Reds find positives in loss to Quakes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Toronto FC closed out their season with a 2-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, ending a campaign that saw the Reds barely miss a playoff spot in only their second year in MLS.

"It was a huge disappointment, missing out on the playoffs after the great performance against Chicago (a 3-2 win last Saturday)," coach John Carver said. "We've been on a great run and the guys were high on confidence. We kept giving ourselves a chance. But after the results went against us last weekend we lost out on the playoffs, and it's very difficult to pick the guys up."

Toronto saw their four-game unbeaten run snapped as San Jose controlled most of the run of play Saturday night. A Ryan Cochrane header off a Ronnie O'Brien corner kick gave San Jose the lead in the 49th minute, and the Earthquakes added a second goal through a Shea Salinas penalty kick in stoppage time. On the night, San Jose outshot Toronto, 17-4.

Toronto's frustration showed late in the game, when Abdus Ibrahim came on for Carlos Ruiz in the 81st minute, and the Guatemalan international vented some aggravation by tipping over a large vat of Gatorade on his way to the bench.

"That's his prerogative. He's allowed that, to get upset," Carver said. "I just wish he'd have shown that much aggression on the pitch when he was playing. But no player's too big for me, and if I think somebody's not performing and doing what I want them to do, then they don't deserve to be on the pitch. And I felt that was the situation. I wanted to put the young lad on who has a bright future with the club and give him that opportunity."

Carver had said his team would try and end their season on a high note, but despite the loss, he saw a lot to be taken away from the match.

"I knew coming in here was going to be very difficult because of the huge disappointment last weekend," Carver said. "And if you look at our performance out there tonight, it was pretty poor. But I'm not going to get too disheartened by it. It gave me a huge amount of answers -- what I need, what I have, and what I need to go forward, so I have actually gotten something out of tonight's performance.

"And the work starts now," he continued. "We've already planned, we've already got a little black book of names that we're looking at, and now that the final game of the season's ended, we'll start work again on recruitment."

As for any concerns about the immediate future of midfielder Carl Robinson, Carver says Toronto fans shouldn't worry.

"Carl's sticking around," Carver said. "He's our player, he's under contract with us, so he's going nowhere. He's staying with Toronto."

Though they failed to make the playoffs, Toronto's 9-13-8 record was three wins more, and four losses fewer, than their inaugural year in the league.

"I'm looking for good players to take this club to the next level. We're only in our second season, and we've made progress over two years," Carver said. "From last year, we've picked up 10 points. If we make the same progress next year that will almost certainly get us in the playoffs."