FC THE REAL DEAL ON ROAD

It's oddly fitting Toronto FC got their first road win in the MLS last night -- 2-1 over Real Salt Lake -- playing on a pitch that's surrounded by boards, like a hockey rink.

It's like FC, who prevailed on a 79th-minute penalty by Collin Samuel, had to have some reminder of what country's soccer fans they primarily represent before they could get three points away from home. (OK, probably not, but let's work with it.) The way it all went down was riveting too for this soccer dilettante, with FC making up for Marvell Wynne's absence from the backline and being forced to play their last-string goalkeeper, Srdjan Djekanovic, for the final 10 minutes of action after Sam Reynolds, who'd played a great game, had to be carried off by his teammates with an injured right quad.

(UPDATE: Reynolds is out 6-8 weeks, leaving FC with only one healthy goalkeeper.)

Djekanovic barely got his mitts on before Real's Jamie Watson was in alone on him and seemed certain to tie the game, but hit the crossbar. The fill-in keeper did make a great play in injury time, clearing the ball after one of his teammates made a bad backpass. All in all, it was a whole lot of fun catching FC's act on the road and leaves this feeling this is outgrown the novel quality of finally having a football team in Toronto.