The action continues thick and fast for Toronto FC.

The club will play their third match of the month on Wednesday night when Columbus SC visit Exploria Stadium.

A little more than a month into the 2021 campaign, TFC have played seven games since the Concacaf Champions League got underway with that away trip to Mexico to face Club Leon on April 7. Three more games lie beyond – a trip to NYCFC, the Exploria Stadium temporary derby at Orlando City SC, and a return fixture against the Crew at Historic Crew Stadium on May 29 – before June brings with it an international break.

After a long offseason, Chris Armas and his side relish it.

“We love the games,” said the TFC coach during Tuesday’s prematch conference call. “Having a calendar full of games, even in the tightened schedule of Champions League, we love the games.”

“It's the true test for all of us, the players get to roll it back out, and when you’re trying to get a rhythm and keep a rhythm, the games are great,” he continued. “Sometimes you might have to rotate a few things here and there, but we like the prep. Game day, there’s nothing like it.”

And this midweek fixture is particularly appetizing, coming against the defending MLS Cup Champions. The two met recently, back on April 1 in a preseason match, where TFC emerged 4-2 winners.

“We've gotten to see them closely,” began Armas. “We know the year they had last year and we got to watch them in Champions League. They're a top team, obviously. They're built in possession, they're organized in all ways, there's a lot of belief in that team, it's a deep squad and well coached. It's a big challenge, but we love the challenge.”

“It's another one that, for sure, lets you know exactly where you are,” he continued. “Sometimes you think you're here and then you play a team like them.... Our goal is to meet the demand and pass that test. We'll know at the end of 90 minutes.”

“They can unbalance you in a lot of ways, they can create lots of chances, so we have our plan to go after them,” Armas added. “We'll have to mitigate and understand where they can hurt us. We're up for it.”

Getting knocked out of the Champions League at the hands of Cruz Azul last Tuesday and then falling 2-0 away to the New York Red Bulls on the weekend has seen TFC score just once in their last three outings, shutout in their last two.

Just the growing pains of a side finding themselves in this new style.

“We're not so worried about scoring goals,” replied Armas. “Our team has scored in every single game to that point. There's no panic in that department, but we understand that a lot goes into creating and scoring.”

“We create turnovers in the attacking third, then it becomes how do you take those chances?” he asked. “How can you deliver the right pass at the right time? Are you getting guys in transition moments to run hard off the ball? How are the crosses? Are we finding certain spaces? Are we taking enough shots?”

With reinforcements, both in place and on the way, in the form of new additions and players getting fit, it’s just a matter of time.

“One of the things we've talked about is in that part of the field, in the build up, in the middle third, being sharper with the ball and just slowing down a little bit more,” Armas highlighted. “As a team and as a coaching staff creating more clarity in possession and training that. This is going to help. This is a process. But when I think about our team scoring goals and creating chances this is something I think is going to be a strong suit for us.”

Alejandro Pozuelo is still sidelined, but recently signed defender Kemar Lawrence is available for Wednesday’s match, as is Yeferson Soteldo, the Venezuelan designated player, who made his debut of the bench against the Red Bulls on Saturday and looked lively, showing flashes of the promised dynamism, despite the game having been all but decided.

“He's going to be ready for more minutes, he's up for it,” smiled Armas, asked if Soteldo, who was limited to 35 minutes on the weekend, was ready for an increased role. “The other day, when you think about it big picture, he's a fairly young guy coming over, working hard on learning English, a lot thrown at him the day before, press conferences. He wants to make an impact right away.”

“We’re trying to set him up for success. That he understands what we're trying to do in the game and all phases is important, but you're up against time,” he continued. “We're all looking for him to provide a spark, but it's the time of the game where New York's winning, they're able to sit back and double team him a little bit. You'll see some more space there for him.”

Columbus too were knocked out of the Champions League last midweek, falling 3-0 away to CF Monterrey in the second leg of their Quarterfinal series, losing 5-2 on aggregate. Caleb Porter’s side picked up their first MLS win of the season on Saturday with a 3-1 home win over D.C. United.

Following a pair of scoreless draws against the Philadelphia Union and CF Montreal in the opening weeks of the campaign, they will be looking to build momentum from that victory.

“We take every opposition with full focus and respect. They're a really good team and they'll have a lot of respect for us – we played them in preseason, we had a really good match against them and challenged each other, went back and forth,” said Armas. “There’s no extra juice because they're the champions. It's really about us.”

“What do I expect from our guys? That we're going after it,” he continued. “We want to win. This is a room full of winners: when you look around the room, this is what it is, and I'm with those guys.”

“We're not sore losers, but we’re bad losers. It doesn't sit well with anyone over here. Nor does it with people in our club here, our supporters,” Armas closed. “So what tomorrow's about is, no matter what, no matter what, three points. That's the focus. You can expect our guys to go after it in a big way.”