It was a great time to be a Toronto FC fan. Goals were being scored, games were being controlled by a powerful looking midfield, and head coach Greg Vanney even ditched his lucky sweater because luck was in great supply.
That was less than four weeks ago. Toronto is an erratic situation now, with fans calling for the firings of coaches, goalkeepers, defenders, and essentially the works. Having conceded 13 goals in the last five matches, defence has been the focal point of the fans’ distaste. It’s hard to blame them really, the defence has looked less convincing than Donald Trump’s view on multiculturalism. After getting picked apart by the New York Red Bulls in another unconvincing 3-0 beating last weekend, Toronto face Orlando City in a game with serious playoff implications.
Toronto FC will look to continue mastery of Orlando City
Toronto are one loss from falling out of the playoff zone and swapping places with Orlando in the standings. Imagine a team like Toronto FC, with the talents of Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and the talismanic Sebastian Giovinco, falling out of the playoffs?
VANNEY TAKING A DIFFERENT VIEW
After facing so much backlash over the backline, Vanney further shocked listeners on Tuesday.
“I thought our backline was pretty good. Their depth was pretty good, they moved pretty well together,” Vanney said after training.
What needs to improve then, Greg? Because Toronto still conceded THREE goals.
“We were unable to have enough impact defensively in midfield, they were able to swing the ball side to side. We were often winning balls so deep in our half that it became a big challenge to build attack and get forward. For me that was the biggest thing… We needed to take care of the ball.”
Essentially, Vanney said he liked the defense’s positioning and movement but didn’t like the team’s defensive mentality. Vanney was especially critical of the midfield’s play; citing a lack of defensive presence and responsible for multiple turnovers. Vanney mentioned “winning balls too deep in our own half” over four times in his 10-minute interview. Expect him to deploy a different look that avoids this.
HOW WILL VANNEY ADAPT?
The midfield diamond, which has brought Toronto a lot of success this season, has also brought them a lot of misfortune. Vanney spoke about re-assessing whether to play that formation.
Vanney did, however, speak about needing to jam up the midfield, increase pressure on the opposition and decrease their passing opportunities. In conjunction with his distaste for the way Toronto won the ball too deep in their own end and the abundance of space they gave New York, many are predicting a new look formation tonight at BMO Field.
A five-man midfield is likely to increase the numbers in midfield to reduce space on Orlando. Kaka poses a huge threat to create opportunities, and taking his space away will be key.
Vanney also mentioned that, “Everyone’s position is being assessed.” Words like that won’t bode well for the likes of Jozy Altidore, who has been lackluster for many weeks.
Don’t be surprised by a change in goal either, as Vanney refused to proclaim Joe Bendik as his undisputed starting goalkeeper last week. After Bendik returned from injury, Vanney stated how he was always the starting goalkeeper and it was his net. However, this week, he simply said, “You’ll find out (who the starting goalkeeper is) tomorrow at 4 pm.”
Newcomer Herculez Gomez could feature more prominently tonight as he impressed in the game against New York last Saturday.
With a lot of mystery surrounding this week’s line-up, the only positional certainty is that newcomer Josh Williams will start at center-back. Who his partner will be is unknown at this point. Ahmed Kantari, Nick Hagglund or Eriq Zavaleta may play alongside him. Jackson or Ashtone Morgan may feature at fullback, with Justin Morrow snagging the other fullback position.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Orlando City have managed just one win in their previous eight games. They are lacking confidence and early pressure will help take them out of the game. Toronto’s midfield will need to take away Kaka’s time and space.
The defense will need to be solid on Canadian rookie sensation Cyle Larin. Larin has had a historic offensive season and is a prime threat for expansion side Orlando.
Give the ball to Seba. Giovinco had a hat-trick the last time Toronto played Orlando. If Toronto can get the ball to him for him to isolate Orlando’s defense, they’re chances will be good.
