Just days after being crowed Canadian club champions, Toronto FC returns to action in MLS this weekend with a visit to the San Jose Earthquakes.
This is a chance for the Reds to build upon the momentum gained from beating the Vancouver Whitecaps and get back into the thick of the MLS playoff race.
Here are a few things to keep in mind about Saturday night’s game in San Jose.
THREE VALUABLE POINTS
Toronto is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the post-season picture. TFC sits 10th in the Eastern Conference, seven points and four spots behind the Montreal Impact who hold down the sixth and final playoff berth in the East.
With only 11 games remaining the regular season, time is off the essence for the Reds. They can ill afford to drop many more points, and they need to put together a string of positive results. A win in San Jose would be a good place to start.
Toronto is coming off a midweek win over the Vancouver Whitecaps to claim their third straight Canadian Championship. Coach Greg Vanney is hopeful the team can use that victory as a springboard towards earning wins down the final stretch of the MLS campaign.
“It was a final, but it was also for us an important night to win a championship, get that back under our belt, to use it as a way to build confidence and momentum down this final stretch of 11 games,” Vanney said.
“If you don’t win it, that’s another kick in the gut to a group that has had a lot of challenges to deal with this year.”
ALTIDORE, MAVINGA MISSING FOR REDS
TFC will be without two key starters in forward Jozy Altidore and Chris Mavinga, as both are serving suspensions.
Altidore picked up a red card in last week’s 3-2 home loss to New York City FC, while Mavinga was hit with a one-game ban from the league’s disciplinary committee after earning a red card in Toronto’s 2-2 draw away to Atlanta United on Aug. 4.
Altidore is coming off a hat trick effort against Vancouver, while Toronto’s defence has looked more solid since the recent return of Mavinga, who has missed most of the season due to injury. According to the league’s website, TFC averaged 1.7 points and 1.2 goals against in the six games that Mavinga has started this season. In the 17 games he hasn’t started, the Reds are averaging 0.8 points and 2.2 goals against per match.
Spanish midfielder Victor Vazquez (knee) and Brazilian fullback Auro Jr (hamstring) are also unavailable for Toronto.
Defender Shea Salinas is suspended for San Jose after picking up a red card in the Earthquakes’ last game, a 2-1 road loss to the Colorado Rapids.
CATCHING THE EARTHQUAKES AT THE RIGHT TIME
Saturday’s contest comes at a perfect juncture in the season for the Reds.
San Jose sits dead last in the overall MLS standings, with a 3-13-7 record, and an anemic 16 points, The Earthquakes also boast one of the worst home records in the league (just one win in nine matches), and are mired in nine-game winless run (with five losses) at home, tied for the longest streak in club history.
SHOOTING FROM DISTANCE
Earthquakes goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell has conceded 10 goals on shots from outside the 18-yard box this season. Since 2010, only one goalkeeper has allowed more such goals in a single campaign, according to the MLS website.
Toronto forward Sebastian Giovinco is never shy about testing goalkeepers. He has routinely ranked amongst the league leaders in shots taken – he currently tops MLS this season with 116. Look for the Italian to pepper Tarbell with as many shots as he can, especially from distance.
SAN JOSE A TURNING POINT
Two summers ago, the Reds suffered a humiliating 2-1 loss in San Jose to an Earthquakes side that played the most of the match with only nine players after Anibal Godoy and Alberto Quintero were sent off.
That setback seemed to light a fire under TFC, as they won their next four in a row and went unbeaten in seven games (with six wins). The Reds only lost two times for the rest of the regular season, and followed that up with their magical run to its first MLS Cup final.
The Reds enter this match fresh off a loss to NYCFC last weekend in MLS play, and are currently below the playoff line. Maybe Saturday’s contest in San Jose could prove to be a turning point again for the Reds like it was in 2016.
NEXT UP FOR TORONTO
Looking beyond San Jose, TFC returns home to host the Montreal Impact on Aug. 25, and then returns out west for a game against the Portland Timbers on Aug. 29. That road trip is followed by back-to-back games against Los Angeles FC (Sept. 1) and the Los Angeles Galaxy (Sept. 15).
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