To hear several Toronto FC players tell it, they’re expecting to go to war in Wednesday’s second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal against Santos Laguna.
That may sound like an exaggeration, but considering what happened in the first leg, the return match in Torreon, Mexico promises to be a wild affair.
Wednesday programming alert: Tune in to Sportsnet ONE to watch Toronto FC visit Santos Laguna in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals starting at 8pm ET. The game will also be streamed live on sportsnet.ca and get live Twitter updates fro Sportsnet’s Ryan Leslie in Mexico HERE
The teams battled to a 1-1 draw in an ill-tempered affair at BMO Field last week in a game that saw two Santos players sent off after Richard Eckersley’s leg was raked across the leg by Osmar Mares and fellow defender Ashtone Morgan was head-butted by Carlos Quintero. The Morgan incident came just before the final whistle and resulted in a bench-clearing melee that saw players having to be separated by security officials and both coaching staffs.
There’s plenty of bad blood between these two teams, and Reds forward Ryan Johnson is expecting another physical battle in the decisive second leg.
“You have to expect that. Our guys have to protect ourselves. Nobody needs a broken leg down there,” Johnson said. “We have to protect ourselves and if they want that type of game, hopefully the referee is a fair one and (makes) the right calls because it’s going to be scrappy.”
Johnson later added: “Especially this game you can expect anything to happen. Elbows, late tackles, late kicks, guys stomping on your legs, things like that are going to happen. I prepared for it.”
Physical play from their Mexican hosts could be only half of TFC’s problems. Last week at BMO Field, several Santos players used stalling, diving and play-acting tactics to try to slow the game down and con the referee into giving them advantageous calls.
“It’s a big concern. I just hope the referee we get will (call it) fair because they are going to take dives. Those are the things that are going to happen,” Johnson said. “Going down (there) it’s a tossup with what you’re going to get and you just have to hope for the best.”
The key to dealing with any potential gamesmanship from Santos, according to Toronto goalkeeper Milos Kocic, is remaining disciplined.
“I know exactly what’s going to happen — if they don’t have the result in their hand and if we score a goal they’re probably going to whine and dive around like they always do,” Kocic warned. “I hope it doesn’t go that way and direction. We should focus on our game. We shouldn’t worry about the referee. If it happens, it happens.”
And the intimidation factor could even extend beyond the stadium. Mexican fans are famous for scoping out the hotel of opposing teams and honking their car horns outside all night so players’ sleep is thrown off.
“That’s normal in those countries,” TFC coach Aron Winter said. “I think that it’s going to start the moment we land in Torreon.”
Santos will not only have the hometown crowd on their side but also have the advantage of scoring a road goal in Toronto last week. That means the Canadian club must win or play to at least a 2-2 tie in order to advance to the tournament final.
It’s a tough challenge for a TFC side that has lost all three of its games in the Major League Soccer season by a combined score of 7-1. Furthermore, Santos sits in first place in the Mexican first division and forward Herculez Gomez is on a hot streak, scoring nine goals last month.
Defender Adrian Cann maintains Toronto must keep a tight defensive line and keep a compact team shape when it’s defending.
“What they tend to do is keep possession of the ball quite well. They move off the ball, they have options and they create those options. They’re always moving forward,” Cann stated. “Playing against them, we have to keep the lines nice and compact, keep the field nice and tight defensive-wise, with no gaps between the midfield and the defence and the forwards.”
It’s not just up to the back line to defend, either. Johnson warns that he and his fellow forwards and the midfielder have to “take ownership out there for our individual positions.”
“They don’t stop moving so if we don’t follow our runners, guys are going to get behind (the defence),” Johnson warned. “We have to drop our line a bit, and don’t keep it so high because they have guys that can get in behind you like the last game.”
NOTES: Toronto FC will be without striker Danny Koevermans (suspended), midfielder Eric Avila and defender Logan Emory (cup-tied) for the second leg… Defender Doneil Henry and midfielder Matt Stinson have returned from playing for Canada’s Olympic team and will be available to play in Mexico… Defender Miguel Aceval (hamstring) and midfielder Reggie Lambe (flu) missed Saturday’s MLS game, but Winter said both are fit to play against Santos… Santos’ Carlos Quintero and Osmar Mares will miss the game after last week’s red cards. Captain Juan Pablo Rodriguez will be back for Santos after missing the first leg.