GROUND GAME
Brandon Whitaker is a key reason the Argonauts have balanced offence,
Toronto FC kicks off the second half of its 2016 season Wednesday when it visits the struggling Columbus Crew.
So what’s in store for the Reds in the back half of the Major League Soccer schedule? Let’s take a look:
AT HOME
After starting its first eight games on the road, 10 of Toronto’s final 17 games are at BMO Field. The Reds return home July 23 against D.C. United, beginning the first of two remaining four-game stints at BMO. The team has so far managed 10 points from seven games at home, and that record is helped by Reds fans making BMO Field something of a fortress this season. To date, the average attendance is up just shy of 3,000 fans each game in comparison to last season, with two more sellouts on the books than in 2015.
ON THE ROAD
The Reds have embarked on the first of two final roads trips, as they left Tuesday for Columbus before flying directly to San Jose later in the week for Saturday night’s match against the Earthquakes. Toronto takes off again in August for three away games against Houston, Philadelphia and Orlando in 11 days. The Reds likely are to get a boost during that stretch since that’s around the time goalkeeper Clint Irwin and midfielder Michael Bradley are expected to return from injury. While the 1.42 points per game Toronto earns as host is slightly better than its road form, 1.3 points per away game is still solid for the Reds.
EASTERN ADVERSARIES
With seven Western Conference opponents already under the Reds’ belts, only San Jose, Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo remain. That means 14 of its final 17 matches could be six-point games against fellow Eastern sides. Toronto benefits from the bulk of those games being at home. It will need especially strong performances on the road against the likes of Columbus Crew on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Union (Aug. 20), Orlando City SC (Aug. 24), Chicago Fire (Sept. 10) and Montreal Impact (Oct. 16). Fifteen wins has largely been the standard for playoff teams in MLS — Toronto currently has six — but with only nine points between top eight, it’s anyone’s game.
TOUGH TESTS
At mid-season, Toronto FC is a .500 team. Currently, the same can only be said for four of its opponents. Orlando City also sits at .500 after 17 games. The Impact is above that mark at .558 with the same number of matches played. Real Salt Lake and Philadelphia are also above .500 but are one and two games ahead of Toronto, respectively.
The mediocrity of Toronto’s opponents in the latter half of the season should work in the Reds’ favour, as long as the team manages to take advantage of it.