We’re at the official halfway point of an MLS regular season that concludes in November, but Toronto FC is in serious danger of dropping completely out of the playoff race before the summer is even over.
Saturday’s 2-1 road loss to D.C. United extended Toronto’s winless run to 11 consecutive MLS matches — 12 in all competitions — with its previous victory coming on April 4.
With just three wins from their opening 14 matches, TFC sits three spots and six points out of a playoff berth, thanks to a first half of an MLS campaign that has been a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good: Toronto has been competitive in all but one game — a blowout road loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps in March — and has consistently played with genuine grit and determination.
The bad: A stuttering attack that has produced just 23 goals — fourth-worst in the Eastern Conference — for a paltry average of 1.64 goals per match.
The ugly: A never-ending injury crisis that has prevented coach Robin Fraser from fielding a consistent starting 11 that reached its nadir in a May 16 loss to Charlotte FC, when 13 members of the 27-man squad were out injured.
Without consistent access to his best players, Fraser has chopped and changed his starting lineups and forced square pegs into round holes by deploying players out of their natural positions.
With a completely out-of-hand injury situation, the club took action earlier this month when it hired Adam Brett as its new director of player health and high performance. Brett’s resume includes stints with Tottenham and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, and the hope is that he can get to the bottom of the club’s injury crisis and find solutions to keep players fit.
Toronto also hasn’t been getting its money’s worth from DP Josh Sargent, who has yet to set MLS alight since his transfer move from English club Norwich City in late February. The American forward has three goals and an assist in 10 league appearances (eight starts) while logging 691 minutes — an average of one goal contribution every 173 minutes.
Part of the issue is that Sargent hasn’t had the benefit of quality service from DP playmaker Djordje Mihailovic, who only recently returned after being sidelined since March with a pelvic stress fracture. The pair have played together for just 33 minutes this season, but now that Mihailovic is fit again, TFC will be counting on him to forge a dangerous attacking relationship with Sargent in order to get the American scoring goals that they so desperately need.
But it’s going to take the Reds a lot more than just that to turn this season around and challenge for a playoff berth.
With just nine wins in 46 MLS games since Fraser took over at the start of last year — and its last post-season appearance coming in 2020 — Toronto FC is weighed down by its recent history of failure. It has to find a way to overcome its mental blocks and hurdles, and start converting its positive performances into points and wins.
“I think, all in all this season, there’s been positive moments,” TFC winger Theo Corbeanu said. “There’s been negative moments. I think everybody knows that. And all I can say is that with the group that we have, with the mentality that lies in this group, our fate can change.”
Elsewhere in MLS this weekend:
• No Lionel Messi? No problem for Inter Miami. The defending MLS Cup champions overcame the absence of Messi and Argentinian teammate Rodrigo De Paul — both have been given time off after the FIFA World Cup — to record a 1-0 win over CF Montreal at Stade Saputo on Saturday. Luis Suárez scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 81st minute and celebrated by holding up the jersey of teammate Germán Berterame, who was taken off the field in an ambulance earlier in the game after suffering a hard foul.
• The Vancouver Whitecaps have company atop the Western Conference table (see below) following a 0-0 draw away to Minnesota United. Goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka registered his sixth clean sheet of the MLS campaign, but Vancouver’s attack faltered, as it was unable to take advantage of its massive edge in possession (62.1 per cent) and convert on any of its five shots on target.
• Los Angeles FC moved into a tie with Vancouver for first place in the Western Conference, courtesy of a rampaging 4-0 home win over Sporting Kansas City. Star winger Denis Bouanga had a brace and an assist, and South American international Son Heung-Min also scored for the black and gold, who have now won four in a row.
• The latest installment of the Ohio rivalry, dubbed the “Hell is Real” derby (what a great name!) by MLS, saw the Columbus Crew come from behind to earn a dramatic 2-1 home win over FC Cincinnati. The visitors took the lead via an early goal from Kévin Denkey off a setup from Evander, one of the league’s best playmakers. But the Crew notched goals just before halftime through Jamal Thiaré (a header off a corner kick) and Dániel Gazdag (from the penalty spot) to complete the comeback.
• Felipe Mora chose the perfect way to say goodbye to the Portland Timbers. The Chilean forward — who is set to join Mexican club Atlético San Luis — bagged a second-half brace to guide Portland to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake in his final appearance for the club. “He was excellent tonight and sometimes stories are already written,” Timbers interim coach Jack Cassidy said.
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.