And why not?
The charismatic striker not only enjoyed a hero's welcome back to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Wednesday night - "do they love me, or what?" he said, waving to the season-high crowd of 20,751 after the game - but scored an early goal that helped his new teammates beat his old ones at Real Salt Lake 2-1 and left the difficult questions for his former mates.
"Seems like the same old story," RSL's Alecko Eskandarian said. "It's our own mistakes. I don't think they beat us. I think we beat ourselves. I don't think they created anything all night. It's another heart-breaking loss."
Eskandarian scored his first goal since joining RSL in the trade for Cunningham on May 22, equalizing on a penalty kick in the 45th minute.
But with RSL failing to convert on its myriad chances - Robbie Findley hit the far post on an open shot in the sixth minute, for example, and substitute Jamie Watson glanced one off the crossbar in the 86th - Toronto FC escaped with the victory on a disputed penalty kick late in the game.
RSL's Jean Martial-Kipre reached out and dragged down Toronto's Collin Samuel as Samuel raced toward the goal in the 77th minute, but did not believe he did so inside the penalty box.
"He was clearly out of the box," RSL's Andy Williams said.
Referee Jair Marrufo disagreed, and immediately awarded the penalty kick that Samuel easily converted when he kicked right and RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando dove left.
"It's another play that we're all, again, scratching our heads at, wondering whether it was a penalty or not," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "I couldn't say for sure, either way, because I haven't seen it on video."
The loss prevented RSL (1-6-6) from building on its first victory of the season 12 days ago, and allowed expansion Toronto (5-7-2) to earn the first road victory in its history. It even allowed Cunningham to view his goal - you know, the one that fortuitously went in after hitting both posts in the 19th minute - in the most charitable of lights.
"Home-field bounce?" he said, repeating part of a question. "That's called clinical finishing. . . . If I miss, you would have said, 'Jeff sucks.' It goes in, 'lucky bounce.' "
Cunningham clearly was fired up to play his former team, celebrating his goal with a leaping flourish in front of the RSL bench and nearly getting into a fight later while mixing it up with Williams - a fellow Jamaican - and others after taking a hit from RSL's Atiba Harris.
"The official was making, you know, getting us frustrated, and that's all it was," Cunningham said. "It wasn't anything between Andy and I. He's my boy. . . . It's nothing. I love him and he loves me, end of story."
Williams agreed, but like his teammates, bemoaned another late loss that Kreis blamed on a "lack of passion." RSL has allowed a league-worst seven goals after the 75th minute this season.
"We need to stop making stupid mistakes," Eskandarian said. "And we have to have some bounces go our way. I really don't know what else to say. . . . We did everything right, I just can't really explain it."
mcl@sltrib.com
