TORONTO—Meaningful games in October have been few and far between for Toronto FC since it entered Major League Soccer in 2007.
The last one came five years ago when TFC went into the final week of the campaign needing a win at Giants Stadium to clinch a playoff berth. There was genuine excitement coursing through the hallowed halls of MLSE, so much so that Tom Anselmi flew down to New Jersey, fully prepared to pop a few champagne corks in celebration after the game in the locker room.
Instead, the bottles were kept on ice, and hope quickly turned into despair in what would go down as the darkest day in club history after the Reds embarrassingly lost 5-0 to the last-place Red Bulls.
Wednesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo, who played the final 35 minutes with 10 men, wasn’t as traumatic as that infamous capitulation against New York. But it wasn’t far off, as Giles Barnes’ goal in the 35th minute stood up as the winner for Houston in what was easily the most critical game of the season thus far for Toronto.
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The Eastern Conference standings currently reveal that TFC is in sixth place, just three points back of the Columbus Crew who hold down the fifth and final post-season berth. With three games remaining and nine points up for grabs, the Reds are mathematically still alive in the playoff race.
But don’t kid yourself: Toronto FC is done for 2014. It’s not going to make the playoffs. The comeback win against Portland a few weeks ago was an aberration. This Toronto team is simply too mentally fragile to rebound from this soul-crushing loss. You have to figure that the Reds need to earn seven out of a possible nine points just to have a chance at a playoff berth.
That’s not going to happen. It’s over.
Star midfielder Michael Bradley thinks otherwise.
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to be right there. Taking seven points gives [us] a really good chance. Until someone tells me that mathematically we’re no longer in it, every single guy in this locker-room is still going to [keep] believing,” Bradley said.
Coach Greg Vanney, although not conceding defeat, sounded less convincing.
“We have to be almost perfect from here on out, which means if we play like tonight and finish our [scoring] chances then maybe that’s enough,” Vanney stated.
Wednesday night was the Reds’ ace in the hole, its game in hand on the likes of Columbus, New York and the Philadelphia Union—the teams it’s in direct competition with for a post-season spot.
What’s more, it came against a Houston side toiling in eighth place in the East, and missing two key players in Boniek Garcia and Luis Garrido (away with Honduras’ national team). Top scorer Will Bruin was also on the bench nursing a sprained foot, so this was a winnable game for the Reds, a chance for them to climb over top of Columbus and control its fate headed into the season stretch.
Now, their destiny is out of their hands—never a good thing in sports, and especially when you’re TFC.
In a bit of a surprise, forward Gilberto wasn’t named to Toronto’s game-day roster—this despite the Brazilian telling reporters on Tuesday he was fully fit after missing last weekend’s 3-0 loss in Los Angeles with a hamstring injury. Gilberto was out on the BMO Field pitch hours before kickoff on Wednesday undergoing a late fitness test, but he wasn’t cleared to play. Vanney expects the Brazilian to be available to play on Saturday in New York.
The game started at a furious pace, with both teams going for it and attacking with purpose. Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik had to make a pair of smart saves in the opening 20 minutes, denying Barnes and Omar Cummings from close range. TFC’s Jermain Defoe wasted a pair of chances, the second one after being played in on goal alone following a great pass from Luke Moore.
Houston broke the deadlock 35th minute. Kofi Sarkodie played a long, high pass from midfield over Toronto’s back line. Barnes out-muscled TFC defender Nick Hagglund in the air for the ball and then broke into the box before slotting his shot through the legs of Bendik.
Hagglund thought Giles should have been called for a foul on the play.
“When I went up, I got a stiff arm to the back and I went down. I thought the ref would make the call, but that’s how the game goes sometimes,” Hagglund said.
TFC had a clear penalty denied them early in the second half when DeMarcus Beasley jumped on Jackson’s back. Toronto would get its penalty chance a few minutes later, though. A.J. Cochrane pulled down Moore and earned a red card for denying a clear scoring chance. Defoe stepped up to the spot, only to see his stuttered-step attempt parried away by Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric.
“If that goes in then it’s a different game,” Defoe offered.
TFC continued to furiously press with the man advantage. Deric made two big saves off of Jackson and Moore deep inside the box, and then Justin Morrow pushed his low shot just wide of the far post.
Defoe had a great chance to level the score with eight minutes left in regulation. With a clear path on goal, the Englishman once again failed to capitalize, ballooning his shot high over the crossbar.
NOTES: Toronto FC’s last three games of the campaign are away to New York (Oct. 11), at home vs Montreal Impact (Oct. 18) and away to the New England Revolution (Oct. 25)… Houston leads the all-time series against Toronto with five wins and nine draws in 18 meetings.
