They did it again.
Toronto FC collected another victory on the road, defeating Orlando City SC 2-1 on Wednesday night thanks to Jozy Altidore's game-winning goal in the 86th minute.
It was Altidore's fifth goal in his past six games as the Reds moved into first place in the Eastern Conference. Greg Vanney's side is now just two points behind FC Dallas in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
TFC have collected 19 points in their last seven games and will look to continue their push towards the post-season on Saturday night at BMO Field when they will take on the Montreal Impact. BMO Field will be a madhouse so be sure to be there early for all of the pregame festivities.
Greg Vanney, Tosaint Ricketts and Jozy Altidore spoke after the 2-1 win over Orlando. Here's some of what they had to say.
Greg Vanney
Thoughts on the game:
"I couldn’t be more proud of our group and our team over the last stretch. They’ve dug in in tough circumstances and found a way to win and they played very well at moments and just grinded at moments and I’m super proud of my team. It’s a hard place to play and they are a good team, so we’re happy and fortunate to come away with three [points].”
On TFC's depth:
“We have a lot of guys who have contributed over this year and are in good form to step in and help our team. We are in a good spot right now in that way. We are just trying to keep everybody active and keep them sharp as we push down to the end. The season gets very long and you want to be as fresh as you can as you move into this final stretch and into the playoff run.”
On leading the Eastern Conference:
“My message to the team was not to relax now. There’s more teams that we need to look ahead of us. We want to continue to climb and get better every game and improve on things that we need to improve upon and not to relax now because we think we’ve accomplished something because we still haven’t accomplished anything. There’s still a lot of work to do."
Jozy Altidore
On leading the Eastern Conference:
“It’s good to see all the hard work pay off. Our goal coming into the season was to build off of last season and I think we're doing that. It's important to not get complacent. There's still a long way to go and there's still a lot of games to play. We want to keep moving towards the top so we have to keep working."
On his partnership with Sebastian Giovinco
"I don't know how many other words we can use to describe Seba. He's a guy that we build around and he's a guy that we depend on. I'm lucky to play with him. He's a great guy and that's what makes it even better. We're lucky to have him and we continue to push him to be better as well. He's been brilliant."
On his current form
"I just want to stay focused. We have a lot of work to do. The common goal for us is to do something special this year and that's my focus. Any way I can help the team do that is what I want to do first and foremost."
Tosaint Ricketts
On leading he Eastern Conference:
“It feels great. Always being around the guys and knowing that we’re working hard, we really wanted this and it’s been a great run so far. We’re coming into the final stretch very strong and that’s what we want.”
On the road trip
“It’s been a long road trip and a long battle. A battle within ourselves, a battle with fatigue and it’s the last game on the road so it was definitely hard but we won and it always feels good to be on top.”
On the team’s future:
“We can't lose our composure and be satisfied with what we’ve accomplished so far because it’s a long road ahead. We have to keep pressuring ourselves to keep getting as many points as we can and keep pushing for the top. That’s all we can ask for at this point.”
Toronto FC hosts the Montreal Impact at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday night at BMO Field.
