TFC looks to finish off Fury at BMO
Have lead in semifinal of Canadian Championship
TORONTO — While Toronto FC is still mired near the bottom of the Major League Soccer standings, the mood is a little more upbeat these days.
The return of star striker
Jozy Altidore, Spanish playmaker Victor Vazquez and influential defender Chris Mavinga on the weekend helped MLS champion Toronto (5-11-4) to a much-needed 2-1 win in Chicago.
“I thought we were more connected as a group,” coach Greg Vanney said. “We looked a little bit tighter. We looked a little bit more like ourselves, which is a baseline for us now moving forward in this stretch.”
Only defenders Drew Moor (quad) and Brazil’s Auro (hamstring) are still working their way back for fitness. The team continues to manage Vazquez’s minutes — he saw 10 minutes action off the bench in Chicago — due to knee inflammation.
Toronto, ninth spot in the East, gets another chance to climb the table Saturday when it hosts Chicago (6-11-5). But first up are Ottawa Fury FC in Wednesday’s second leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal at BMO Field. Toronto won the first leg 1-0 on Jonathan Osorio’s goal.
The almost full roster gives Vanney options Wednesday.
“It’s a little bit of a puzzle,” he said. “Obviously the position we are within the league, we want to try to maximize our ability to get points in the league. At the same time, we want to make sure we take advantage of the good setup game that we had (in Ottawa) and we can finish off the series.”
It’s a balancing act as Vanney tries to give players returning from injury minutes to regain match fitness, while looking not to grind down others who have had to pick up the slack.
The hope is the real TFC will finally show itself.
“We know we have talent. We know we have the ability,” said Vanney. “We were 2 1/2 months ago, three months ago, arguably the best team in CONCACAF. We won everything last year. We know we have the quality.
“It’s just given what everybody’s gone through over the course of the season, how quickly can we find our top form and go on a run. I think everybody in our locker-room and on our team believes that it’s something we can still do and can fulfil.”
Like Toronto, the Fury are coming off a weekend win. Stoppage-time goals by Tony Taylor and Kevin Oliveira gave the USL squad a 2-0 victory over visiting Nashville SC.
Ottawa goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau says the Fury will need to be aggressive in Toronto.
“It will be difficult, we know it. It’s not going to be easy,” said Crepeau. “But if they came here and won 1-0, we can do the same thing and win this game.”
Newly-acquired rookie striker Jon Bakero, who came over from Chicago in exchange for midfielder Nico Hasler, could be part of TFC’s matchday squad Wednesday.
BMO Field looks to be more sedate than usual Wednesday given a ban on supporter group privileges, such as flags and drums, in the wake of a fiery display at last week’s game in Ottawa. The Montreal Impact take a 1-0 lead into Vancouver in the other semifinal Wednesday.