TORONTO – No streak can last forever. But the way this one ended will stick in the craw of Toronto FC.
TFC saw their winning and unbeaten runs, as well as their unblemished home record, come to a screeching halt on Wednesday night with a 5-3 loss to the Montreal Impact at BMO Field.
“Frustrated; not good,” said Toronto captain Michael Bradley when asked how he felt post-match. “You play a big game against a rival, a desperate team … And we kill ourselves from the beginning. We make mistakes, play against ourselves, make it virtually impossible to win the game.
“We kept at it,” he added. “But when you make the mistakes that we did, it’s always going to be a long night.”
The heavy defeat was unexpected, to say the least. The Reds entered the clash riding two consecutive 4-0 wins, sitting high atop the standings and cruising towards the Supporters’ Shield.
Montreal nabbed the first two goals, minutes apart, by the 12th minute. By the 24th minute, Toronto were down by three.
“You can't win in this league if you make mistakes,” said TFC coach Greg Vanney. “To give up five goals means that everybody was off today, including myself in setting up the team. Responsibility starts with me.
“We were down two goals before we even got into the game,” continued Vanney. “Came out in the second half, gave up another.”
That fourth goal, two minutes after the restart, was 'another mountain to climb' for Bradley.
The absence of Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Victor Vazquez certainly played a part in the defeat, but for Vanney something was just off.
“Maybe missing a handful of guys, trying to adjust our shape to get the group on the field threw us off a little bit. That’s a possibility,” he said. “We looked uncomfortable at the start.”
“They were nervy mistakes,” explained Vanney. “Down, at home, pretty quickly – you haven't seen that scenario this year. We get a little antsy, start pushing too early, too hard and we get ourselves into some transition or counterattack situations that lead to [another] goal.”
Vanney called the mistakes 'uncharacteristic,' sparing a moment for some levity: “It’s like we brought them all out in one game; let's hope that's the case.”
Despite the humbling at the hands of their rivals, there were some positives to be gleaned.
“Even with all that, we had chances,” recalled Bradley. “We were able to be dangerous, to put them on their heels. We know that about ourselves. Even at 3-0, 3-1; at 5-2, in this stadium, with our team, with our fans, you never feel like you're out of it. Tonight was no different. We made one too many mistakes gave ourselves a little too much to do.”
Tosaint Ricketts' brace, his second in as many games, ensured that Montreal could not relish their victory too much through the closing minutes.
With the playoffs fast approaching, where there will be no tomorrows, the shock may serve as a wakeup call for the runaway league leaders.
“The margins in this league are such that if you make mistakes, you can lose and give up a lot of goals,” said Vanney. “It's a good reminder you have to be on top of your game every game.”
The historic season just suffered a dent. The loss was Toronto's fourth of the year, leaving them unable to set a new mark in that regard.
“At this point there is nothing to be gained from feeling sorry for ourselves,” said Bradley. “We've got to get ready to go to New England [on Saturday] with the mentality that our season is on the line, with that mentality and that commitment to be ready to get ourselves back on a good run.”
