The all-important second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC takes place this Wednesday at 7:30pm at Stade Saputo (RDS2, TSN, 985sports.ca & CJAD 800 AM). Here are 10 things to know about rivals TFC before the match.
Context
The 4-2 TFC win against the Impact in the semifinal first leg snapped a three-game winless streak at BMO Field. The Reds also won for the first time in five games, a win that they managed with four Academy products among the starters and without Sebastian Giovinco, who could yet return to the field this Wednesday.
Current form (MLS and Canadian Championship)
W-L-D-D-L-W
Head coach
Greg Vanney (20-22-14 all-time as Toronto FC head coach) became TFC head coach on August 31, 2014. He is also the club’s technical director. A professional player for 13 seasons in the United States and in France, Vanney then worked on youth development, most notably at Real Salt Lake and at Chivas USA, before joining TFC in December 2013. After taking on jobs as assistant general manager and TFC Academy director, he became the ninth head coach in club history, replacing Ryan Nelsen
Current top scorers (Canadian Championship)
Jonathan Osorio and Jordan Hamilton (2)
Players to watch
1. Benoît Cheyrou (#8) – Efficient with his distribution last Wednesday, Cheyrou did well to spray the ball wide on numerous occasions and kick-started the play for Jordan Hamilton’s first.
2. Ashtone Morgan (#5) – The majority of his passes didn’t find their intended target, but Morgan was decisive when it counted, crossing for Osorio’s opener.
3. Sebastian Giovinco (#10) – Let’s not forget about this man. He picked up an adductor sprain on May 28, but Giovinco got some rest this past week and will likely want to ensure that the Reds’ attack carries on like this.
Team profile
After attempting to minimize risks in its first eight games played on the road, Toronto FC took a bit more initiative at its BMO Field home but didn’t do a 180-degree turn, either. The team still manages to hurt opponents on transitions and at pace. However, against the Impact last Wednesday night, the Reds scored twice after set plays (one quickly taken free kick and a throw-in), once in transition and once after setting up shop in the Montreal defensive third. Set out in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Greg Vanney’s men exploited wide spaces and looked for gaps behind the Montreal full backs, even if it meant losing the ball on long passes in the process. Then, crosses and passes to one’s side yielded results; out of the 11 key passes and assists classified by Opta, all but three were crosses, cutbacks or long switches. Defensively, TFC strived to prevent Impact full backs from feeding their winger. Lovitz, in particular, blocked the space between Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé and Nacho Piatti. Up front down the middle, Didier Drogba often ended up with two or three players marking him, and Vanney cannot have been upset at the sight of Drogba dropping very deep to touch the ball. Then again, TFC suffered late on when Michael Salazar and Cameron Porter hassled the opposition backline while Drogba found space behind them and made plays.
Tactical formation
Greg Vanney successfully played a 4-2-3-1 in the semifinal home leg. Lineup v. Montreal (June 1): Irwin; Beitashour, Zavaleta, Hagglund, Morgan; Cheyrou, Delgado; Lovitz, Osorio, Babouli; Hamilton.
Against the Impact last season
The Montreal players can be pleased with their meetings with TFC in 2015. First, they knocked their rivals out of the Canadian Championship. They then lost twice at BMO Field in MLS play, but the Impact made amends on Decision Day, defeating Toronto 2-1 and ensuring that it would get home-field advantage in the Knockout Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs against… TFC. The ensuing 3-0 win, and the fact that the team pushed TFC out of a second competition that season, will remain in the fan base’s memories for a long time.
Injuries (as of June 7)
F Jozy Altidore (hamstring)
F Sebastian Giovinco (adductor sprain – trained on Monday morning)
F Tsubasa Endoh (leg injury – should travel to Montreal)
M Will Johnson (hip flexor – trained on Monday morning)
D Josh Williams (undisclosed injury)
Next games
Toronto FC v. LA Galaxy (MLS, June 18)
Orlando City SC v. Toronto FC (MLS, June 25)
Toronto FC v. Seattle Sounders FC (MLS, July 2)
