TORONTO – Having to prove himself is nothing new to Ashtone Morgan.
The Canadian defender had to do it when he made his debut for Toronto FC as a 19-year-old in a CONCACAF Champions League game against Panamanian club Arabe Unido in 2010. He had to prove himself the following season when then-TFC coach Aron Winter gave Morgan regular playing time during the course of the MLS season, and he had to prove himself in 2012 when he became a regular starter for the Reds.
Now Morgan has to prove himself again, this time after coming back from a lengthy injury layoff.
Morgan, 26, played in only seven MLS games last year (totalling a meagre 157 minutes), with his last appearance coming on Aug. 14. The following month he underwent foot surgery, missed the final 10 matches of the season and didn’t take part in any of the team’s six playoff matches. During a pre-season game in Los Angeles in February, he re-injured the foot and had a second surgery to repair a stress fracture.
[relatedlinks]
That kept Morgan on the sidelines until last Friday when he came on as a substitute for the final 21 minutes in TFC’s 2-0 home win over the New England Revolution. Morgan looked sharp against the Revs, but playing time could be hard to come by for the Toronto native as this TFC side is incredibly deep – Justin Morrow is one of the best left fullbacks/wingbacks in MLS, while Canadian Raheem Edwards has emerged as one of the league’s best prospects this year.
It’s a tough road ahead for Morgan, who is Toronto’s longest-serving player and one of only four men to make over 100 appearances for the Reds. But he’s fine with having to earn more playing time on a stacked TFC side.
“There’s not time to feel sorry for yourself. It’s my job, not everybody can do this job, and I remind myself of that. Every day that I come to work, I remember that – a lot of guys would love to be where I am, and that keeps me motivated. I want to fight for my spot,” Morgan told Sportsnet.
“The competition energizes me. We have a deep squad and a very deep team, which means there’s competition at every single position. That’s what keeps us all so motivated, and competitive when game time comes.”
After making his return last week, Morgan could earn his first start since 2015 on Tuesday night when TFC hosts the Montreal Impact in the second leg of the Canadian Championship final. Make no mistake about it: If Morgan does crack the starting 11, it’d be a huge opportunity for the Canadian defender – one he can’t afford to squander.
Morrow is firmly established as the club’s starting left wingback, and Edwards had made a strong case as his backup. But with Morrow currently away on national team duty with the United States and Edwards set to leave in order to join Canada for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, there will be plenty of chances for Morgan to play over the next month.
“It was good to get Ash out in the game the other day. … I thought he had a good entrance into the game; I thought he did well. Whenever you lose two players that are in one position then it opens the door for somebody,” coach Greg Vanney stated.
“Not only that, but Ash in training and the way he came into the game, he’s earning that on his own. But now with two more guys away, obviously, he becomes the next man up to solidify his role in our team as we move forward.”
Morgan is fully aware of the magnitude of the opportunity that sits before him.
“Congrats to both Justin and Raheem. They worked hard and deserved [their national team call-ups]. But that leaves an opening for me, and I’m ready for it. I’ve had some games with TFC 2 [the Reds’ farm club] under my belt, I’ve been training extremely hard and I feel the coaching staff have been preparing me for this,” Morgan said.
Morgan subbed on for left fullback Chris Mavinga in the 69th minute against New England and did a good job of shutting down forward Juan Agudelo in helping the Reds post their ninth clean sheet of the season.
“It was an emotional day. My family was there, and lots of friends. They were all excited for me to get in. Everybody was happy that I got in, finally, after the long injury layoff. It felt really good,” Morgan said.
“Definitely nervous, going into such a high tempo game at 1-nothing up. I just tried to make [Agudelo’s] job difficult. When he gets out to the flanks and you’re one-on-one with him, you have to be smart and not dive in and get beat. If he beats you, then there’s trouble because then other guys have to step up from behind and the entire defence gets shifted out of place. I thought I held him pretty well.”
NOTES: TFC and the Impact drew 1-1 in Montreal in the opening leg last Wednesday. The Reds can repeat as Canadian champions with a win or a 0-0 draw in the return match. The Impact need to score at least one goal in Tuesday’s contest to have a chance at winning their first Canadian Championship since 2014… Not only is the Voyageurs Cup at stake, but also a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. If TFC wins the two-match, aggregate series, they’ll automatically qualify for the CONCACAF tournament. If Montreal wins, these two teams will meet in a one-game playoff on Aug. 9 at BMO Field to decide who qualifies for the Champions League.
[snippet id=3300009]
