It looks as though the MLS playoff race in the Eastern Conference will go down to the wire with Toronto FC firmly in the mix.
TFC earned an impressive 2-0 road victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday to extend their unbeaten streak to three games and give their hope of securing a playoff berth a major boost.
Toronto (8-10-12, 36 points) moved up one place to 10th in the Eastern Conference, one spot below the playoff line and level on points with FC Cincinnati and New York with four matches remaining in the regular season. The Columbus Crew, New York City FC and D.C. United are all within three points of Toronto in the table. Cincinnati and D.C. have a game in hand on the Reds.
TFC’s win in New York was all the more impressive when you consider they were missing three of their four starting defenders and head coach Robin Fraser was suspended and barred from the bench and locker room — he had to watch the match from the stands. Assistant coach Wolde Harris took charge of TFC on the night, guiding them to only their third road win of the campaign.
Saturday’s game wasn’t a must-win situation for TFC as a failure to pick up three points wouldn’t have officially eliminated them from playoff contention. But a draw or loss certainly wouldn’t have dented their chances of clinching a post-season berth for the first time in six seasons.
Toronto’s stout defensive performance vs. the Red Bulls was another example of the resolve and resilience it has shown in recent weeks, allowing it to win its first regular-season game in New York since 2016 and in very difficult circumstances.
"We were fighting, and at the end of the year, that's what is key to get into the playoffs: fighting. And it wasn't beautiful, but we got three points, which is huge ... (I'm) proud of the team's fight," said winger Dániel Sallói, whose 82nd-minute goal sealed the win for Toronto.
The fight is over, though. Three of Toronto's final four matches of the campaign are on the road, including an end-of-season visit to the red-hot Philadelphia Union, who are unbeaten in 15 outings (12 wins) and haven’t suffered a loss since May 24.
Saturday’s shutout was only TFC’s fourth of the season and came after it went 13 consecutive matches without a clean sheet. Toronto conceded a whopping 26 goals during that 13-game run, so it simply can’t afford to revert to its old defensive ways through its last four contests of the season.
Instead, it has to find a way to duplicate what it did at Sports Illustrated Stadium on the weekend in one of its best defensive performances of the campaign. The Red Bulls had 66 per cent possession and a 15-6 edge in total shots. Yet, New York never seriously tested goalkeeper Luka Gavran as it was largely repelled by Toronto's bend-but-don't-break defence.
The back four were helped by Niklas Dorsch's steely presence in central midfield and the play of wingers Lewis Morgan and Theo Corbeanu, helping Toronto keep a solid defensive shape without letting any of New York's attackers get in behind.
"In games gone by, we've given up a lot of space in the wings and so our wingers really had to buy into doing the work defensively, especially on the weak side where things might be happening on the other side of the field," Harris said.
More of that type of selflessness will be required down the final stretch for Toronto FC if its late-season playoff push is to be successful.
Elsewhere in MLS this weekend…
• The Vancouver Whitecaps posted a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Austin FC on Saturday in Texas courtesy of second-half goals from Ryan Gauld and Yadaly Diaby. The result allowed the Western Conference-leading Whitecaps to snap a four-game winless skid and put some extra distance between themselves and St. Louis City SC and FC Dallas, who are both four points adrift.
• CF Montreal staved off elimination from the MLS playoff race with a 1-1 road draw vs. the Seattle Sounders. Hennadii Synchuk scored and goalkeeper Sébastian Breza made five saves for Montreal, who could be eliminated this weekend when it hosts the Eastern Conference-leading Nashville SC. Montreal will also host the CPL’s Forge FC in Wednesday’s Canadian Championship final.
• Canadian striker Marcus Caldeira scored in the 86th minute to complete an incredible 3-2 comeback win for Minnesota United over the visiting St. Louis City SC. It was Caldeira’s seventh goal in just 12 MLS appearances this season for Minnesota, who conceded a pair of goals inside the opening 10 minutes. The loss snapped an amazing 19-game unbeaten streak by St. Louis.
• Lionel Messi can’t stop scoring. The Argentinian ace bagged a brace in Inter Miami’s 3-1 road win over Atlanta United to increase his league-leading goal tally to 25 on the season. Messi also collected his 15th assist to move into a tie with LAFC’s Son Heung-min for the league lead in that category. Messi is the first player in MLS history with at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons.
• Nashville SC was held to a 1-1 draw in Saturday’s road game vs. the San Jose Earthquakes in an interconference matchup. But the draw was still good enough for Nashville to clinch first place in the East, which means they’ll have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Nashville is also destined to finish first in the overall standings, which would mean they would host the MLS Cup final if they qualified for the league’s championship match.
• Orlando City rolled to a 4-1 home win over D.C. United, highlighted by Martín Ojeda's goal of the year candidate. An intricate passing sequence by Orlando was capped off when Antoine Griezmann chipped a ball into the box for Ojeda, who scored with a fantastic no-look, back-heeled flick inside the far post.
Editor’s note
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.