After a controversial (awful) refereeing decision to send off Justin Morrow in their last match against the Columbus Crew, which resulted in a 2-0 loss, Toronto Football Club face a stiff task of getting points against Real Salt Lake. They must complete this task without the spine of their team; captain Michael Bradley and star striker Jozy Altidore.
Toronto FC facing stiff task of facing Real Salt Lake without stars
The dynamic duo will not feature in Toronto’s next match as they have been called up to Jurgen Klinsmann’s U.S. men’s national team squad. Real Salt Lake will be missing star goalkeeper Nick Rimando as he was also called up to the US squad, as well as Alvaro Sabario., who will be on international duty as well.
What makes this a stiff test for Toronto FC? Real Salt Lake will still have the likes of Kyle Beckerman, the magician Javier Morales, and Luke Mulholland. The relatively solid defence including Jamison Olave and Chris Schular is definitely more convincing than the uncertain and slow pairing of Damien Perquis and Steven Caldwell. According to head coach Greg Vanney, Caldwell and Perquis are both questionable for the match, further putting the already inconsistent Toronto defense in more trouble.
Toronto’s midfield stability will take a significant hit with the loss of Michael Bradley. Bradley has made 96 passes so far in the season, with an average passing rating of 86% on the season, with 73% of those passes being made forward. He has involved himself in 24 duels over 180 minutes, while contributing an average of 6 defensive actions each match. His average pass length is 18m. Collen Warner is expected to step into the Toronto line-up in place of Bradley. Warner has made just 5 passes, and has a mediocre 71% passing success rate. He has only been involved in 3 duels, and has not recorded any defensive actions in a game so far this season. While whether Warner is good enough for Toronto is a debate for another day, his stats may be disappointing as he has only played 21 minutes of the young season. That is the sort of rust Toronto could be replacing a staple on midfield with.
Benoit Cheyrou will be expected to pick up the slack left by the departure of Bradley. He has been very effective in the middle of the park thus far this season; firing 84 successful passes, having a 79% passing rate, with 82% of those passes being made forward. He has made an average of 5 defensive actions a match. Between himself, Bradley, and Warner, Cheyrou has the most number of chances created with 3; Bradley has 1 and Warner has none. Cheyrou has engaged in 23 duels, winning 43% of them, the highest percentage among the 3 midfielders. Whether Toronto can keep possession against RSL depends squarely on the performance of Warner and Cheyrou together.
As for the loss of Jozy Altidore, not only are Toronto missing their best finisher, they will be missing their strongest ball-winner in the final third of the field. Altidore creates space with his strength for Toronto’s smaller attackers, Sebastian Giovinco and Robbie Findley. Altidore has fought through 9 aerial duels on the field with his enormous frame, while Giovinco and Findley have combined for 9. Not to mention, Altidore has five inches of height on Findley and almost an entire foot on Giovinco. Finally, the obvious stat is that Altidore has scored two of Toronto’s three goals of the season.
Luke Moore is the player expected to step in for Altidore. He has only made one appearance this season, but did score 6 goals last season in 27 matches for Toronto last season. While he can offer a decent dose of finishing, he won’t be able to replace the strength of Altidore. Toronto will have to find a new way to attack as they will not be able to look for Altidore’s strength in the final third. They will have to avoid aerial duels and try to tailor to the talents of their small attackers. It is clear that they are losing two of their most talented players, and the mercurial skill of Giovinco will need to be at its finest to get a result.
Whether Toronto can get a positive result against RSL rests purely on how well Giovinco, Findley and Moore can combine to create offence, and how well Cheyrou and Warner can control the middle of the park. Finally, the possible suspension Morrow faces, as well as the injuries to Perquis and Caldwell, will require others to step up. Look for the likes of Mark Bloom, Nick Hagglund and Ashton Morgan to try their best to impress.
RSL have already had a clean sheet in their first two games of the season, while Toronto are yet to have their first. However, RSL are still looking for their first win of the season after starting the season with back-to-back draws. Toronto will look to add to their three points, which they won from their match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
