It may still be preseason, but a win against Real Salt Lake on Saturday (kick off 5:00 p.m.) will give Toronto FC the first trophy of the club's history. Both teams go into the decider at the Carolina Challenge Cup with six points from the first two matches, although Real Salt Lake lead the standings with a superior goal difference.
Toronto opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over the hosts Charleston Battery of the United Soccer League on Saturday with goals from Dwayne De Rosario and Rohan Ricketts. De Rosario scored again on Wednesday in a 2-1 win against D.C. United. He also supplied the cross for Chad Barrett to head in the opening goal.
Pablo Vitti was rested for the opening game after picking up a slight knock but returned to the side for the win against D.C. The Argentine striker has trained the rest of the week. Midfielder Carl Robinson is also back training after being rested on Wednesday. Nana Attakora-Gyan has joined up with the squad in South Carolina after finishing international duty with the Canada U-20s.
With a week to go until Toronto open the MLS season at Kansas City Wizards (March 21 at 8:30 p.m. live on Gol TV), coach John Carver is looking for further improvement from his side in the final preseason match. "I wish we could get a complete performance," Carver said. "We showed some fantastic stuff in the first half against D.C. United and we could have put the game out of sight by halftime. The good thing is that we're creating those chances. It has been a good week for us and it is a great position to be in having won both games. The players have set the standard and now they've got to keep to it. If they drop below the standard they have set then I'll be sure to let them know about it."
Real Salt Lake opened the tournament with a 3-0 win against D.C. United, and set up Saturday's winner-takes-all finale with a 2-1 victory over Charleston, secured with a late strike by Kyle Beckerman.
Toronto FC's game against Real Salt Lake will be broadcast live online on Toronto FC TV. You can also follow the game and comment on the action in a live match blog. After the TFC game, the Carolina Challenge Cup will close with the final match of the tournament between the Battery and D.C. United.
