Injury-ravaged Toronto FC still having trouble getting off the ground

Toronto (6-12-6) has a crucial game Saturday with visiting Montreal (10-13-3), which currently occupies the sixth and last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The flight from hell — the team got rooms at a nearby airport hotel to kill time with some players opting to act tourist in San Francisco — capped a two-week five-game stretch that saw TFC visit Atlanta, Vancouver and San Jose.

The marathon continues. After hosting Montreal, ninth-place Toronto heads back west for a midweek game in Portland.

“You’re trying to win these games — they’re vital for us to win — but you’re also trying to get guys out of it healthy … It’s been challenging for sure from a scheduling standpoint,” said coach Greg Vanney.

In San Jose, Toronto was without Spanish playmaker Victor Vazquez (knee) and Brazilian wingback Auro (hamstring). Defender Eriq Zavaleta (hamstring) made the trip but was deemed too “tender” to include in the matchday 18. A sore Giovinco came off the bench.

Striker Jozy Altidore and defender Chris Mavinga were self-inflicted injuries, suspended after red cards.

Facing a Quakes team that ranks 18th in the league in goals-against at 1.83 a game, Toronto was outshot 18-8 (5-1 in shots on target). The stat makes more sense when you realize that Toronto stands 19th in goals-against, at 1.88 conceded per game.

On the plus side, it took less than two minutes for Toronto to find the back of the net after Giovinco and Gregory van der Wiel were introduced in the 58th minute. Six passes after fullback Nick Hagglund dispossessed a San Jose player on a throw-in, Argentine newcomer Lucas Jansson capped a seemingly effortless attack with a tap-in for his first goal in TFC colours.

But for every step forward this season, there has been a step back for Toronto.

In the 77th minute, a Hagglund pass found a Quake player inside the San Jose half. With Hagglund now out of position, a pass deep into the Toronto end found Chris Wondolowski racing in alone. Goalkeeper Alex Bono bobbled his relatively tame shot and Wondolowski beat Jason Hernandez to the ball for the tying goal.

The two faces of TFC were there to see in one eight-minute stretch. Flashes of brilliance matched by mistake on mistake on mistake.

Vanney is about as well-adjusted and even-keeled as they come. But even his beacon of positivity seems to be burning low in a season that would leave Tony Robbins hard-pressed to find light at the end of the tunnel.

Toronto has not beaten a team other than Chicago, which stands second last in the standings, since June 8 (a 2-5-4 run) in league play.

Of Toronto’s 10 remaining games, six are at home (Montreal, Los Angeles FC, Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution, Vancouver and Atlanta) and four on the road (Portland, New York Red Bulls, D.C. United and Montreal).

Of those opponents, only D.C. United and New England are currently out of the playoff picture and they sit above Toronto in the Eastern standings.

“I don’t think we need to win 10 games to get ourselves into the playoffs,” Vanney said Tuesday. “I still think the minimum number is probably seven that we’ve got to win. There’s your margin right there. It’s slim. Very slim.”

In truth it was slim a month ago. We have now gone well beyond supermodel-slim.

In late July with 14 games remaining — Toronto was nine points out of the playoffs at the time — Vanney suggested nine wins were needed. TFC has gone 1-1-2 since and is one point further in arrears of the playoff line.

With Atlanta, New York City FC, the Red Bulls and Columbus seemingly firmly in possession of the top four East playoff berths, Toronto is chasing the fifth and six-place spots currently held down by Philadelphia (10-11-3) and Montreal.

“I still think there’s a lot to play for,” said Vanney.

Few dispute that Toronto can beat anyone on a good day. But the dark cloud that has hovered over the champions for most of the season has shown little sign of dispelling with the clock winding down.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Injury-ravaged Toronto FC still having trouble getting off the ground

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