MONTREAL – Richard Eckersley says it comes down to concentration – or in Toronto FC’s case, a lack of it at crucial moments.
“It’s unbelievable, really,” the right full back told reporters after this past Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Montreal Impact at Olympic Stadium. “Obviously it’s just mistakes that cost us. It’s just disappointing as well.”
HIGHLIGHTS: Montreal 2, Toronto FC 1
Those mistakes led to both Montreal goals on Saturday. First, Terry Dunfield lost the ball after a Toronto throw-in to allow Montreal’s first goal early in the game. Then defender Ty Harden didn't defend well on the second, which came late in the game on the counter as Toronto were pressing for an equalizer.
Errors have been a familiar theme for a team that is 0-4-0 to start the league.
“We need to take them out of the game,” Eckersley said of those missteps. “If we take them out of the game, then we’ll win games. Mistakes happen, you can accept that. But they can’t happen every week. We’re professional footballers and we need to take it out of the game.”
The Englishman believes the mistakes can be eliminated.
“It’s concentration,” he said. “It’s concentration on the day when we should all be focused. It’s basics. Obviously it’s affecting us now. We’re looking to change that next weekend [vs. Chivas USA].”
After Saturday’s game, head coach and technical director Aron Winter suggested that changes could be coming in the next few weeks to shore up the defense.
Some of those changes will be the result of players returning from injury, like center back Adrian Cann – who is nearly ready to play after coming back from knee surgery – and midfielder Torsten Frings, who has been out since March 17 with a hamstring injury.
“We’ve got to get to the training field and start again really,” Eckersley said.
