The Montreal Impact are a walking reminder of what might have been for Toronto FC.
If only the Reds had converted one of several late-game opportunities in a 1-1 draw with the Impact last July 22. If only TFC had done a better job of defending the corner kick that the Impact converted to equalize the game after an early Reds goal. If only TFC had been able to overtake Montreal and win the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, then it might well have been 55,000 fans at Toronto's Rogers Centre in February, rather than at Montreal's Olympic Stadium for the Impact's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal home tie with Santos Laguna of Mexico.
No one on the Reds side is bemoaning these ifs, however, but rather using them as inspiration for this year's Canadian Championship. TFC already took a measure of revenge last Wednesday by beating Vancouver Whitecaps, who handed the Reds their only loss in the 2008 edition of the tournament. Now, Toronto has their sights on Wednesday's match at BMO Field with the defending national champions.
"The main thing is going out there tomorrow night, taking care of business and letting the ball talk and not the mouths," said Dwayne De Rosario. "Hopefully we do that again this week and get the six points from two home games and then get some away wins as well."
Montreal won last year's Canadian Championship on the strength of two 2-0 victories against Vancouver. The Impact (as many Reds players and coaches are eager to note) never actually defeated Toronto in the tournament, drawing at BMO Field on July 22 and dropping a 1-0 result to TFC at Saputo Stadium last May 27.
TFC's unbeaten record against the Impact was little consolation, though, as the favored Reds found themselves on the sidelines while Montreal went on their impressive run to the Champions League quarterfinals. Losing the national championship was particularly hard on TFC's Canadian players like Nana Attakora, who said he received a few barbs from friends on the Impact.
"I know a lot of the players through the national program, and they talk a lot of garbage," Attakora said with a grin. "These games, you just want to win. Last year it was disappointing. Even though I didn't play, it hurt. This year for sure we have a good opportunity of winning. ... The older guys, especially, if you hear them talking in the change room, they don't want to lose. We have something to prove to the fans and everybody."
Attakora got a taste of this year's tournament by playing 90 minutes against Whitecaps and acquitting himself very well against the Vancouver strike force. The 20-year-old also started against D.C. United on the weekend and played 76 minutes in TFC's 3-3 draw with the Black-and-Red.
The question going into the D.C. game was whether or not Attakora or Adrian Serioux would get the start at center back, but both men ended up being in the lineup due to some last-minute lineup shuffling from Toronto interim head coach Chris Cummins. Midfielder Carl Robinson was a late scratch due to a bout of food poisoning that also afflicted four others on the side, including striker Danny Dichio and assistant coach Nick Dasovic.
It was the first time that Robinson has missed a league game for fitness-related reasons in his three years in Toronto. The midfielder had started all 60 of his previous appearances for TFC and only missed time due to international duty for Wales. Cummins said that Robinson was recovering well and should be ready for Montreal on Wednesday.
"Robbo was the worst one with the food poisoning. He's come in to train today, he had a couple of days off to rest," Cummins said. "Danny still feels a little bit off, but the rest of the lads are fine and fit to go."
Cummins said that he and the team medical staff aren't quite sure what caused the minor outbreak, but he said that it seemed to hit the players as soon as they arrived in Washington.
"We got off the plane and a few of the lads came right up to me and said they didn't feel great. I thought they just wanted the afternoon off," Cummins joked. "Then Daso came down [with it] and a few of the lads were actually sick."
Between the food poisoning, the Eastern Conference-leading opposition and general fatigue from Toronto's busy schedule, Cummins was pleased at his team's character in coming within a stoppage-time equalizer of defeating United.
He believes his team will show similar heart against a motivated, if struggling, Impact side. Montreal is 0-3-1 after four USL-1 matches this season.
"I don't think they'll sit back. I think they'll be strong and aggressive, they'll play to their strengths," Cummins said. "I know they're not on the best run at the moment, but that doesn't count for anything when you go into these games. This is a cup final for them. They went a long way in the competition last year and I'm sure they'll be looking to do that again."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
