Reds pushing for playoff spot
Since arrival of Italian stars, team has narrowed gap but faces uphill climb
Toronto FC is on an urgent lateseason push to make the playoffs. TFC enters its game Wednesday against the visiting New England Revolution just four points out of a post-season spot in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.
On a four-game unbeaten run since the debuts of Italian transfers Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, TFC coach Bob Bradley says the pressure is on with just nine games remaining.
“It’s there, we all know that,” Bradley said. “We know that we’ve got to finish in a good way and we know that we’re in the moment playing better and better every game.
“We still focus on trying to make sure that the work that we’re doing, the football that we’re playing, can grow (and) continue and that’s going to get us where we need to go. That’s really the way we handle things.”
Toronto has outscored its opponents 11-4 over the four-game run. The unbeaten streak began with a 4-0 win over Charlotte, followed by a 0-0 draw against New England, a 4-3 win over Nashville and a 3-1 victory over Portland.
Midfielder Jayden Nelson, who has started in place of Mark-Anthony Kaye, attributes the turnaround to the team’s mindset.
“I feel like from minute one to the 90th minute, we’re all engaged and that competitive nature you can see is a bit different,” he said. “We’re all backing each other and you can see there’s a difference. We’re all in that mindset that we need to do like a whole turnaround. It’s just everyone working together and working hard and I think you could see it.”
Bradley did not say whether Kaye will be available for Wednesday’s match after missing the last three games.
Toronto (8-12-5) is 12th in the conference standings, in a three-way tie with Charlotte (11th) and Atlanta (13th) on points with 29 apiece. Charlotte holds the tiebreaker with nine wins, while Toronto has eight and Atlanta seven.
New England (8-7-9) is eighth with 33 points, one spot out of the playoffs. Orlando (sixth), Miami (seventh) and Cincinnati (ninth) also have 33 points, but Orlando and Miami have nine wins while the Revs and Cincinnati have eight.
With Toronto set to face Miami on the road on Saturday, any points the team can pick up will be valuable.
“We believe that there’s 27 points on the table,” Bradley said. “If we continue to play well, and if our football is good, if we keep making chances, if we’re not giving much away, then let’s see how many points we can take out of 27.”
New England presents challenges of its own. Carles Gil is second in MLS with 12 assists in 24 games.
“Gil is a great player, (he’s) key to their team. Skilful, (a) great eye for passes,” Bradley said. “He floats around the field. He’s very good at finding space. They’re good at making sure he gets on the ball. So those are the things that we have to for sure be on top of.”
TFC midfielder Jonathan Osorio feels his team could be more aggressive, acknowledging its inability to finish scoring opportunities in its last meeting with New England.
“We had a lot of chances, probably the most we had in a game this season,” he said. “(They’re) a really good team defensively (and) they don’t give up much, so we’ll have to move the ball fast and be our best to break them down.”
Osorio has four goals in four games and has been the beneficiary of Insigne and Bernardeschi opening up the field.
“I have felt my best physically and mentally, and obviously it helps with these new additions,” he said. “There’s more threats for the opposition to think about, which leaves more space on the field and more space for myself.”