Toronto FC was back in training on Tuesday ahead of its road game against Atlanta United this weekend.
Here are some news and notes from the day’s practice.
TOUGH STRETCH AHEAD FOR TFCTFC improved to 6-11-4 on the season with Saturday’s important 3-0 home win over the Chicago Fire. It was the Reds’ fourth consecutive victory in all competitions, and it marked the first time this year that they recorded back-to-back wins in MLS.
The MLS Cup champs are 10th in the Eastern Conference, four places and six points behind the New England Revolution, who hold down the last playoff spot in the East. The next two weeks pose a daunting task for a Toronto side that is desperately trying to claw its way back into playoff contention.
Following Saturday’s road contest in Atlanta (which sits first place in MLS), TFC travels to Vancouver where it will face the Whitecaps next Wednesday in the first leg of the Canadian Championship final. Then the Reds return home to host New York City FC (second place in MLS) on Aug. 12. Three days later, they’ll take on the Whitecaps at BMO Field in the return leg of the Canadian Championship final.
It’s a difficult stretch, and TFC’s post-season hopes could either be boosted or take a battering, depending on the results. Coach Greg Vanney is looking at the next two MLS games – against the top two sides in the league – as the glass being half full, rather than empty.
“It’s not the worst thing. Having come off a good [two-game] series against Chicago … there’s a lot of confidence back in the group going forward, so it’s as good a time as any to play teams who are at the top of table, and challenging ourselves,” Vanney told reporters after Tuesday’s practice.
Once ravaged by injuries, TFC is getting close to full health again, and having key players return to the lineup could help it through this challenging part of the schedule, and enable Vanney to rotate his squad.
“Some of the travel that’s in front of us is stuff we have to manage; it’s a bit reminiscent of the beginning of the season. The good thing is that we’re getting close to maximum depth and access to everybody, which will mean we can try to divide the load up a little bit and still accomplish what we want,” Vanney stated.
NEW PLAYERS COMING IN?The MLS secondary transfer window, which allows teams to sign international players and make trades within the league, began on July 10 and will remain open until Aug. 8.
TFC recently acquired $50,000 in general allocation money as part of the trade that sent midfielder Nicolas Hasler to Chicago, and Vanney revealed the club is looking to add another player before the window closes. But he also stressed they are in no rush to make a move, especially with so many of their players returning from injury.
“We’re active, we’re in conversations with potential players to come in. … We’re trying to be specific about who we get and what type of payer we get. If we get one of these deals across the line, then we’ll have somebody who we can bring in,” Vanney explained.
“It’s not vital, but it’s something we’re trying to accomplish for the right piece.”
INJURY UPDATESAuro Jr. has returned to full training and is expected to be available for selection for Saturday’s game, Vanney confirmed. The Brazilian fullback has sat out the last six matches with a hamstring issue.
Canadian forward Tosaint Ricketts is day-to-day, as he is dealing with a minor groin strain that he picked up at the end of last week.
Veteran central defender Drew Moor has been sidelined since April with a quad tear. Most recently he suffered a calf injury that set back his return date. He continues to work out on his own, but he told Sportsnet he should be back in full training next week, and might be available to play at home against New York City on Aug. 12.
SEBA AT ALL-STAR GAMEThe league’s best players team up to take on Serie A champions Juventus in Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game in Atlanta. TFC forward Sebastian Giovinco was named to the MLS all-star team, and will see action against his former club.
Vanney doesn’t expect his star forward to start against the Italian outfit.
“I can’t imagine he’ll be overused during the course of the game. The whole [all-star] team is made up of forwards and attacking players, so unless they play him at centre back, I don’t know how much time he’s really going to get,” Vanney joked.
TFC midfielder Liam Fraser is also in Atlanta – the MLS homegrown players team takes on the under-20 side of Mexican club Tigres on Tuesday night.
LOOKING AHEAD TO ATLANTAAtlanta tops the overall MLS standings with a 14-4-5 record, and has a 24-point lead over TFC as it occupies the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Boasting the best offence (48 goals scored) and the fourth-best defence (26 against) in the league, Atlanta is also tough to beat at home, winning seven of its 12 matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with only two losses.
Atlanta is unbeaten in its last four games with three victories, including a 2-1 road win over the Montreal Impact this past weekend.
One player the Reds will have to be aware of his Josef Martinez. The Venezuelan is on a torrid scoring pace, with a league-leading 24 goals in 23 games this term, and he is only three behind Roy Lassiter, Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips for the single-season record.
“We’re trending in the right direction, [we] had our best half of the season in MLS in the second half in the last game. Our rhythm came back; some of the swagger [returned], and the ball was moving quicker, and guys were playing simple,” Vanney said.
“It’s motivation for our group because they know Atlanta is the team up top and rolling, and playing there is always a challenge. But it’s good for us to have to go there and concentrate and play a full game.”
Saturday’s match is the first of two meetings between the two clubs. TFC hosts Atlanta on the final day of the season on Oct. 28.
Toronto and Atlanta battled to a pair of 2-2 draws during the 2017 MLS campaign.
MOOR TIPS HIS CAP TO BEAT REPORTERSoccer reporter Kurt Larson has left the Toronto Sun for a job with the new Canadian Premier League that will launch next year.
One of the leading TFC reporters during his time at the Sun, Larson started writing about TFC in the newspaper in 2011 and won praise from many of his media colleagues for his extensive and thoughtful coverage of the team.
Many TFC players also respected his work.
“I always had very good interactions with Kurt. He’s one of those guys who says what’s on his mind, and there’s something refreshing about that. It wasn’t always something I agreed with, but that’s OK. We had plenty of very healthy debates,” Moor said.
I spoke one-on-one with Drew Moor after today’s practice about his injury problems, his return, and the team’s woes this season. I’ll have a full story on Sportsnet.ca on Wednesday.
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