26 down, two to go.
Toronto FC II find themselves in the midst of a fierce playoff race. The top six spots for the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs in the Eastern Conference have been secured, two remain. TFC II currently hold the seventh spot on 38 points, level with Carolina Core FC in eighth, ahead by virtue of total wins.
NYCFC II and Orlando City B are three points behind, Atlanta United 2 a point off them; FC Cincinnati 2 are clinging to life a further two points behind.
Seven teams battling for two spots separated by six points.
Making the situation more interesting, Toronto’s remaining two games will be against the top two sides in the conference, Philadelphia Union II on Friday at York Lions Stadium and New York Red Bulls II on Decision Day, October 5 at MSU Soccer Park.
“It's quite tight and every point matters,” acknowledged TFC II Head Coach Gianni Cimini on Wednesday. “We're also playing top of the table opposition, difficult matches – if you can take points away from two really quality teams in the last two games, then you're in a good way going into playoffs.”
“So yeah, we know that there's a lot at stake,” he continued. “But we also try to understand what the overall goal here is, in terms of giving real opportunities to young players.”
The players know too.
“Need results in these next two games,” underlined Mark Fisher. “We're in a good spot, not a great spot, so we need to get it done this Friday and then on the road against Red Bulls.”
“Get two wins and seal the deal,” he added. “And if not, figure out a way to get few points, more than three probably will solidify us. Get results, get wins if we can, if not make it really tough for the opponent to score on us and stay in games.”
The side is feeling confident and driven heading into these final two regular season outings.
They followed up an important shootout win at Philadelphia in August with an impressive 3-0 victory over NYCFC at home to end the month. Toronto fell behind away to New England Revolution II but rallied to pull within a goal only to be denied a last-minute equalizer in a 2-1 defeat. And they largely dominated Columbus Crew 2 back home last Friday in a scoreless draw but secured the extra point on kicks from the spot.
“The New York game was one of our best performances of the year,” agreed Cimini. “We were pretty dominant in all phases, but then you look at the lineup and it's more of our older guys. Malik [Henry] came down for that game, Cimer [Marcus Cimermancic] came down for that game, Laz [Lazar Stefanovic] came down for the game.”
“The New England game, they're a very stingy team to play against – very experienced, don't give you much in terms of opportunities. If you don't score the first goal and they score, it's going to be a difficult match,” he outlined. “The boys did really well to fight back, but at that point we were chasing the game.”
“And then this last game against Columbus, you just can't score,” Cimini levelled. “Everything leading up to the final third was really dominant and then the final third just wasn't there. On another day, that game could end up 4-0, but credit to Columbus, [a side] that also uses the platform in a way that they're supposed to, they also field a young team. One of those that you just don't want to dwell too much [on].”
Aside from being a little too open in the first half away to Revolution II, that’s five really strong halves of football from TFC.
“I've seen a team who knows what's on the line and is going into each game with a right mentality and a togetherness,” observed Fisher. “We go down vs Revs, 2-0, but we fight back and we should tie that game, go to PKs, and it's a different result.”
“And then against Crew we pushed for 90 and we were right there,” he continued. “We had chances and we were close, so if we bury those it could be a completely different result. Resiliency and togetherness are the two big words that I like to see from those two.”
Coach Cimini’s message down the stretch has been simple.
“The main thing he says to us is just focus on what's in front of us, on what's ahead of us,” relayed Hassan Ayari, who leads the side with six goals. “So we focus on Philly and the rest will come.”
“Focus on the present, that's the most important thing,” he added. “And giving your all, being together, and fighting to the end.”
That becomes even more important at this time of year.
A simple indication of Toronto being locked in has been evidenced in the last two post-draw shootouts, both of which the club has won. In 13 attempts, just one has not been converted – that one rattled the post – and Adisa De Rosario made a crucial save to give his side the advantage against Columbus.
The boys are dialed in.
“We've seen a lot of progress [in that regard],” said Ayari. “The last two [shootouts] we've won; we're looking to get points from these games. The shootout plays a big part [in the standings], as you can see. We lost the first [few this season], but we reacted and showed a good response, that's the most important thing.”
“Our goal is not to go to these shootouts,” he reminded. “Just get three points directly.”
Fisher, along with playing a variety of on-field roles, is an important voice in the room. Michael Sullivan, one of the team’s captains, relayed something Fisher said when he spoke a few weeks ago: “‘You only get one chance – All of these guys are only going to be together once, for a season, that's it. You never know which direction guys are going to go.’”
