Preview: TFC need a victory against Impact

Read Time:2 Minute, 36 Second

A Canadian Championship win last Wednesday against Vancouver followed by a disappointing tie against the worst team in the league San Jose, TFC now turns their sights to the Montreal Impact on Saturday at BMO Field.

It was a win and a tie but really should’ve been two wins. TFC took the lead in the second half of last Saturday’s match against San Jose, before surrendering the equalizer in the 77^th minute on a goal Alex Bono wishes he could have back.

The TFC keeper has been the victim of inconsistent play all year long, making that top corner save look easy, before surrendering a goal a keeper like him shouldn’t concede. But he is human, a 24-year-old who is allowed to make mistakes and make them early in his career.

A share of the points in San Jose#TFCLive | #SJvTOR pic.twitter.com/In12KkoJ3G

— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) August 19, 2018

But this Saturday is not the time to let a game slip due to mistakes, not just by Bono, but from the entire team.

Toronto sits nine points back from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and to their advantage, they have two games in hand on the team holding that spot.

The team holding the spot is Montreal.

With 10 games to go for Toronto, two of them are against the Impact, one this Saturday at home and the other in Montreal.

Sitting nine points back, it isn’t an easy deficit to fight back from. But with only 10 MLS matches remaining for TFC and no other cups or competitions remaining for them, they can finally just focus on salvaging their season.

It doesn’t help that Toronto will be without Jozy Altidore for the second straight game due to a red card. He is arguably one of, if not the team’s most in-form player at the moment.

On a positive note, newly acquired Lucas Janson made an instant impact in his TFC debut against San Jose. He scored Toronto’s lone goal. Expect him to get another chance to shine against the Impact.

“They're our rival, one of the teams we're chasing. This game is a little more emotional than just another game.”

📖: https://t.co/S1gPxav8Mr #TFCLive | #TORvMTL | #RivalryWeek

— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) August 23, 2018

Then, there is Sebastian Giovinco, who hasn’t been the goal-scoring machine that he has been since coming to the MLS. Nonetheless, he has made up for it with his passing. Finding the open man and creating scoring chances time after time, but without Altidore up top with him, Giovinco will be depended on heavily Saturday. He and Janson looked good together so it will be interesting to see what head coach Greg Vanney does.

As for Toronto’s defense, it’s all about playing smart and not getting caught. It is mostly a must-win game for TFC but at the same time, they need to make sure they walk away with a tie at the very least.

In the only matchup between these two teams this season Montreal walked away victorious with a 1-0 win in March.

It is safe to say it is a must win on Saturday. A loss doesn’t eliminate them from contention but with a TFC loss, they will need something close to a miracle.