As Toronto FC prepares to play host to the Columbus Crew this Saturday, there will be more than just Trillium Cup bragging rights at stake. Seven weeks into the Major League Soccer season, the Reds and the Crew stand as the league's biggest surprises, and Saturday's match is crucial to each side's standing in the tightly-contested Eastern Conference.
"It's more of a grudge match," said TFC defender Jim Brennan. "We want something out of this game. There's too many times we felt, even last year, we felt we should've beat them when we didn't. This time on Saturday we want nothing less than three points. Teams like Columbus, you don't want them pulling away too much. We want to keep them within distance."
Toronto and Columbus finished last and next-to-last, respectively, in the Eastern Conference last season, and so the fact that the two sides have only three losses between them in 13 games this season is something of a surprise to many pundits and fans. The Crew head to BMO Field with a league-leading 18 points, are tied with Los Angeles for the league lead in goals scored (14), and are currently riding a five-game win streak.
If those statistics weren't enough for TFC to worry about, Toronto has never beaten Columbus. The Reds are 0-3-1 against the Crew, including a 2-0 loss in the season opener on March 29.
While the results seem one-sided, TFC has given its Trillium Cup rivals tough matches each time out, and with a few breaks, Toronto could well have been the ones holding the head-to-head edge. In the March 29 match, TFC had a chance to tie the game before the half with a penalty kick, but the shot from since-departed striker Collin Samuel was knocked aside.
Midfielder Maurice Edu said the Reds felt they deserved something from the match, and look to finally get that elusive win over Columbus on Saturday.
"I think we were a little bit unfortunate in that first game," Edu said. "We had plenty of chances. If we score that [penalty kick] going into halftime, that changes the game a little bit. Unfortunately the ball didn't fall our way that day. Coming out of that game we took a lot of positives. Playing them in the first game of the season gives us a glimpse of what they bring to the table."
Perhaps because Columbus played the Reds so tough last year, Edu doesn't see much of an aesthetic difference between this year's Crew and the 2007 version.
"They're getting the results they need this year," Edu said. "They had a good team last year, but for whatever reason this year they're working together [better] and things are falling their way. They're attacking well, scoring goals and defending well as well, so everything is flowing together for them right now."
The Reds aren't expecting many lineup surprises on Saturday, as the Crew has had kept nine of their starting XI the same in each match. Toronto will feature a lineup with at least four changes from the First Kick match --- Greg Sutton has established himself as the starting goalkeeper, Rohan Ricketts and Laurent Robert joined the midfield, and Amado Guevara has been creating havoc as an attacking midfielder.
These new faces have energized a Toronto team which, after losing to Columbus and D.C. United to start the year, is unbeaten over their last four games and stand fifth in the East with 10 points. The success has given TFC head coach John Carver little reason to shake up his lineup's newfound stability.
"It's easier for guys to get a chance if you're not winning games or you're not scoring goals, so we're doing both at the moment," Carver said.
"The good thing is we have players who are dying to get into the game. I've said to them, they've got to work for it, but when the opportunity comes along and they take it, then it makes my job even harder. The guys who go out of the side, it makes it even harder for them to get back onto the side. I pick a team based on a merit, not on personalities."
TFC hasn't played since May 1, and Brennan said that the break wasn't really wanted by the team.
"When you're on a roll ... and you have momentum, the last thing you want is to have a few weekends off," Brennan said. "It's good for the body to heal, but I think it was a bit too much time to go without a game. But this week we've gotten back on track, worked hard, and we'll be back in the swing of things on Saturday."
The TFC coaching staff has kept the team hard at work during their two weeks of training, including a scrimmage game last Thursday against the Canadian under-20 national team. Carver said he has been impressed by how his players have looked during the long layoff.
"The lads have had a few days break but still continue their hard work," Carver said. "When you haven't got a game at the end of the week it's difficult to get yourself going, but the lads have been great.
"It's a chance to recharge your batteries. ... It's like the start of the season again for me."
Except, Carver hopes, with a different result.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
