TORONTO – There are plenty of words that could describe Toronto FC's failure to pick up more points at home while chasing the Supporters' Shield, but head coach Gregg Vanney may have summed it up best.
“Disappointed,” said Vanney following Toronto FC's scoreless draw with Orlando City on Wednesday. “We left some goals on the table tonight. The ball moved well, we got in some good spots, but at the end of the day, we've got to put one away. And if we put one away, the game opens up. It's about executing in these key moments of the game. We didn't do that tonight.”
The goalless showdown with Orlando marked the third straight match at BMO Field in which Toronto have had to split the points, and that has served as a blow for a team that is looking to win the piece of regular-season hardware awarded to the side with the best record.
Sure, the pointed picked up was enough to move Toronto FC back into first place in the Eastern Conference, but did so while using up that precious game in hand over the two New York clubs nipping at their heels.
“After a game like this, nobody’s happy, I can assure you," said midfielder Michael Bradley. "There is real frustration, real disappointment that we weren’t able to get the goal and come away with three points. The Supporters' Shield is something we’ve talked about wanting to really go after.”
Added center back Drew Moor: “We dropped two points here – it's been a theme the last couple [games]. We've got to take maximum points at home if we want to push for the Supporters' Shield."
With three matches remaining, including two more at home, Toronto still have time put an end to this frustrating spell of home games. They are confident they can do it, too.
“We’ve lost once in the last 12 games. We’ve played a lot of good teams. We’ve done that missing a lot of different guys,” said Bradley. “We feel very good about the team that we’re becoming. It doesn’t mean that we don’t look hard at ourselves to make sure that little details continue to improve. I think if we can continue on this path big things are still to come.”
