Two minutes into the allocated four of injury time at the end of Sunday's Eastern Conference Semifinal first leg, Tosaint Ricketts waved his right hand in the air, catching the eye of teammate Nick Hagglund. Pushing up from the left-hand side of defense, Hagglund swung a beautiful ball in and watched as Ricketts scored off his own rebound to give Toronto FC a 2-0 lead to take to the return leg in New York.
It was not the offensive combination the wide-eyed fans behind the goal most expected but did anyone care? As Ricketts leaped off his feet to celebrate with the home crowd next to the Toronto dugout, the canopies installed at BMO Field in advance of this season almost lifted off their foundations.
“They want it just as bad as us,” said Ricketts at the Kia Training Ground on Monday. “They’re there in the cold, cheering us on. They’re our 12th man out there.
“It’s good that they’re getting a little bit of reward out of this. It’s for the supporters as much as us.”
Ricketts has started only four games since signing for the Reds in this in the summer but the 29-year-old’s lightning foot speed, deployed late in games, strikes fear into defenders. His poacher’s finish against New York was the fourth of his short TFC career, giving him the highest goal per minute ratio on the team.
Toronto head coach Greg Vanney described the Canadian international as, “a secret weapon, though not much secret anymore.”
“If you get in a footrace, you're sure to lose it,” said Vanney Sunday night. “It's great to have a guy who you can turn to who has that kind of mentality and that kind of pace.”
Ricketts began his professional career in Finland and played in Romania, Norway, Israel and Turkey before returning to Canadian shores, training with TFC while waiting on an International Transfer Certificate, which eventually came through in July.
“I was thinking back last night, about when I felt this way in my career, really enjoying football and happy to be in an environment like this,” said the Edmonton native. “I can’t remember many moments that I’ve been this happy playing football. I’m just happy to be here.”
Considered and modest in his words, Ricketts is comfortable on the wing or as a striker. He hit the headlines when he scored the winner in 1-0 result against Real Salt Lake in August but the morning after his big playoff goal, he’s all about the team.
“We’re in this together, we’re a family,” said the six-foot player, who scored his 13th and 14th goals in 54 appearances in national team colours at the beginning of October. “I think that’s the mentality we need making this run through the playoffs.
“The guys are really gelling. There’s a special feeling in the locker room.”
The arrival of the off-season for Tosaint Ricketts will mean less beach more work, as he returns to Edmonton to pitch in with his family’s Jamaican restaurant business. With more reasons than one to sustain this historic playoff run, he doesn’t think it’s the time for dramatic changes.
“We’re in a great position going into New York,” he said. “We just have to stick to what’s working. We’re all round a solid team right now. We just need to go out, play our game and get the result.”
