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Depending on your outlook, there are several ways to view Toronto FC's upcoming match Wednesday night against 401 rivals the Montreal Impact. The Reds not only need to quickly bounce back from their weekend loss to New York, but now have them and Montreal within a shout of overcoming them in the Eastern Conference. It can be real pressure, or needed motivation, as anything less than a win would be seen as a step back.
TFC have done well to build some cohesiveness and impressive results through May and early June, but could not continue their run as New York bullied their way to stopping Giovinco & Co. from generating the magic seen over the last month. Montreal also lost to New York of late, but came back nicely over the weekend, dispatching Orlando City 2-0. It's good timing for both of these teams to go head to head, and whatever the result, supporters should be in for a fired up match.
Keep thinking
Toronto FC had their hands full over the weekend as the concerns of what would happen should Giovinco be played out of a game reared its head. New York arrived at BMO with a clear agenda to bring a physical approach and not allow Giovinco time or space on the ball to add to his highlight reel. It was not pretty to watch, but effective, as New York waited for their chances and when they came, had the likes of David Villa to finish them clinically.
The result puts into perspective some of the issues TFC still have. Namely being a side that requires many chances in order to put away a goal and opponent. The Reds have too often been on the other side of opposition needing only one or two chances to score, all the while dominating possession and shots. Most obviously as well is a reliance lately on Giovinco to score and create chances for the team. With the Italian DP shut down, real goalscoring chances came at a premium and a solid night of defending was enough to keep a clean sheet.
The last time TFC were blanked was another 2-0 loss, to Columbus, which began a four game losing streak for the team. What's different now is that Toronto left the pitch on Saturday looking to even a score, and what better team to do that against than the Montreal Impact.
Montreal come to BMO now on a fairly impressive run of results after a slow start, and they are now positioned to overtake Toronto in the table. With Marco Di Vaio retiring at the end of last season, Montreal did not bring in a pedigreed striker who could fill the void. However, Ignacio Piatti has been able to deliver performances of the same class of fellow Argentines Federico Higuain, Diego Vieri and Javier Morales, all of whom are top level MLS attackers. The team might not have an out and out target, but do have three players with three goals in Piatti, Jack McInerney and Adreas Romero.
The Impact as well will have a formidable defender in Laurent Ciman and should be happy to see prospect Ambroise Oyongo agreed to come aboard. David Toia as well has done well, scoring the winning goal on the weekend against Orlando. While Montreal don't have quite the names in the midfield as TFC, the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker, Marco Donadel, Patrice Bernier and Eric Alexander offer balance and experience.
Some of Montreal's strengths could be taken advantage of by Toronto. Even though Ciman has been outstanding, Bakare Soumare has yet to re-establish himself as a solid MLS defender seen in his days with Chicago and could be the weak link on the back line. While the midfield is experienced, a question of whether they have the legs to compete with Giovinco, Bradley and even Altidore, all three having very good engines, pace and relentlessness. This could be a match where the later it goes the better chance of finding an area to expose reveals itself for the Reds.
What they potentially need to watch for is a similar gameplan that New York brought in, however, given the more technical players in the rosters such as Romero, Piatti and Donadel, it seems unlikely Montreal will resort to thuggery to earn a result. This could be good for the Reds as any space given is a chance for Toronto to take advantage of. Most importantly though is finding a way to incorporate someone other than Giovinco, and players such as Jonathan Osorio, Benoit Cheyrou and Jozy Altidore will need to impose themselves in this and future games. If Vanney can get more hands on deck to support the Italian attacker, the better chance TFC have of coming away with a much needed bounce-back win.
In the end
Toronto FC would have been a bit shocked that New York City FC were able to come into BMO Field and dictate the type of game played, as well as steal all three points. Fortunately for the Reds, four days later they have a chance to correct that result. There should be no shortage of motivation as the opponent is the Montreal Impact, not only a legitimate rival, but a side who after a slow start are now primed to pass TFC in the table. Despite the Impact having some more balance in their attack, Toronto has the quality to surpass Montreal and come away with an important home win. While Giovinco will be the one to watch, who emerges as another viable option will be critical in ensuring Toronto are a threat from more than one source.
Prediction
Toronto FC 2 – 1 Montreal Impact
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