Sporting KC remains unbeaten after scoreless draw with Toronto FC
TORONTO -- Toronto FC played to a 0-0 tie with Sporting Kansas City in their home opener Friday night in a matchup of unbeaten MLS teams.
Toronto (1-0-3) had more chances on a wet, windy night, but was unable to finish off Sporting Kansas City (1-0-3) before a crowd of 27,909 at BMO Field.
Sebastian Giovinco, yet to score this season, almost broke the deadlock in the 59th minute but his free kick hit the crossbar.
Toronto manager Greg Vanney brought on Jozy Altidore in the 62nd minute and Armando Cooper in the 76th in a bid to beef up the offense. But it was Kansas City that came close in the closing minutes when a corner kick flashed through the Toronto penalty box before it was headed away.
Kansas City is now unbeaten in its last eight games against Toronto.
"It's a frustrating night because it's one where you want to take three points, for many reasons," Vanney said. "We had some good moments in this game and we had some moments that we've got to clean up."
Toronto goalkeeper Clint Irwin went down, clutching his knee in the 37th minute when his left foot appeared to get stuck in the turf as he came out to make a save. Irwin, who was able to walk off gingerly, was slated to undergo an MRI exam on Saturday.
Sporting KC's mix of pressing and compact defending gave Toronto some early problems.
"It was definitely part of our plan, keep (Michael) Bradley off the ball and then at the same time limit the space that Giovinco had," coach Peter Vermes said.
Toronto finished with 13 shots, only two of which were on target. Sporting KC had 15 shots, with five on target.
"We played against a good team tonight, a team that was very committed to coming in here and doing anything they could to come away with a point," Bradley said. "And on the night, we still had a bunch of big chances. We had a good number of close to 100 percent chances."
Kansas City was without midfielder Benny Feilhaber, whose thigh strain ended a string of 22 straight regular-season starts.
