Here are some storylines and other interesting tidbits to keep in mind ahead of Wednesday night’s contest between Toronto FC and the San Jose Earthquakes in California.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch the San Jose Earthquakes v Toronto FC live on The Score. Coverage begins at 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT.
The winless streaks
Wednesday’s affair is a battle of two struggling sides.
Toronto is coming off a late 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, a result that extended their winless run to seven consecutive matches (three losses and four draws). The Reds’ lone win of the MLS campaign came in their home opener on March 9.
With just one win in their last 23 MLS games, TFC has also gone 10 straight league matches without keeping a clean sheet – a streak that dates back to last October.
San Jose is winless in six (four draws and two losses) but has a bit of momentum having come from behind on the weekend to earn a 2-2 draw with the Montreal Impact.
Earnshaw in search of goals
One of the reasons why TFC has fallen on hard times is because the goals have suddenly dried up for top scorer Robert Earnshaw.
After netting five goals through the first six games of the season, the Welshman has now gone three consecutive matches without finding the back of the net. He had two glorious scoring chances against Colorado but failed to bury both of them.
Had he been on target, chances are Toronto would have walked away with something against a Rapids side that failed to impress at home.
"I just didn’t get the right connections," Earnshaw told MLSsoccer.com. "I had two chances where I definitely should have scored and normally they definitely would have gone in. But this will happen sometimes.
“In most of the games, I have had much less chances and worse chances and I have scored. It is just something that comes up in games. What you have to do is not get too worried about it, because when you over think it and overanalyze it, you will get yourself worked up a little bit.
Late collapses
The loss in Saturday was particularly heartbreaking for TFC, who conceded the winning goal in the 86th minute off an error by defender Logan Emory.
It marked the fifth time in the last six games that Toronto conceded a tying or go-ahead goal after the 85th minute. These late collapses have meant the Reds have dropped eight points this season – Toronto currently sits eighth in the 10-team Eastern Conference with seven points.
It makes you think about where the club might be right now if they knew how to finish off their opponents.
“That is what is probably so frustrating,” coach Ryan Nelsen said. “Everybody involved with the club can see how far the team has come. We are so close to turning draws into wins and losses into draws or wins as well. We’re really close. We just have to keep on the path and it will turn.”
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Say what?
"One day when hopefully we bring in a witch doctor or the black cat leaves, we’ll turn these games into wins. The effort is there and you can see that they have made progress. We’re learning as a team and we’ll always stick by the boys. They really tried hard and worked their socks off.” – Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen told the club’s website.
"We’re battling. We’re doing a lot of good things. We’ve got to start picking up three points, though. Yes, it’s good to get the one point, but it’s happened a few times, and now you’ve got to turn those ones into threes." – San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch.
Facts and stats
— San Jose will be missing forwards Alan Gordon and Steven Lenhart through suspension for Wednesday’s contest.
— This is the only league meeting of the season between the two clubs.
— Chris Wondolowski has six goals for San Jose in his last four games against Toronto.
— TFC sports a 3-24-11 road record in MLS since 2011.
— Selected second overall by Toronto in the 2009 draft before eventually being traded to San Jose, Earthquakes midfielder Sam Cronin has two assists in three matches against his former team.
— San Jose leads the all-time series against Toronto with three wins and four draws in nine games. Both of TFC’s wins have come on the road.
What’s next
After Wednesday’s game, Toronto FC will have a bye this weekend before hosting the Columbus Crew on May 18.
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