TORONTO – When playoff time comes, the smallest margins can have major impacts.
Toronto FC head into the first leg of the Eastern Conference Championship with the aim of extending their 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoff run. Standing in their way are a familiar foe: Montreal Impact.
The Canadian rivals are well acquainted, having played some eight times over the past calendar year, but Tuesday's game (8 pm ET, TSN1/3, RDS in Canada | ESPN in US) brings a new wrinkle into the occasion, as the match will be played at Olympic Stadium, also known as the "Big O."
Compared to Stade Saputo, the massive Big O, poses a unique challenge, foremost in the mind is, of course, the surface. Where Saputo houses a fine grass pitch, the Big O's is artificial turf.
“It's going to be different,” said Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio last week. “...Both teams are going to play on it; it's going to be a level playing field. A couple of things will be different, but we'll just have to adjust.”
“Usually these turf field are fast, they're bouncy,” remarked head coach Greg Vanney. “The game has a hard time settling down because the ball doesn't settle. It's a different type of game, we have to be ready for anything. You have to be switched on, ready for a game that could be high energy; the ball will be fast, the intensity will be there no question.”
As a club, TFC are no strangers to the Big O. They have played there three times, twice in the league and once in the Amway Canadian Championship – both MLS matches ended in 2-1 losses, while the cup match was a 0-0 affair – but the last time was back in 2013. Osorio and defender Ashtone Morgan are the lone Toronto holdovers from that time.
“Turf is just one factor,” reiterated Vanney at a subsequent media session last week. “If they train on it, maybe they get an advantage, but the game comes down to who can execute in key moments and who is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, and who can deal with it.”
Another consideration that must factor into the calculus is that this is only the first leg. With the second game at BMO Field, will TFC look to play shutdown soccer away, or aim to secure an advantage to take home?
“It's important that we set ourselves up appropriately. That's the key to going on the road first,” explained Vanney. “We've seen in this last round, it doesn't always benefit those teams [to have the second leg at home]. We have to be smart about it: pay attention to details, stay together, work hard for the common goal. If we can do that, we give ourselves the best shot.”
Still another variable will be the vociferous and partisan crowd. Montreal recently announced they have sold over 50,000 tickets with the match still six days away, and while there will be a 1,400-plus strong crowd of Toronto fans, the vast majority will be supporting the team in blue.
“It's going to be a great crowd, [a] good time atmosphere, so we're excited about that,” said TFC goalkeeper Clint Irwin last week.
And superstar Sebastian Giovinco welcomed the spectacle: “It's a show; the more people in attendance the better.”
