Here’s what happened in Major League Soccer action between Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field, in case you missed it.
Game summary in a sentence
TFC’s playoff hopes continue to fade away following a 2-0 loss to the Union in the back end of their home-and-home series, a result that extended the club’s winless run to five games (with four losses) and ruined Greg Vanney’s home debut.
• Read the full match report and check out the boxscore
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Main thoughts on the match
More soft goals: With captain Steven Caldwell and left back Justin Morriow still out injured, Vanney had to go with a makeshift back line, starting Nick Hagglund at right back, a less-than-fully-fit Bradley Orr in the middle next to Doneil Henry, and right back Mark Bloom on the left side of defence.
Little surprise, then, that the Reds put in another poor defensive performance—both goals were a result of Toronto failing to properly clear its lines. Orr gave away possession cheaply, and then was beat to a ball crossed into the box as Conor Casey nodded home to give the Union a 1-0 lead after only eight minutes.
In case you’ve lost track, TFC has registered just one clean sheet—and that came against last-place Montreal—and conceded 29 goals in their last 15 games, a dreadful run that has seen them earn only three wins.
Vanney talked in the post-game press conference about his players needing to be more “locked in” on opposing players around the box, and having to “see the play out” until the ball is completely out of danger. When you can’t do that, it leads to mistakes, and that’s what is killing this team at the moment.
“If you look back, a lot of goals we’ve given up have come off mistakes, and lack of concentration. Other teams have capitalized. Sometimes you get away with those mistakes, but we haven’t. Regardless, it’s unacceptable,” Bloom told Sportsnet.
“We started the year off as a team that was tough to score against. Now, we’re giving up two goals a game. This can’t continue.”
Playoffs?: Toronto started the day fourth in the Eastern Conference with 33 points. But Philadelphia now has 36 points and New York (34) also won on Saturday, as TFC fell to sixth place and out of the playoff zone.
With Columbus (33 points) scheduled to play on Sunday, Toronto could drop to seventh by the end of the weekend.
Toronto has eight games remaining, so it’s still in the playoff mix—a point Michael Bradley was sure to drive home with local reporters after this loss.
“Frustrated for sure, but not even close to giving up,” Bradley stated. “There are still a lot of games left, a lot of soccer to be played and a lot of points still on the board. Anybody who thinks we are ready to pack it in has another thing coming.”
Bloom agreed: “The way we’ve been playing, I don’t feel it reflects the results at all.”
Bloom is wrong—dead wrong. The way the club has been playing is perfectly reflected in the results.
And Bradley is correct in saying there are points on the table—24 of them, to be exact. But with all the injuries, and in light of the recent coaching change and the general state of disarray with this team, it’s not at all reasonable to think TFC can claim the majority of those points.
A day after Ryan Nelsen’s firing, this correspondent appeared on Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s Tim & Sid show and was asked if Toronto FC would make the playoffs. The answer then was no, and nothing in the two games since Vanney took over even slightly suggests the Reds will recover from this and make the playoffs.
What about Defoe?: Top scorer Defoe is currently nursing a groin injury, and his potential return date to Toronto remains a hot topic of discussion.
The Daily Mail newspaper reported on Friday that Defoe is set to open negotiations with TFC about leaving the club before the January transfer window. This report comes on the heels of the club turning down a transfer request for Defoe earlier this week—a source told Sportsnet that Queens Park Rangers tabled a $11 million bid for the English striker. The same source told Sportsnet that Defoe is anxious to leave TFC.
Currently in his native England where he is undergoing rehabilitation, Defoe hasn’t spoken publicly about recent events (save for one tweet, see below) and his agent did not respond to Sportsnet’s email seeking comment. Toronto GM Tim Bezbatchenko turned down Sportsnet’s interview request to talk about Defoe’s future in Toronto.
The only person who spoke about the situation was Vanney, who revealed that Defoe will be back in camp with TFC on Sept. 20.
“We’re talking to him every day. Those conversations are going well. A lot of this is behind us; we know that he’ll be back on the 20th to join our camp, and we look forward to him getting back,” Vanney stated.
But will he still be here in January? The questions about Defoe’s future won’t subside until the player himself publicly and clearly declares his intentions one way or another.
He said it
“I think we have more and we have to be better. It wasn’t good enough … I think it’s important that we take a good, hard look and set our identity—the identity of this team and how we’re going to push forward for the next eight games and get everybody on the same page.” – Greg Vanney
3 stars
1) Conor Casey: Scored his second goal against the Reds in four days, and used his physical strength to cause TFC’s defence problems.
2) Sheanon Williams: Was a counter-attacking threat down the right flank, and had a hand in setting up both goals.
3) Joe Bendik: TFC’s goalkeeper made a number of great saves. If not for him, the loss could have been much worse.
Stat of the game
These teams combined for eight goals in their previous five meetings, with all eight goals coming in the second half.
Head to head
Philadelphia leads the all-time series against Toronto with six wins and four draws in 12 games. This was the second and final regular-season match between these sides this season.
Best tweet
Big game for boys tonight good luck can't wait to be back out there scoring #goals
— Jermain Defoe (@IAmJermainDefoe) September 6, 2014
What’s next?
Toronto FC returns to MLS action next Saturday when it visits the Chicago Fire.
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