On the heels of Toronto FC's worst home loss of the season, head coach Mo Johnston threw down the gauntlet to his team.
"There's a challenge for certain guys in the locker room," Johnston said. "There [are] no guaranteed contracts next year, i.e. Canadian guys, i.e. European guys. If you don't step up to the plate, there is no home run for you at the end of the rainbow."
There was little to be pleased about for Johnston and the entire TFC team after a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of the Chicago Fire on Sunday afternoon at BMO Field. The Reds were outshot 14-5, bested 10-3 in shots on goal and looked completely outplayed in their first home game since June 17.
"It's real disappointing," said Maurice Edu. "We were anxious to come home and play for our fans, but we just didn't get it going today. We created a couple of chances in the first half and in the second we just looked sluggish."
The loss drops TFC to last place in the Eastern Conference, as they now trail sixth-place Chicago by two in goal differential. What looked a few weeks ago as a possible playoff run for Toronto is now looking grim. The Reds haven't scored in their last 282 minutes, in large parts due to injuries all over the roster.
Defender Marvell Wynne will miss the next few games due to a hamstring injury. Midfielder Ronnie O'Brien will miss at least one more game thanks to a recurring problem with his right knee. Forward Jeff Cunningham might be sidelined for anywhere from a month to the rest of the season when he gets surgery with what Johnston described as a torn meniscus.
Even the players who made Sunday's starting XI were less than 100 percent. Defender Andrew Boyens suffered a broken nose in training this week, and forward Danny Dichio has been dealing with a sore back.
A clearly upset Johnston mentioned the difficulty of playing with so many top players out of action, but stopped short of using it as an excuse for the lackluster performance on Sunday. Johnston called out several players that he said haven't been performing well as of late, and said that players need to do a better job of earning jobs created by the injuries.
"I don't think certain guys came into the team and stepped up," Johnston said. "These other guys need to step up or else they shouldn't be in this league. They've shown that maybe certain guys aren't good enough.
"When you're down, people know you have injuries. We made a lot of good trades, this team turned the corner, and then bang -- the door shut."
Johnston said that he is exploring making moves to help his depleted roster, the first of which is signing a starting goalkeeper to replace Greg Sutton, who is likely lost for the season due to a concussion. The Toronto coach said that he is on the verge of signing a 'keeper from Europe and the deal should be completed by midweek.
Ironically, the one player that Johnston singled out as playing well against Chicago was goalkeeper David Monsalve. The 18-year-old was added to the roster under the league's extreme hardship rules, and made seven saves on 10 shots in his professional debut.
"I felt he played very well under the circumstances," Johnston said. "But this young goalkeeper I'm very happy with him. Don't blame the goalkeeper, blame the outfield first."
Johnston also took the opportunity to vent about the training undergone by his Canadian players at international competitions this summer. The TFC coach claimed that it took his players who went to the Gold Cup and the FIFA Under-20 World Cup took too much time to get back to MLS speed after the tournaments were over, and that Sutton's injury (which occurred during Gold Cup training) could've been lessened had the Canadian Soccer Association taken more care with the 'keeper.
"Greg Sutton, he gets a concussion. Two days later he's back in a training session," Johnston said. "I'm not here to call the CSA and complain. ... [But] when they have friendlies and come calling and asking for four or five guys, you'll know what the answer is."
The Reds have a week to put this loss behind them and focus on their next match, which promises to be one of the biggest in Major League Soccer's history. The Los Angeles Galaxy are coming to BMO Field on Sunday with David Beckham tentatively scheduled to play his first-ever league game.
Johnston scoffed at the notion that his team would play better against the Galaxy just because the match will be seen on a worldwide stage.
"The stage is there every single week," Johnston said. "Every single time you put on that jersey you have to go out there and give it 100 percent. If you don't give it, you're being wrong to your teammates first and foremost, your coaches and your fans."
Team captain Jim Brennan is already looking forward to the game as a chance for TFC to redeem themselves.
"To lose 3-0 at home is an embarrassment and the boys are upset," Brennan said. "I wish it didn't happen but it did, so we have to look toward the L.A. game and picking up three points there. We've got to get back in there and start training for the next game."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
