mistake.
The lone goal came in the 31st minute off Minda's downward header from a corner created by a glorious attack by Chivas. Ryan Johnson was attempting to mark the Ecuador international.
The visitors stroked the ball around and had several touches in the penalty box before Toronto's acting captain Richard Eckersley poked the ball out.
Minda had been influential from the get-go in his role as holding midfielder.
Johnson looked certain to tie it in the 80th minute when, found alone in the corner of the box, his left-footed shot went through Kennedy. But somehow defender Heath Pearce flew through the air to clear the ball as it was about to go in.
A Johnson header off a Eric Avila cross went just wide in the 84th. And Kennedy made an amazing reflex stop on Danny Koevermans in the 89th minute.
Defender Adrian Cann returned to the lineup for the first time since ripping up his knee in training last July. Ty Harden made way for the Canadian international.
It was an overcast 11-degree day with a stiff wind in Toronto's face for the first half.
There was some early bite to the game with a yellow card going to Chivas' English winger Ryan Smith in the sixth minute for scything Eckersley down in retaliation for an earlier foul by the Englishman.
Joao Plata shot wide in the ninth, wasting a nice layoff by Koevermans.
Kennedy was both good and lucky in the 16th when he rushed out for a loose ball. He arrived first, but the ball squibbed away as a Toronto attacker came at him. Fortunately no other Toronto player was in the area to take advantage.
Toronto 'keeper Milos Kocic had to be sharp in the 20th minute to parry a deflection off a Ryan Smith lone-range shot. He did it again in the 41st, off a rocket from distance by Ben Zemanski after Eckesley gave the ball away.
The home side, meanwhile, did not manage a shot on target in the first half. But Toronto came out aggressively after the break and Miller Bolanos has to head the ball off the line from a Toronto corner in the 48th minute as Chivas faced the wind.
Kennedy stopped a Koevermans backheel from close range in the 70th minute, probably without knowing too much about it. Koevermans kicked the goalpost in frustration.
The Chivas lineup featured veteran Canadian international Ante Jazic and former Toronto FC midfielder Nick LaBrocca.
Jazic was part of a Chivas backline that has started all six games this season in front of Kennedy.
