Nine points from four games.
That’s what Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney thinks his team needs to secure their first playoff berth in franchise history.
The quest continues on Wednesday night against the Houston Dynamo.
Saturday’s loss against the Galaxy in Los Angeles came with some positives. Jermain Defoe tested his groin and looked dangerous in his first game back from injury.
“[Jermain’s] feeling good,” Vanney said following training on Monday. “The big thing for him in the LA match was to get back and catch up with match speed and get his legs under him.”
Two moments of brilliance from Robbie Keane, a MVP candidate of the highest degree, proved to be the difference.
“I think the most important takeaway was that when we were aggressive LA was having a hard time coming up with solutions,” Vanney continued.
Midfielder Jonathan Osorio agreed with his coach’s assessment. “I don’t think the result tells the story,” Osorio said.
TFC struggled to convert their chances against LA. While Vanney was pleased overall with his squad’s effort against the Western Conference giants, their play in and around the final third needs to improve.
“We need to get a few more guys in an round the box,” Vanney said. “We need to be a little more dangerous in the final third, but the takeaway there was a lot of guys that had good performances.”
Wednesday night’s game versus the Dynamo is a must win. At this point in the season there are few games that aren’t, but the ones at home take on new meaning.
“It’s a must win for us,” Vanney said. “Not just for the points but also to drive our fans. They deserve that and we need to do this at home."
Mannella on Academy triumph
Toronto FC’s Academy captured the League One title over the weekend, beating the Kingston Clippers 3-1 to secure the championship with one game to play.
Chris Mannella served as the captain on the team before he graduated to the senior team this summer. The smile could not be wiped off his face when asked about his former team’s big day.
“It was great to see the guys lift the trophy,” Mannella said. “We all worked so hard for it and then to come out with some hardware at the end, it was fantastic.”
“We didn’t know what to expect in terms of the competition we were going to face. All over the province the quality of the league was very good.”
The Academy’s former captain recalled a game against Vaughan as a potential turning point for their season.
“When we went down 2-0 to Vaughan away, and then we came back to win it. I think that was the highlight of the season.”
