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TORONTO -- If the sloppy conditions and sparse crowd werent bad enough, Toronto FC dropped a 2-1 decision to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in a game Ryan Nelsen largely blamed on the officiating. And a bad game ended on a worse note when the Toronto head coach and his assistant Fran OLeary were ejected in the final minute for words said from the sideline. "The referee (Allen Chapman) has a tough time but I think hell reflect and look back and probably (realize) Toronto FC were on the wrong end of the equation on literally all of the critical calls," said Nelsen, who was calm just minutes after his ejection. C.J. Sapong scored both goals for the visitors, while Darel Russell recorded the lone goal for Toronto in a rain-drenched affair at BMO Field, the gloomy, grey weather matching the mood around the Major League Soccer club. The loss stretched Torontos winless streak to eight consecutive games, while the victory for Kansas City propelled it into a tie with New York atop the Eastern Conference standings. Nelsen was frustrated about what he thought was a hand ball in Kansas Citys box, and a tackle on Justin Braun in the dying minutes. "The problems that we did cause (for Sporting KC), an oppositions hand got in the way, or I think it was a little bit of the Ultimate Fighting that is going on tonight (at Torontos Air Canada Centre) was done on Justin Braun at the end," Nelsen said. "I should be up here (talking about) two penalties, two blatant penalties, two stonecold penalties, and weve won the game." A week after Toronto (4-14-12) was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for the seventh straight year, and with four games to go on the season, a sparse crowd -- announced at a season-low 12,627, but appearing much smaller -- braved the inclement weather. The previous season-low attendance was 15,217, two weeks earlier versus Chicago. Toronto hasnt won since Aug. 4 at New England, and despite which way the referees calls went, a couple of defensive miscues led to what Nelsen called "soft goals" for the visitors. Sapong opened the scoring for Kansas City (14-9-6) in the 18th minute when Graham Zusi found the head of Dominic Dwyer with a long cross. Dwyer headed the ball to a wide-open Sapong who launched a header past Toronto keeper Joe Bendik. "It wasnt going to be a performance game, atrocious conditions, you probably cant see it from the sideline but when youre out in the middle the water is horrible," Nelsen said. "It was going to be a mistake game, whoever turns it over and whoever makes mistakes is probably going to lose the game." Sapong, whod only scored twice previously this season, doubled his season output in the 53rd minute when he headed in a long cross from Chance Meyers. Defender Mark Bloom, in his second appearance for Toronto, seemed to lose sight of Sapong as he was tracking him back toward the net. "Soft goals for us to lose," said Toronto defender Steven Caldwell. "It was a not very nice day to play in or watch it was a battle at end, it was difficult to keep your footing, play with any kind of quality." Russell scored in the 38th minute to make it 1-1 on a bad clearance by Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin. Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen passed the ball to Collin, who misplayed it leaving Alvaro Rey to swoop in and pass to Russell, who slotted it past Nielsen. The loss came a day after Toronto introduced Tim Bezbatchenko as its new general manager. Despite all the frustrations from Saturdays match, Nelsen was emphatic in his support for the recent turn of events in the front office. "When I first took this job and I saw what happened to where I sit now, oh my goodness, trust me on this one, I am so much happier, its absolutely night and day," Nelsen said. "Certain contracts with certain salary cap restrictions. . . ," he said, when asked to expand. "Everything was handcuffed and weve taken the handcuffs off and now we can move forward. "When I first took the job I thought it would be two or three years before Toronto could get out of the situation they were in, it was that bad." Saturdays game was a winnable one for Toronto, which had several near-misses on the afternoon. Rey went down on the edge of the 18-yard box in the first half after taking what looked like an elbow to the face. The referee awarded Toronto a free kick outside the box, which Caldwell nearly scored on. Toronto had another excellent scoring chance at the 45-minute mark when a header by Bright Dike -- who was strong in his first start for the home team --was cleared off Kansas Citys goal line. Toronto was reduced to 10 men in the 86th minute when Caldwell was shown a red card for a studs-up tackle on Josh Gardner. "No intent or anything malicious about it, its just the way the game was, and the type of conditions it was, sometimes you go in for challenges that arent ideal and I felt we both went in with our studs," said Caldwell. He chalked up the calls to a "lack of experience from the referee, and a lack of empathy for the conditions." Toronto was missing several key players including midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who was serving the first of a two-game suspension for kicking the ball at an opponents head in Torontos 2-0 loss at New York last week. Osorio booted the ball directly to the side of the head of Red Bulls defender Kosuke Kimura, who had fallen to the ground. Kimura was not injured on the play. Striker Robert Earnshaw missed the game with a hamstring injury. Danny Koevermans, whos struggling in his recovery from last seasons ACL surgery, didnt dress, nor did Matias Laba, whos out a month after fracturing his big toe. Toronto hosts D.C. United next Saturday. Antoine Vermette Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Martin Hanzal Coyotes Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.hockeycoyotesonlineshop.com/Authentic-N...nn-Jers ey/ . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Dylan Strome Coyotes Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Coyotes Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage.HOUSTON -- Giles Barnes and Boniek Garcia scored two goals apiece to lead the Houston Dynamo to a 5-1 victory over Chivas USA on Saturday night. Barnes recorded his second two-goal game of the season, and Garcia scored his first goals this year to give Houston (12-10-7) back-to-back wins for the first time since July 6 and 13. Will Bruin also scored for Houston. Eric Avila scored for Chivas (6-16-8), which is winless in 13 straight road games (0-11-2). The Dynamo recorded their season high in goals to solidify their hold on fourth place in the East two points behind third-place Montreal. Chivas USA was officially eliminated last weekend. Houston dominated the first half, and Barnes teamed up with Brad Davis on the Dynamos fifth corner kick of the half. Davis bent a perfect kick to the top of the penalty area, and Barnes jumped above the Chivas defence. Barnees flicked Davis feed down and into the net past Chivas goalie Dan Kennedy.dddddddddddd Avila levelled the score in the 50th minute when he headed a rebound past Hall. Carlos Alvarez took the first shot, but it bounced off the near post and went right to Avila, who scored easily. The Dynamo responded four minutes later with Barnes second of the match. Ricardo Clark fed Barnes, who ran toward the net and drew Kennedy away from the post. Barnes slipped his shot into the net for his eighth goal of the season. Bruin made it 3-1 in the 63rd minute and Garcia scored in the 80th and 90th minutes -- with the second coming on a penalty kick. The Dynamo has never lost to Chivas USA at home, improving to 8-0-2 and outscoring them 21-3 overall. Houston improved to 11-0-3 when scoring first; Chivas fell to 1-12-2 when allowing the first goal of the game. 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