TFC playoff fate comes down to final weekend
Last Updated: Friday, October 23, 2009 | 9:48 PM ET
by John F. Molinaro, CBC Sports
Dwayne De Rosario and Toronto FC can put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the MLS playoffs with a win on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)This is it.
After a lengthy season that featured plenty of highs and lows and a few interesting twists and turns thrown in for good measure, it all comes down to this weekend for Toronto FC.
Toronto closes out the 2009 Major League Soccer campaign on the road when it takes on the New York Red Bulls on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET) in a game the Canadian club needs to win to have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs.
The different permutations of what has to happen this weekend in order for Toronto to claim its first post-season berth in franchise history is somewhat complicated. (See sidebar for details.)
Basically, it boils down to this: Toronto, which currently holds down the eighth and final playoff spot in MLS, would qualify for the post-season if it wins in New York, and either FC Dallas or the Colorado Rapids don't win their games later in the evening.
If Toronto loses or ties New York, it could still make it, depending on how the other games turn out, but coach Chris Cummins isn't paying any attention to the numerous scenarios that would see his team progress to the post-season.
He's focused on one thing, and one thing only: winning.
"We need to take care of business ourselves," Cummins said. "We're not going to talk about [the different scenarios] too much before we go into the game. We have to go there and get a win ourselves."
New York playing out string
While Toronto is still in the playoff hunt, New York is playing out the string. The Red Bulls, last season's MLS Cup finalists, are the worst team in the league and were eliminated from playoff contention long ago.
But that doesn't mean Toronto, which has already beaten the Red Bulls twice this season, will be taking New York lightly.
"There are no easy games [in this league]," Cummins said. "It's going to be a tough game, and we know that. Although they've not had a great season, it's the last home game for them. They'll want to play for some pride and get one over on us and stop us from getting into the playoffs."
Toronto backup goalkeeper Brian Edwards concurred.
"They have a lot of good attacking players and they're going to try to come out and make a statement in their final home game, so we have to be focused," Edwards warned.
Indeed, Toronto can't afford to underestimate the Red Bulls, a lesson it learned two weeks ago when the club was held to a 1-1 tie at home against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Toronto scored early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead but San Jose, which, like New York, was eliminated from playoff contention long ago, scored an injury time goal to salvage a tie and deny the Canadian club three points.
"We can't pay too much attention to [New York's poor record] because as we saw San Jose came in here and gave us a good fight," said Toronto midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. "We have to go there thinking this is a championship game and put all of our cards on the table and approach it like we would any other team."
Wins don't come easily
Wins have been hard to come by for Toronto. The Reds have won just twice away from home this season, and but for their poor road record (not to mention defensive lapses and last-minute collapses that have cost Toronto 15 points in the standings) they would have already sewn up a playoff spot.
But none of that matters any more, according to De Rosario.
"All of that has to go out the window," the midfielder said. "We have to look at this as a new match, a one-off, and it's win or lose. Our road record hasn't been that good and we need to improve on that, but we have a good opportunity here away from home to make some history."
Starting goalkeeper Stefan Frei will miss his third consecutive game Saturday because of a fractured finger, which means Edwards will again be between the posts. Defender Marvell Wynne, who sat out the last two games with a thigh injury, is questionable.
