Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley says the team will continue to work hard in order to win matches when they are not at their best.
The Reds opened their 2014 MLS campaign with a 2-1 victory over Seattle Sounders in front of close to 40,000 fans at CenturyLink Field courtesy of a brace from Designated Player signing Jermain Defoe.
Defoe's fellow marquee player Bradley was happy enough with the first-up victory but insists that TFC will need to learn how to come out on top when they aren't playing sublimely as the season progresses.
"No team has any success if you only win on days when you play beautifully, when you play perfectly," Bradley told MLSsoccer.com.
"You have to know how to win games where things don't go your way, you've got to earn it more, you've got to fight more. In those ways, Saturday was a big step for us."
The stats showed that Toronto had a mere 32% of possession in Seattle but Bradley was not too concerned about his side's apparent lack of ball-winning ability.
"It doesn't mean that we don't work on improving how we control games with the ball and control games by playing and moving, but there's so much more to it," he added.
"You have to have a way of playing and winning games that combines good football with mobility and aggressiveness and commitment to close down and make the game hard on the other team."
Toronto will look to follow-up their opening victory when they host DC United at BMO Field on Saturday.
