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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. http://www.portugalnationalshop.com/ . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. http://www.portugalnationalshop.com/Ricardo-Quares...al-Jers ey/ . The scientists believe the small earthquake during a Marshawn Lynch touchdown was likely greater than Lynchs famous "beast quake" touchdown run three years ago, which also came against New Orleans during a playoff game. http://www.portugalnationalshop.com/Eduardo-Portugal-Jersey/ . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. http://www.portugalnationalshop.com/Ricardo-Carval...al-Jers ey/ . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. http://www.portugalnationalshop.com/Blank-Portugal-Jersey/ . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. OTTAWA – It was late November and Jake Gardiner was trying to figure out what had gone wrong. The 23-year-old wanted to pinpoint precisely what was keeping him from having success. "I obviously wasnt playing my best and wasnt really aware of what I was doing wrong," he told the Leaf Report ahead of a Saturday tilt with the Senators. So he decided to hit the tape. Gardiner pulled out his iPad and scrutinized video of his performance in the first round against Boston last spring. He watched clip upon clip of his shifts against the Bruins, keen on determining what gave him so much success. His performance then was electric. Gardiner scored a goal and strung together five points during an exhilarating six-game run. "I just wanted to figure out what I was doing differently in the playoffs, as opposed to now, because I wasnt happy with my game," he said of the video work. What Gardiner saw was an engaged defender who made quick decisions with and without the puck. The game seemed to slow down for the former Ducks first-round pick. He was assertive, unpredictable and dangerous on the rush and generally stable in the defensive zone. For the third-year Leaf, who has struggled with consistency this season, it was a helpful reminder of the player he had been not so long ago and the player he certainly had the potential to become once more. "It was nice to see what I was succeeding at then and try to replicate that now," Gardiner said. "Sometimes you get away from it and you dont know what the reason is." Gardiner was a healthy scratch for the first time this season on Nov. 27 in Pittsburgh. During the morning skate that day at Consol Energy Center, he engaged in a lengthy conversation with head coach Randy Carlyle, the former Norris Trophy winner advising on what hed seen and what needed to improve. Carlyle wanted Gardiner to make better decisions with the puck. He stressed that his young defender must move it faster, that he get his forwards involved more often and join the attack if and when the opportunity looked right.dddddddddddd Too often, Gardiner gathered from the conversation, was he holding the puck before eventually making a poor decision with it and a turnover often the end result. "I wanted to know what I was doing that they didnt see that they wanted to see," Gardiner said of his conversations with the coaching staff. "I think Ive been more aware of it now; trying to move the puck quick and obviously still stay solid defensively." Gardiner was an offensive force in his rookie season with the Leafs. He scored seven goals and posted 30 points, tops among first-year players at the position. He has yet to score this season, though, and has just seven assists in 28 games. But by skewering the tape and picking the minds of the coaching staff, he finally seems to understand why the offence hasnt been there. "Its almost the fact of just doing less with the puck," he said. "Im able to skate the puck a lot, but that doesnt necessarily mean offence. I dont have many points this year, so I think moving the puck quicker to the forwards and letting them do their work, [then] maybe Ill create more offence that way. Itll create fewer turnovers for me and less time in our zone." Gardiner has not yet rediscovered the performance that made him such an elusive force against the Bruins, but hes inching gradually in that direction. In beating the Stars on Thursday, he led the team with nearly 26 minutes – matching a season-high – and also paced the group in Montreal last weekend. His return to form would help stabilize an increasingly wobbly Toronto back-end. Armed with new (and old) information, Gardiner is doing his best to get there. "I just want to be able to help the team as much as I can," he said, "and those are things that help me as a player and help our team too." 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