The former New Zealand defender Ryan Nelsen has lost his first match as the manager after his Toronto FC team suffered a 1-0 defeat against Columbus Crew in a pre-season friendly match.
The former QPR and Blackburn Rovers defender was announced as the manager of the Toronto FC team a few weeks ago. He was relieved of his contract by QPR at the end of the January transfer window. He has taken in charge of the team, but his first match did not go according to plan after they lost 1-0. Speaking after the match, Nelsen said that he is not disappointed with the result.
Nelsen has pointed out to the fact that the opposition did not have a lot of opportunities in front of goal. The 35-year-old has said that it felt great to be a manager of the club. Nelsen is one of the accomplished defenders of his generation, while he helped the New Zealand national team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Toronto were coming up against a Columbus Crew team that had a strong line-up. They were missing only a few first-team regulars, which made the task even more difficult for Ryan Nelsen.
“Really happy, really happy with the guys for their first game. We only conceded, I think, two shots, the whole game. One was miles away and one was a comfortable save for the ‘keeper. Obviously it’s their first game. They’re going to find their legs. New coach, new system. They have to find their way. We conceded off a set piece. We haven’t spent much time on set pieces so I’m not too bothered about that. Besides a very bent nose at the moment, we don’t know about Frei,” said Nelsen after the match against the Columbus Crew.