CROWDED HOUSE
Clint Irwin and Toronto FC could have 60,000 fans cheering against them in Montreal tonight,
Toronto FC players have faced crowds of all sizes but, for some of the Reds, none have been bigger than the throng of supporters that await the team at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
About 60,000 people are expected for the first leg of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference final between TFC and the Montreal Impact Tuesday.
The biggest crowd goalkeeper Clint Irwin can remember playing in front of was a post-season match between the Colorado Rapids, his former team, and the Seattle Sounders that drew about 40,000 fans.
“I think once you get to that number it all ends up sounding about the same, but this will be the most I’ve ever played in front of,” he said Sunday.
Tuesday’s match could feature the MLS’s second-highest playoff crowd, behind the MLS Cup final in 2002 between Los Angeles and New England, which drew 61,316 fans.
Irwin has never been to Olympic Stadium, but understands the cavernous venue amplifies the atmosphere.
“I’ve heard that it’s very loud, especially when it gets filled up because it’s an enclosed space. It just kind of echoes all around.”
The Reds, hoping to get a leg up in the final before returning to BMO Field for the second leg next week, will have to withstand the pressure a large, hostile away crowd can create.
Toronto has had success in Montreal this season, winning 2-0 at the Impact’s normal venue, Stade Saputo, in April and playing to a draw there in October. TFC finished the regular season with six roads wins, second-best in the Eastern Conference.
Captain Michael Bradley said last week the team’s mentality never changed, no matter where it played or who it faced, and added that coming away with something on the road — a win, ideally, or maybe a draw with a few away goals — is crucial in a two-leg series.
“You have to be able to go on the road against good teams in big environments,” he said. “Be fearless and play and compete and understand that in the position that we’re in now, in order to keep the advantage that we have of playing the second leg at home, in our stadium in front of our fans, we have to go and do a job in the first leg.”
Between Montreal knocking Toronto out of last year’s playoffs, the rivalry between the two teams, and the fact that the winner will be the first Canadian team to advance to an MLS Cup final, this is about as a big a series as the league has seen to date, TFC defender Drew Moor said.
“If you can’t get up for this one, then I don’t know what you’re getting up for.”