So make the most of it.
“As an older guy on the team, you have a little less time to get stuff done,” said the 24-year-old Fisher. “It's now and you have to get it done.”
“So trying to convey that to the younger guys and make sure they're looking out for themselves as well as each other, crack down, get it done now,” he urged. “And look towards the future together.”
Every player will lean on their individual experiences in these moments.
For Ayari it’s the FA Youth Cup during his time in England with Sheffield United.
“That's a big one,” he said. “Similar to the playoffs: you lose, you're out. And we have a playoff too, where the two leagues come together, North and South, and you play a semifinal, final.”
“But winning is what matters. If you want to progress as a group, and we progress together as players for our careers, winning is what helps all of us collectively,” highlighted the 22-year-old. “That's all we should focus on and we'll reap the benefits.”
For Fisher it’s his collegiate career as a Stanford Cardinal.
“College taught me a lot,” he said. “It's a tight season, so every game matters. Going into playoffs, we were extremely dialed, we knew what we wanted to do. PKs were a big thing, we practised them extremely hard. We knew crunch time was the best time of the year.”
“The weather started cooling off, it got darker earlier, that's where you wanted to be,” Fisher relished. “You didn't want to be at home during Thanksgiving.”
That is where Toronto finds themselves now. Their fate in their own hands, playing against two of the best teams MLS NEXT Pro can throw at them.
Cimini distills his instructions down to a simple message for each opponent. For the Red Bulls, it is usually ‘Clean in Messy Moments,’ the same applies to Union II with a little twist.
“Philly is ‘Slow them Down’ because they like the attack, to go really quick,” explained the coach. “If we make the game really open and really fast, that's what they want.”
“They're a team that creates a lot of shots inside the box, but they are also first in the league in delivering crosses from outside, so you’ve got to pick which one you'd give them and then deal with the [other],” Cimini game planned. “The [recent] performance against Philly on the road was really professional in terms of slowing them down.”
“The addition to that would be to own some territory in their half as well, so that we make them work a little bit. If the game is going back and forth, it's in their favour,” he cautioned. “They have a lot of size. They're very athletic and physical and fast, but they're also technical. You look at their frontline guys, very gifted players, so we have to be a little bit more pragmatic.”
Ayari played in both games against Philadelphia and the 2-2 draw against New York in Toronto in July.
“Philly is more of a direct team, more physical, straight to the point, getting at players, while Red Bulls is more of a technical team, I would say,” he assessed. “Both dangerous teams, as you can see with how they are on the table, and both threats in different ways, but they have their own attributes.”
With so many teams separated by so few points and both Cincinnati and Atlanta having games in hand it will likely come down to Decision Day before the smoke clears and the table is finalized.
It’s going to be a fun few weeks; the players are looking forward to it.
“Of course,” beamed Ayari. “A game's a game, but these last two, you don't want the season to end. We want to continue, so keep pushing.”
Added Fisher: “Crunch time is where people either show up or hide and I've always been one to say that I show up in those big moments, so happy to be here and be with this group.”
These games with their added importance will be valuable experiences for every single player as their budding careers progress. Not just for the experience, but for what it will demand of them.
“With Mike [Michael Bradley] as the coach for Red Bulls, you can see already a shift – there's a lot more football being played, but Philly is still Philly,” began Cimini. “It's the fight. Sometimes the game is ugly and you’ve got to get the win in a certain way.”
“From the pressure standpoint and also given the style of play that we’re going to be up against, it's a massive opportunity for the guys to really develop the character piece, the little bit of the cleverness, winning habits, drawing fouls when you’re supposed to draw fouls,” he listed. “To be able to play the mental game is going to be huge. That's a real development opportunity.”
“For a guy like Stefan Kapor, a 2009. Stef is a big kid, but the physical side of it, a lot of aerial balls, can you deal with that? Can you stay focused? Stef is a quite focused kid to be fair, but it's a huge challenge for him,” Cimini continued. “Tony Bossenberry, he's a tiny kid, but he's got a lot of fight and a lot of quality, he can run for days, and for him to be able to create something against a Philly team is going to be good.”
Bossenberry scored the opening goal when last Toronto and Philadelphia met.
“Sometimes when you play game after game after game, I see it sometimes with the academy games where they're winning 6-0, you lose the feeling of what a game should feel like if we're really trying to develop players,” closed the coach. “For these young players, this platform never made them feel like that. And when you're thinking about Philly [on Friday], that game is going to be extra heightened, so it's exactly what you want. You want to see who steps up.”
