Reds seek cold comfort in rematch
His face concealed by a scarf under a tuque, Toronto FC defender Chris Mavinga looked more like he was going to rob a bank than kick a ball Monday.
It was -5 C — feeling like -14 C with the wind chill, according to Environment Canada — during Toronto’s late-morning practice at BMO Field in preparation for Tuesday’s return leg of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League roundof-16 tie against Panama’s Club Atletico Independiente de la Chorrera.
To no one’s surprise, soccer, February and Toronto don’t really go together. The forecast for Tuesday night calls for a low of -9 C, which will feel like -16 C with a 30 per cent chance of precipitation.
Independiente won the first leg 4-0 last Tuesday in the heat of Panama, leaving Toronto a huge hole to dig itself out of. TFC will need to score a bucketful of goals and keep Independiente off the score sheet, given away goals count double in case of an aggregate tie.
Midfielder Jonathan Osorio says the Toronto mood is positive despite the “eye-opener” in Panama.
“We have 90 minutes to turn this around,” he said. “It’s not impossible. It’s been done around the world. ... We’re confident.”
Failure to advance, after reaching the final of last year’s competition, will add to the black cloud hanging over TFC, whose bid to turn the page after a poor league campaign in 2018 has been overtaken by the departure of high-profile players like Sebastian Giovinco and Victor Vazquez.
Toronto coach Greg Vanney says his team can’t be reckless in its bid to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
“We need to try to work our way back into this series one goal at a time,” he said. “But we need to play smart. We can’t come out mindless and just chasing goals.
“If we can tick off one (goal) relatively early and start to build some momentum, then some good things can come out of it. It’s going to be uncomfortable, I would think, for the opposition. So we just have to give them a reason to doubt themselves on the night a little bit but we’ve got to do so in a smart and calculated way.”
Earlier Monday, the city of Toronto issued an extreme cold weather alert, which is triggered when Environment Canada forecasts a temperature of -15 C or colder, or a wind chill of -20 C or lower. The alert cites groups at risk, which includes “people who work or do physical activities outside for extended periods.”
The alert was issued shortly after Environment Canada ended its wind warning and blowing snow advisory for the region. But the frigid conditions did not stop Toronto captain Michael Bradley, Drew Moor, Liam Fraser and rookie Griffin Dorsey from wearing shorts at training. Moor didn’t even wear head gear.
“Yeah, it’s cold,” said Osorio, a native of Brampton. “It’s cold for us but for them even worse.”
The Panamaians were due to train later Monday.
“I think they’ll be excited to see snow — for the first time, maybe, for some of them,” said Osorio.