MONTREAL – Of all the concepts Greg Vanney has preached to his Toronto FC side over the course of the season, one of the most evident in recent weeks has been the need for his team to be ruthless.
For Vanney, that means when TFC get the lead, they compound the woes of their opponent by adding another, and another, and sometimes even another after that, rather than sitting back and protecting their advantage.
It's all gone to plan in Toronto's four-game winning streak: a 4-1 win over the Portland Timbers, a 3-1 win against the Chicago Fire, a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Union, and most recently, a 3-1 win over the Montreal Impact on Sunday afternoon.
With those results coming both at home (Portland, Philadelphia) and on the road (Chicago, Montreal) serves as further measure of a success. And the away wins stand out for the beginning of a new trend alongside that ruthlessness: efficiency.
Toronto's three goals on Sunday came from just seven shots on target, Montreal needed six for their single strike.
“In the best of games, both teams end up not getting a ton of chances; you've got to be able to put away yours,” said Vanney after Sunday's win. “We did a reasonable job of that early. At 2-0 we got a little cautious, not as ruthless to get the third goal as I would of liked us to be. At the end we took the [Montreal] goal, which made it interesting.
“But a very quick response, a ruthless response, to get it back to 3-1 and that was the end of the game,” added Vanney. “In very good games, against good opponents, mature opponents, you've got to take your chances. It's the difference in the game.”
Lessons in the other direction have been just as plain. For example, there was the 1-1 draw against Colorado at BMO Field on July 22, when TFC couldn't early lead, opening the door for Dominique Badji's 76th minute equalizer.
That said, there will also be times when the chances aren't as fast and furious. Which made the patience shown early in Toronto's win Sunday just as impressive.
The margin between the two sides in a cautious opening 35 minutes was minimal. Then Sebastian Giovinco stood over a dead ball in the 41st and curled it past Evan Bush.
“It was important for us to stick to what we do, find our moments and take them,” Vanney said.
With the intensity increasing as the playoffs approach, the emphasis on those three priorities – patience, efficient, and ruthless – becomes all the more crucial.
“Games this time of year are tight,” said Michael Bradley. “What may exist in terms of a difference of quality or distance on the table gets erased because every team is fighting for something this time of year: the Supporters Shield, for positioning in the playoffs, to get into the playoffs. The whistle blows and everything goes out the window. The intensity and competitiveness of every team goes up.
“When you have chances to take leads, to get the second goal, the third goal, you have to.”
