Different ways to win, says captain
MLS fans saw Toronto FC escape its semifinal series. Team captain Michael Bradley, though, viewed what happened against the New York Red Bulls very differently.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s Eastern Conference final, Bradley summarized why surviving that ugly series backs up what he’s been saying all season.
“Our ability to win games in all different ways has made the difference for us this year,” Bradley said before the Reds departed for Columbus.
“We have real flexibility in how we do things, in the way we can play, in the way we approach games — whether they’re at home or on the road.”
Preparation and personnel and winning differently has been front and centre since TFC’s top attacking players picked up silly suspensions last series.
Jozy Altidore was red-carded for an alleged halftime punch- up two weeks ago while Sebastian Giovinco received cautions in consecutive games. As a result, Bradley was asked if the Reds would be best suited parking the bus in Tuesday night’s opening leg in front of a sold out MAPFRE Stadium.
“We can do that. We’ve done that when we’ve needed to this year,” Bradley said. “I think, again, the best teams have to be able to do that.”
“If you have no Plan B or plan to win and compete in other ways then you’re going to run into a dead end … playoff games can take on a life of their own.”
Drastic swings in momentum and emotion can alter the complexion of these two-legged affairs. It’s what makes the away goals tiebreaker so fascinating.
“That was my point after the Red Bulls series when people tried to act like we didn’t play well or that we were lucky,” Bradley said.
“The reality was simple: Over 180 minutes we were the team that went through and we did everything to navigate our way through that series.”
Now, Toronto FC enters another massive test — one that might faze other clubs facing a similar crisis — missing not one, but two of the league’s best players.
Credit Columbus for playing things cool. It’s no secret the Crew and their decidedly average defence are thrilled to be facing Tosaint Ricketts instead of the Atomic Ant and a guy TFC fans call The Beast.
Furthermore, there’s at least a shred of doubt as to whether Victor Vazquez can produce in these playoffs without two of his leading outlets. While Toronto FC has talked about going after goals, Tuesday’s game probably will look a lot like the regular season finale in Atlanta.
“We have to have the ability to read the game and understand what is working and what isn’t and make sure whatever happens we have a group that can be ready on the night to get a big result and make sure we come back (to Toronto) ready to finish the job,” Bradley said.