Less than a week after the biggest win in team history, Toronto FC don't plan to let their Nutrilite Canadian Championship victory go to their heads as they prepare to play host to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday.
"In the league we haven't done anything," said midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. "Every game we have to prove ourselves. That's the thing about championships; it's a great feeling when you win it, but after that you're back to business again. You've got to prove to yourself why you're the champions."
TFC's 6-1 victory against the Montreal Impact last Thursday was a stunning achievement for a club that had only scored four goals once in its history, and yet had to win by at least a four-goal margin in order to clinch the Voyageurs Cup over Vancouver Whitecaps on goal differential. But after conceding an early goal on a penalty kick, the Reds scored six unanswered goals to win their first national title and the first trophy in club history.
As far as Toronto interim head coach Chris Cummins is concerned, the Nutrilite Canadian Championship victory is just the first check mark on the Reds' seasonal to-do list.
"We set ourselves two targets. One was the playoffs, and one was the Canadian Cup. We've done that after everyone had written us off," Cummins said. "We said well done for Thursday but that's all gone. We put that one behind us and it's important that we start building for this game. We've said since day one of the season that we have to be a lot more consistent. It's important we use the result as a springboard and we don't rest on that.
"New York is going to be a tough game. We need to get the three points against them to keep them as far away from us as possible in the league. We won't take anything for granted. We'll work as hard as we do for every game."
It will be the second TFC-New York match in 11 days at BMO Field, as the two sides met on June 13 in a match that was pushed up on the schedule due to TFC's Aug. 7 friendly against Real Madrid. The Reds held a 2-0 halftime lead against the Red Bulls, but allowed an early score in the second half and had to play some gritty defense in order to hang on for the win.
Though New York sits at the bottom of the league table and is on an MLS-record stretch of 20 consecutive road matches (0-14-6) without a victory, their strong effort against Toronto two weeks ago let TFC know that the Red Bulls are not to be taken lightly.
"New York is coming here desperate, hungry for points and they're going to give us every ounce of energy that they have," De Rosario said. "We have to match them, come out there and set the tempo and go at them from the first whistle like the last time we played them."
The Reds might have gotten a more comfortable win on June 13 were it not for a strong outing from New York goalkeeper Danny Cepero, who made six saves (many of them impressive) to keep his team in the game. It was almost another case of missed opportunity for a team that has had problems finishing all year, but Barrett believes the six-goal outburst in Montreal can act as a turning point.
"We want to finish our chances like in Montreal," Barrett said. "When we did that, we had the most fun we've had all season. Hopefully we just repeat what we did, and maybe we won't score six, but we can get a few."
In Barrett's particular case, the Impact game was a vindicating moment for the striker who had taken some criticism for a lack of touch around the net. Barrett is tied for eighth in MLS with 15 shots on goal and has 31 shots overall this season, but had scored just two goals in league play.
The conversion problems and a nagging ankle injury saw Barrett on the bench for the starts of both the New York and Montreal matches. But after coming at halftime for Pablo Vitti against the Impact, it was Barrett who headed in an Amado Guevara corner kick for the crucial goal that gave TFC its needed four-goal margin of victory.
Barrett said that he was just a small piece of the attack last Thursday, but said that his goal was one of the most satisfying of his career.
"It ranks up there. When that game goes down in history, I'll be the one known for getting the goal that won the cup," Barrett said. "But at the same time, it was one goal out of six that we scored. It seems kind of minor, but I feel proud to have scored. Everybody played a part in [the win], from the front to the back."
Guevara picked up the big assist and scored a brace himself in the game, but also suffered a lower-leg injury in the closing moments. Defender Adrian Serioux limped off the field after 64 minutes with a similar injury, and both men were held out of Monday's training session. Guevara and Serioux were both back at practice on Tuesday, however, and should be available for selection barring any game-day setbacks.
Following a weekend where none of TFC's Eastern Conference rivals won, the Reds can leap back into a playoff position with a win over New York on Wednesday. The Red Bulls were the only Eastern side that managed a point on the weekend, after a 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC at Giants Stadium.
A victory would also give Toronto its fourth all-time win over New York, which would be the most the Reds have ever achieved against one opponent.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
