MONTREAL – Don't call it a comeback.
Toronto FC may have resurrected their 2016 MLS Cup hopes on Tuesday night, but they know well that the job is not done yet.
With the memory of last year's dispiriting 3-0 loss to the Montreal Impact looming large, TFC managed to claw their way back at Olympic Stadium in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Impact. Though Montreal won 3-2, Toronto scored a pair of away goals, ensuing the conclusion to the Conference Championship next Wed. Nov. 27 in Toronto (7 pm ET, FS1 in US, TSN in Canada) will be a doozy.
“I wouldn't congratulate us,” said Toronto head coach Greg Vanney post-match. “There's still a lot of soccer to be played. Our guys should feel good about how they got themselves back into this. It wasn't looking good there for a while.”
Stunned by Montreal's lightning start and the half-hour delay that preceded it, three different voices reiterated one story for TFC that emerged from the dressing room.
“At the beginning of the year, if somebody had slid a piece of paper in front of us that said you're going to get 90 minutes in front of 36,000 people at BMO Field, and all you have to do is win to get to MLS Cup, we would have taken it,” said Michael Bradley. “That's what we get; we're going to go for it.”
Despite the shock of it all, Toronto FC leave Montreal in good spirits.
“We feel good,” said Drew Moor. “It doesn't become easier just because we're at home. It's going to be a different game plan, who knows what they're going to do. We have to be relentless, start better, stay organized in the back and take our chances when we get them.”
The result also provided a measure of how much the team has moved on from last year to this.
“We've grown up a lot,” said Vanney. “There wasn't a TFC team before this that would have been able to dig themselves out of a hole like that. That's a tribute to character of this group, the belief. There weren't a lot of things going well for us during the game, [but] we managed to find a few margins we could tilt it in our favor, and get a couple goals. At the end of the day, it's all about goals right now. It's an aggregate and two away goals are big.”
And now TFC can look forward to the deciding encounter being on their patch.
“It'll be huge [to be in front of our fans]," said Moor. "At times they were louder than the Montreal fans here tonight. The support has been great all year, hopefully we can reward that by getting the job done next week and heading on to MLS Cup.”
Regarding who has the advantage heading into the second leg, Toronto expressed cautious optimism.
“I don't think there's a favorite going into this,” said Vanney. “The game is tight; it can go either way. One goal can switch this up fast. We like the fact that this game is at our place. We love our fans. The stadium is going to be more full than it's ever been, and the noise will be in our favor. We'll take that everyday.”
