With a little under a month left in the season the standings are starting to take shape for the playoffs. The top teams are just about jockeying for position while the rest are in a dog fight for the final few places. There are still games to be played and a few teams have matches in hand, but here is a quick overview of how we currently stand and some possible playoff matches.
Top Three Teams have Clinched Playoff Birth
The top three sides SC Toronto, Toronto Croatia and Capital City FC have all officially clinched playoff births with York Region Shooters all but assured to join them. It has been known for some time that SC Toronto would make the playoffs but credit should go to new boys Capital City FC for their somewhat surprising season. They have been very tough to beat in general, but especially at home with many teams having to make the four hour bus trip. It remains to be seen whether they will pull off what Brantford Galaxy accomplished last season in their inaugural campaign and become champions but they have shown no fear, play a positive brand of soccer, and have proven they can hold their own as evident in their 12 match unbeaten run earlier in the year.
Middle of the Pack
In the cases of Montreal Impact Academy and Serbian White Eagles a lot has to go wrong for them to miss out on the playoffs, however it’s still a possibility so they can’t take their foot off the gas.
Dogfight at the Bottom
In essence this is crunch time for the two Peel Region sides Mississauga Eagles FC and Brampton City United as well as defending champions Brantford Galaxy. It looks like these two teams are battling for the final two places, with no head to head matches remaining between the three clubs it’s really about taking care of your own business.
Brampton City United have six games remaining including a game in hand against London City, this was a game that had to be rescheduled on two separate occasions due to weather/pitch conditions and is a big one at Cove Road.
Mississauga Eagles have five games left in their season, including home against Toronto Croatia and a big away trip to both Montreal Impact Academy and Capital City FC. Brantford Galaxy also has five games remaining; these include home dates against York Region Shooters and TFC Academy as well as a similar away trip to Montreal Impact Academy and Capital City FC.
POSSIBLE PLAYOFF MATCH UPS
SC Toronto Vs. Brampton City United/Mississauga Eagles FC
To be honest I don’t think either team from the Peel Region wants to play the consensus #1 seed, they have demolished competition all season and have run teams off the pitch at home and away.
Toronto Croatia Vs. Serbian White Eagles
It’s always exciting to see rivalry matches but especially in the playoffs with a Semifinal or Final birth on the line. These two sides aren’t fond of each other at all and given the fact they play in the same stadium (Centennial Stadium) both sets of supporters will feel right at home.
Capital City FC Vs. Montreal Impact Academy
This would be an interesting and exciting one in my opinion, the first meeting ended as a 1-1 draw in Montreal while the side from Ottawa won the second meeting 3-0 at home.
Final Thoughts
It will be interesting to see if team that are out of the playoff race will factor into how everything shakes out, on the one hand they won’t be as motivated but with nothing to play for they can just have fun, express themselves and play the role of spoiler. The team that would concern me most if I were an opponent would be Capital City FC; they are flying high at the moment and in a two legged Quarterfinal round it won’t be easy playing in Ottawa.
I’ll update the playoff picture and give my predictions once everything is officially settled, should be a fun fight to the finish.
Kamal Hylton is Owner/Freelance Soccer Writer at Hylton Sports Media,
he specializes in covering Youth Development in Canada and the
CONCACAF Region as well as European leagues such as Bundesliga, Serie A and UEFA Champions League. Follow him on Twitter to view all his work.
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