Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Coach John Herdman finds himself between a rock and a hard place ahead of Toronto’s CPD game on Saturday at the Colorado Rapids.
With just four regular season games remaining, eighth-place Toronto (11-16-3) needs points to stay above ninth-place Philadelphia and 10th-place D.C. United in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. The two teams chasing the two are three points behind with a game in hand.
The eighth and ninth place teams meet in a playoff wild card game, with the winner advancing to take the first seed in the East (currently Inter Miami).
But Herdman must balance his playoff push with Wednesday’s Canadian Championship final in Vancouver against the defending champion Whitecaps – a chance to lift a trophy and secure a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the elite club competition in the North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Injuries are another concern.
Captain Jonathan Osorio and Italian star Lorenzo Insigne had to leave the 2-0 loss in midweek to visit Columbus. Herdman said that while both are “okay to be put on the team sheet,” the extent of their involvement at the weekend will be determined with one eye on the cup final.
Defenders Nicksoen Gomis and Henry Wingo are out with leg injuries.
On the positive side, Shane O’Neil returns from suspension and fellow defender Kevin Long, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, is expected to be available for some minutes off the bench. a bench
“There will be some (personnel) shifts for sure, to make way for the cup final, but at the same time there are still players trying to earn their way into the cup final, in form,” Herdman said after Friday’s practice.
After Vancouver, Toronto returns to league play, visiting the Chicago Fire on September 28 before returning home to host the Red Bulls on October 2 and Inter Miami on October 5.
Colorado (14-10-5) is fourth in the Western Conference, tied on points with Seattle but ahead in the standings because it has played one game less than the Sounders.
Former Toronto coach Chris Armas took over the Rapids last November, inheriting a team that finished last in the Western Conference on 5-17-12. Colorado was 28th in the Fan Shield standings, five points ahead of the cellar in Toronto (4-20-10).
Colorado goes into Saturday’s game seventh overall in the league, with nine more wins and 20 more points than last season.
The Rapids are coming off a 4-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City that snapped a three-game winning streak.
“There will be nights like that,” Armas said after the midweek loss. “The 29th game (of the regular season) in MLS I believe. You can’t have your good things all the time. And we’ve had it for most of the season.”
He called the loss “probably a wake-up call.”
“Everyone is fighting for something. Everyone has something to play for in our league. Every team is capable,” he added.
Colorado is 9-2-3 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this season, unbeaten in its last nine league games (7-0-2) there since a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on May 11. Toronto is not has won there since a 1-0 decision in August 2008, going 0-5-2 since then.
The teams played to a scoreless draw the last time they met in suburban Commerce City, in September 2021.
Colorado’s roster includes Canadian forward Kimani Stewart-Baynes as well as former Montreal CF midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, one of the Rapids’ designated players.
Defenseman Reggie Cannon made his Colorado debut midweek. The United States international joined the Rapids as a free agent following a spell with Queens Park Rangers in England’s second-tier Championship and three seasons with Boavista FC in Portugal’s top flight.
Toronto fired Armas in July 2021 following a humiliating 7-1 loss at DC United, the club’s sixth straight defeat. Under the first-year coach, Toronto (1-8-2) was winless in seven and languishing in last place in the league.
Assistant coach Javier Perez ran the team for the rest of the season with Bob Bradley taking over as head coach and sporting director before November 2021.
Bradley was fired in June 2023 with TFC languishing in 14th place in the East at 3-7-10, having won just two of their last 17 games (2-7-8) in all competitions .
Assistant coach Terry Dunfield served as interim coach until Herdman arrived in October 2023.
Armas went on to serve as an assistant coach at Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick and Leeds United under Jesse Marsch, who succeeded Herdman as Canada coach.
“He’s a smart coach,” Herdman said of Armas. “He gets the best out of his players in terms of intensity and he recruits players who fit that style of play as well.”
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This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 20, 2024
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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