RELATED: Six in 60: TFC vs. San Jose | Latest on Toronto FC TV
Speed. That’s what Toronto FC is getting in winger Dominic Oduro.
"To my new team, Toronto hope to help the team move forward. Thanks for everyones love and support,” Oduro tweeted. It’s not official until the tweet is made. 2014 is a scary place.
Going the other way is Alvaro Rey. The creative midfielder with a panache for the whimsy will give the Columbus Crew something they need in the final third.
“Wanna thank the Crew organization for the opportunity they gave me to play for them,” continued Oduro, who exemplified class on social media, the rarest of feats. “It was blast but in the end guess it didn’t work out."
Toronto FC will look to recover from a tough midweek contest in Quebec. The Voyageurs Cup was on the line in Montreal, but the Reds came up short. Sacre bleu, but eventually, life goes on.
Ryan Nelsen believes his team competed well in Montreal.
“Even though we didn’t play that well we stayed in the game we keep trying, sometimes painful to watch,” said Nelsen.
“We kept trying, the boys kept going, they never back out. It’s a funny game; even the best teams in the world have really bad days in the office. But if you still try and do the good things, if you still try and win the 50-50 balls, be positionally sound, stay with the organization, stay with the structure and try and keep doing what’s right, you get generally rewarded.”
On to the next one.
Playoff positioning
TFC is managing a great points per game clip. 1.6 for every fixture is good enough for third best in the Eastern Conference. Though they are sitting just on the fringes of the playoff picture, Nelsen’s squad has a handful of games in hand on their rivals.
Fixtures like this one, against an out of conference team that haven’t been that great, are must wins. To call anything a must win at this current juncture is a little ridiculous, but after Wednesday night’s result, this needs to happen.
This will be the only time these teams meet this season, and San Jose has found playing Toronto pretty rewarding. The Earthquakes haven’t lost in their last five meetings with TFC. The Reds have never defeated San Jose at home.
Doneil Henry back on track
The result on Wednesday was anything but good. That’s the truth, unfortunately, but there are things to take solace in. Doneil Henry was terrific. He’s been the subject of vitriolic campaigns targeted at his defensive lapses, but one thing never wavered: Henry’s commitment to battling.
His favourite player is Sergio Ramos. The Real Madrid defender has had plenty of moments that leave you scratching your head but he puts himself in those positions. In good and bad, he’s there.
“You can see the stuff that he’s done for [Real Madrid], see the finals of the [Champions League] when he scored in stoppage time. It really shows character, they never give up, Henry said last week."
“Until the whistle blows, you have to keep going and keep pressing and your opportunities will come. The more hungry you are, it pays off.”
The more hungry you are, it pays off. Words to live by.
