TORONTO – The first leg of the Eastern Conference Championship is in the books. Now, the work begins again.

After battling to a 0-0 stalemate in Columbus, the Reds returned to Toronto and got straight back to the training ground on Thursday morning. Those that saw action at MAPFRE Stadium underwent a regen session while the rest of the squad took part in a light training session.

With some time to analyze the team’s performance, Nico Hasler weighed in on Tuesday night’s result.

“The ambience was good,” he said after training. “We played well in the first half, but I think we could have done better in the second half. In the end, it’s a good result for us.”

The focus now shifts to the return leg, where the scenario is a simple as it gets: win and move on to MLS Cup.

“We know what the task is ahead of us,” head coach Greg Vanney said. “Everything is clear; we know where we are, we know who we are playing.”

Returning to BMO Field, defender Steven Beitashour is excited for the challenge ahead at their fortress.

“We love playing at home, we love playing in front of our crowd,” he told reporters. “If you said at the beginning of the season that we’d have the chance to win one game at home to get to MLS Cup, we’d take that in a heartbeat.”

Hear from Vanney, Beitashour and Hasler following Thursday's training session.

Greg Vanney

Steven Beitashour

Nicolas Hasler