TORONTO — Brutal.
That was the word Michael Bradley used to describe Ismael Tajouri-Shradi’s 88th-minute winning goal and the loss of momentum suffered by Toronto FC in its 3-2 defeat to New York City FC, which ended a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
Others still lingering for postgame media duties, including coach Greg Vanney and goalkeeper Alex Bono, were similarly downcast. Of Toronto’s self-inflicted wounds, which included an early Jozy Altidore red card and multiple individual errors on New York’s second and third goals, Bono said: “These are things, as a team, we can control and teams in our position don’t have the luxury of having one of these mistakes here, one of these mistakes there. It’s cost us a couple of times as of late and it’s definitely disappointing.”
Bradley and Vanney have been talking about Toronto’s lack of a margin for error as a result of its poor start to the season for months and now, with the club’s form having picked up only in a couple of fits and spurts, it is nonexistent. To reach 45 points, which will be enough to make this season’s playoffs only if the bar for qualification remains unusually low, TFC will need 22 points from its final 11 games.
Toronto has three games left that look particularly difficult: away dates with the New York Red Bulls and Portland Timbers and a season finale at home to Atlanta United. But if they fail to take at least something from one or two of those games, they will need to be nearly perfect in the other eight to stand a chance.
Any unlikely road to recovery begins on Wednesday, when the Vancouver Whitecaps visit BMO Field for the second leg of the Canadian Championship final. Defending the Voyageurs Cup would provide a morale boost the Reds desperately need — and if nothing comes of the rest of their MLS season, booking a return to the Concacaf Champions League would at least ensure the damage does not trickle over to 2019.
Vázquez’s heroics go to waste
Victor Vázquez is having an extraordinary season.
Few outside Toronto have really noticed just how good the Catalan has been, given Toronto’s campaign so far has not exactly been short of storylines. But Vázquez’s goal and assist against New York brought him up to six and eight in those categories respectively in just 1,035 minutes of play.
For comparison, the Portland Timbers’ Diego Valeri — like Vázquez, an attacking midfielder rather than an out-and-out forward — put up 21 goals and 11 assists in 2,828 minutes last year and was named MLS’ Most Valuable Player. If Vázquez was to log the same number of minutes, he would be on pace for a 16-goal, 21-assist season.
The problem is that he won’t match Valeri’s time on the field. Vázquez has been plagued by injuries all year and the extent of them makes his output even more impressive. He was bothered by a nerve problem in his back that wiped out much of the first couple of months of the season and has since been struggling with a knee issue that has required constant management and prevented him from participating in anything like a normal training routine.
To score Toronto’s second goal against New York, Vázquez dove into a crowd of bodies to convert a close-range header. He received a whack on the shoulder which left him in visible agony for his trouble, but kept plugging away for over half an hour while cradling it with his other arm before finally being substituted.
“Victor put in a huge shift and was outstanding on the day,” Vanney said.
Hagglund-Zavaleta pairing not working
Eriq Zavaleta turned 26 earlier this month and Nick Hagglund will do so in September. Both first-round picks in the MLS SuperDraft, Vanney has earmarked the central defenders as long-term solutions at a position where affordable, homegrown options carry plenty of value.
But this season has brought challenges for both players. With more experienced help around them, Zavaleta and Hagglund have proved themselves capable: the former featured impressively in six of Toronto’s eight Concacaf Champions League games earlier this year and the latter was a standout player in the Reds’ first run to the MLS Cup final back in 2016. Zavaleta is an excellent one-on-one defender who has improved dramatically on the ball, while Hagglund is brave, committed and aerially dominant.
It is when the two have been paired together, though, that problems have arisen. They have, quite frankly, been torched this season in the absence of Chris Mavinga and Drew Moor, Toronto’s regular starters at center back. For lowlights, see the 4-3 loss to Minnesota United and the 4-4 draw with D.C. United in which Zavaleta was hooked at half time with TFC 3-0 down at home.
On Sunday, they struggled together again. It is hard not to conclude that while Zavaleta and Hagglund remain perfectly serviceable depth players, the level of attacking quality in MLS has gone up to such a point that they may no longer have what it takes to become the core pieces Vanney might have hoped.