Upset loss to Impact a wake-up call for Reds

With unbeaten streak over, TFC players say they need to match opponents’ intensity

Riding the bench is never easy for an athlete, but for Victor Vazquez, being sidelined for Toronto FC’s loss to the Montreal Impact on Wednesday night was particularly difficult.

“Even more when you lose like that, it’s hard because you cannot help,” the Spanish midfielder said on Thursday, a day after illness kept him out of the Impact’s 5-3 upset victory over the Reds.

The loss ended Toronto’s 11-game unbeaten streak and put a blemish on its stellar home record. It wasn’t a pretty display by either side, as the eight goals came off seven shots on target and Montreal was forced into 36 clearances, compared to six by the Reds. That sloppiness might be expected from the Impact, who arrived in Toronto out of a playoff spot and on a four-game skid.

But it wasn’t expected of Toronto, a team with aspirations of posting the best record in MLS history. The Reds could still clinch the Supporters’ Shield this weekend against the New England Revolution, should New York City FC drop any points against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. It would be the earliest date in league history a champion was crowned.

The Revolution is 10-2-2 at home this season, another team desperate to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. On Thursday, Toronto found itself somewhere between looking for answers to what caused the comedy of errors a day earlier and looking forward to that next game.

“In the history of my time in this league, Everybody has had their day and taken their big loss and sometimes it just repositions your priorities,” Reds coach Greg Vanney said.

It was the way in which the team conceded, making a handful of defensive errors along the way, not the loss itself that proved the most shocking to the coach.

“There was very little chance we were going to go 19 or 20 (games) unbeaten through the finals,” Vanney said. “It serves its purpose as a little wake up call.”

That was clear to Vazquez, who saw a “bad loss” against a Montreal team that was sharper and more ready to fight for three points.

It’s up to Toronto to show that it’s the best team in the league, week in and week out, Vazquez said.

“It’s still four games to go and we are not the winners, we are not the champions yet and we have to show that we can do it,” Vazquez said.

Whether or not the Spaniard will be in the mix for Saturday remains to be seen, as he continues to recover from an illness that left him weak and feverish earlier this week. He and Jozy Altidore, who was also unavailable on Wednesday thanks to hamstring tightness, are both in consideration for the game against New England.

Striker Sebastian Giovinco is not, as he continues to work through quad- riceps tightness.

Vanney will be cognizant of where Toronto is playing when he selects his squad against the Revolution, as Gillette Stadium is home to a turf playing surface. But both Vazquez and defender Drew Moor said the field won’t be an excuse when TFC returns to the field.

“We’ve been cruising along a little bit and we have to remember that the playoffs are right around the corner,” Moor said.

“At this point in the season, they might as well have started, because for many teams they have. It’s win or go home and New England might be in that situation, so we have to be sure we match that intensity and match it from the start of the match.”