Reds confident they can still win
Players regroup after home loss leaves them needing win in Mexico
Toronto FC isn’t about to go down without a fight.
That was the message from a couple of the team’s stalwarts following Tuesday’s 2-1 home loss to Chivas de Guadalajara in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final, a result that put a dent in the Reds’ goal of becoming the first Major League Soccer organization to win the tournament.
“We’re at halftime,” TFC captain Michael Bradley said after the game. “Listen, would we have preferred to come away with a win at home? Absolutely. But guess what? We can go there and win, too. We’re going to regroup mentally, physically and get ready to go there and give everything we’ve got for 90 minutes to tip the bar in our favour.”
As it stands, the Reds’ will need the club’s first win in Mexico — by two goals, no less — to win the trophy outright. A 2-1 scoreline would send the game to extra time.
Toronto has won 11 consecutive two-leg series dating back to 2015, but lost the first game of just two of those home-andhome contests: in the 2016 Eastern Conference championship against the Montreal Impact and the 2017 Canadian Championship semifinal against United Soccer League side the Ottawa Fury. On both occasions, the second leg was played at BMO Field.
Bradley was encouraged by the chances Toronto had on Tuesday night, though the team failed to capitalized on those opportunities. The lack of execution was one of a few things that didn’t go perfectly for the Reds in the game, among them poor field conditions, a nonpenalty call for Sebastian Giovinco in the second half and a rare misread from goalkeeper Alex Bono on Chivas’s second goal, a mistake he owned up to following the match .
But that’s the beauty of a twoleg finals, Bradley said. There’s time for the Reds to redeem themselves.
“We’ve got no time to worry about anything that didn’t go our way tonight,” he said. “The response has to be strong in every way.”
Defender Drew Moor served as a provider on the attacking side far more than he is used to Tuesday night.
“I was able to roll balls into our forwards very easily,” he said. “When you play man-to-man like they did a lot on the field, that’s going to happen. We’ll look to continue to do that and maybe just bring a little bit more quality out of each other and see if we can build off of it and … break them down a little bit better in the second leg.”
Moor believes Toronto could have even more opportunities next Wednesday in Guadalajara, should Chivas choose to let the Reds come at them in order to protect their lead.
Chivas coach Matias Almeyda was adamant on Tuesday night that his team should not be considered favourites heading into next week’s game, despite its win. Toronto’s leaders intend to prove him right.
“I still think if we raise our game 10 per cent, 15 per cent, create a couple more chances and put them on their heels, especially early in the game in the second leg, then we have every chance to go and still win this thing,” Moor said.