TORONTO – Toronto FC are sick of training and talking. They just want to play.
Thankfully for the Reds, they won’t have to wait much longer. Toronto will host Columbus Crew SC in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Championship series at BMO Field on Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET; FS1 in the US | TSN 1/4/5, TVAS in Canada). A win, and Toronto will advance to their second consecutive MLS Cup. A scoreless draw would force extra time. Anything else, and TFC will fall short.
They’re not quite ready to consider that possibility just yet, however.
“We're very excited,” captain Michael Bradley said on Tuesday. “This time of year all you want to do is play. Get on the field, have the opportunity to compete and leave everything you have out there, go for it. The time in between has been slow, but we're used it in the best possible way. Now there is nothing left to do but recover over the next 24 hours and be ready when that whistle blows.”
With so much on the line, Toronto will seek to put their home-field advantage to good use. The Supporters’ Shield winners were 13-1-3 at BMO Field in the regular season, a record that includes a 5-0 win over Columbus.
“We're extremely confident,” said Bradley. “Aside from the trophy, what it meant for us having been the best team from beginning to end, what it really meant was that we were going to be able to dictate how our season ended. We knew we were getting the second leg of every series at home, that the final, if we can get there, will be at home. And the relationship this team has with our fans, our support, and with the city is pretty special. I expect an incredible atmosphere tomorrow night.”
Midfielder Victor Vazquez was similarly confident that TFC will prevail.
“We were the best team in MLS. Everybody saw it,” said Victor Vazquez. “[The whole season comes down to] 90 minutes, or maybe 120 minutes. We are ready for it. We have the best squad in MLS and we will do it for sure.”
For Bradley and newly named MLS Coach of the Year Greg Vanney, who both took their current roles in 2014, Wednesday’s match is another important marker in a long journey. From a difficult 2014 campaign following Bradley’s signing that January, to a truncated playoff stay in 2015, to their appearance at MLS Cup last year, everything’s been building for Toronto. Wednesday’s game is a chance to take another positive step.
“The journey has been much longer than twelve months,” said Bradley. “We're not feeling any weight of anything. Games like tomorrow are why you play. On the biggest nights, when everything is on the line, these are the games you want to be playing in. The players and teams who embrace that, who aren't fazed by it, not worry about what ifs, not worry about anything else. Those are the teams that give themselves the best chance.”
“It's a culmination of three and a half years,” added Vanney. “The experiences of the guys who have been here for long time [have been] passed on to the guys who have come. Quickly those who have joined understand how special it is to play here, in front of our fans, to be at this club.
“Everything is a process. It's been a long journey. Tomorrow we'll take all those experiences and put them out in one game.”
