Perhaps the only positive for Toronto FC from last weekend's 1-0 defeat in Colorado is that their chance for redemption comes very quickly. TFC hosts the Rapids on Saturday at BMO Field for the second game of this home-and-home series between the two playoff contenders, and with the regular season schedule dwindling down, the Reds know they have no more room for error.
"If we don't get a win out of this game then we're playing catch-up [in the standings] and it's going to be difficult," said midfielder Carl Robinson. "We just have to go and attack. I don't think we can sit back. We've got good attacking players on our team and if you sit back in a game we need to win, that's asking for trouble. Away from home it's different, you need to cope with the first 20 minutes of the game, but here at home we have to try and win the game from the first whistle."
Any sort of attack would be welcome after Toronto managed just four overall shots against the Rapids last weekend, with only one on goal. TFC has now been held scoreless over its last 295 minutes of play, a stretch that largely coincides with the team's three-game western road trip. The Reds scored a gritty 0-0 draw in Seattle sandwiched between two of their worst performances of the season in shutout losses to Colorado and Chivas USA.
Given that TFC went into the road trip on the high of a 2-0 win over D.C. United, the Reds' Jekyll-and-Hyde nature is making it hard to sustain momentum towards a playoff push.
"We can beat anyone on a given day and we can lose to anyone on a [given] day," Robinson said. "Not just this year, but for the first two seasons. I can't put my finger on it but we need to get it sorted out over these last six games. If we win three and lose three, will it be enough? I'm not sure."
Robinson is one of three players whose participation on Saturday is in question. The veteran is battling an ankle injury that kept him sidelined last weekend, though he did practice on Thursday and Friday and said that he would test it again after further treatment.
Amado Guevara is expected back in Toronto on Friday night after playing for Honduras in two 2010 World Cup qualifying matches over a four-day span, and thus his participation may be limited at best against the Rapids. TFC's newest signing, designated player Julian de Guzman, may be held up on Saturday by both transfer regulations and the fact that he hasn't played in a game since July's CONCACAF Gold Cup as a member of the Canadian team.
None of these three are the definitive scratch that Conor Casey was supposed to be heading into last weekend's game. The leading scorer in MLS was scheduled to miss the match due to international duty with the United States, but a last-minute release from the national team for dental surgery led to Casey starting at forward for the Rapids and scoring the game-winning goal on a 51st-minute header.
Cummins didn't think there was any chicanery on the part of Rapids head coach Gary Smith involving Casey's availability, but felt there was some kind of breakdown in making Casey's status known to the Reds.
"The first we heard of it was when we got the team sheets," Cummins said. "I don't know when he was released, but I think we should've been made aware of it. It doesn't mean we lost the game just because he played, but we thought he was with the national team. It's just one of those things."
Cummins was quick to point out that it wasn't Casey, but rather TFC's poor play that cost them the match. The coach was particularly disheartened by Toronto sabotaging their own chances at a comeback thanks to red cards handed out to Amadou Sanyang and Adrian Serioux. The ejections mean that both players will be suspended for this weekend's rematch.
"It's disappointing that you get the two bookings in the game where we hadn't done enough, yet it was only 1-0," Cummins said. "It's going to hurt since now we'll miss players."
Perhaps as a sign of the players venting their frustration after the previous game, Tuesday's training session was a particularly scrappy one, with a few hard tackles and even a bit of pushing and shoving between the Reds. Cummins didn't mind the aggression as long as it translates into a more spirited effort in games.
"We need to roll up our sleeves and get every point we can. The intensity in training has to be up there," Cummins said. "I've got no problem with people fighting and kicking in practice since that's part and parcel of the game. We need to make sure we show more of that when we go and play. That doesn't mean we get sent off or get silly bookings, but we need to show that passion and that discipline in fighting for every single point in order to get into the playoffs."
Though the Reds have just one win in their last six league games, they sit just two points behind Chivas, Real Salt Lake and New England, all of whom are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot. With tough road games coming up in Los Angeles and Chicago over the next two weeks, it is critical for TFC to maximize their points at BMO Field. They will only do so by solving their scoring woes and keeping the Rapids off the scoreboard, according to Dwayne De Rosario.
"They know the runs they're going to make and they know how to get it to [Omar]Cummings to use his speed and they know how to use the height and strength of Conor Casey," De Rosario said. "That combination, when you have the strength and the speed, it's hard to mark against. I thought we did pretty well last game but we just slipped in the box in that one minute and gave up a goal. I'm sure our defense will learn from that mistake and come out ready tomorrow."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
