TORONTO – Greg Vanney called it a “series of errors that compounded”; Alex Bono referred to it as “The Accident”.
Both were alluding to the goal conceded by Bono and TFC in the 70th minute in San Jose that cost the Reds points, despite a two-man advantage against the Earthquakes last Saturday night.
With that match in the rear-view, Clint Irwin's return still in the distance, and a run of four-straight home games, the question is: does Bono hold his spot between the sticks, or does Quillan Roberts get the nod against D.C. United on Saturday?
“It's a lesson learned. You're going to have some young goalkeeper moments. I don't look at it and say, 'Well, Alex has to come out of the game now because he's made a mistake'," said Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney on Tuesday.
For his part, Bono was not shy in owning up, calling it, “a lapse of focus.”
“The ball was moving, but that's no excuse. That's a save that any goalkeeper is expected to make,” he continued. “I put that on myself, take [it] on the chin, and move forward.
"You never want to let the team down, but there are more games coming, they're depending on you to get back to where you were before the accident. You're going to have a set-back once and a while. It's how you come back.”
As for the start on Saturday?
“It's not something we've talked about,” said Bono. “I've come into training like I will be and I'll continue to do so until someone tells me otherwise.”
While there is a lack of clarity over the goalkeeper position, Vanney shed some light on another intrigue come Thursday: the long-awaited return of Jozy Altidore, who has missed nine matches with a hamstring injury suffered on May 14 against Vancouver.
“Barring anything in the next couple of days, it's likely we see Jozy on Saturday,” stated Vanney.
One player particularly excited for his teammate's return is Sebastian Giovinco, who has not scored in the league since the match Altidore exited.
“I definitely welcome him back,” said Giovinco. “He's an important player because he reads the situations, the passes; he understands what's going on on the field. I'm really happy to have him back playing with me.”
