Historically, it hasn’t been particularly important to have a glance at the standings ahead of meetings between Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew. What enmity existed between the two fan bases, and the rivalry it engendered, had much more to do with a perceived culture clash exacerbated by the, by MLS standards, relatively close proximity of the homes of the two clubs. That tension has ebbed over the years and now merely lingers, like a vestigial tail, in the never-more-than-preposterous Trillium Cup foisted upon the clubs by overzealous marketers.
This time, finally, it’s the Eastern Conference table that takes pre-eminence.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It’s still early days -- though maybe not too early to start perceiving the first outlines of the 2014 playoff race -- but the Crew currently occupy the fifth and final playoff position. Just a couple spots below, and a few points back, lurk Toronto FC. There is every possibility that at the end of the season the Crew will be one of the clubs that TFC is directly competing with as they attempt to secure a first ever playoff appearance.
As has been pointed out for weeks, TFC’s relative performance to date is obscured by the ridiculous difference in games played in the season’s opening months. Against the Crew, however, the math is simple: with a win Toronto would equal Columbus in points, and overtake the Crew in the standings based on the necessary swing in goal differential. Still with three games in hand (and an incredible FIVE against other near rival New York) it would be a massive psychological boost for the Reds and their fans to see the team make clear progress up the table ahead of the quickly approaching World Cup break.
Fortunately for Toronto, they seem to have caught the Crew at the right time. Gregg Berhalter’s hot start as Crew head coach ended with Toronto’s victory in Columbus back in early April and his team lurched into a long winless run. While the Crew finally broke that streak last weekend with a win over Chicago, their star player Federico Higuain picked up a yellow card and will now be suspended for the match in Toronto. So often the tormenter of Reds’ defenses in the past the Argentine attacker is virtually irreplaceable for the Crew and his absence is hard to overstate.
For Toronto, the story of their absentees has been reversed since the clubs’ last meeting. In April it was Jermain Defoe who was out with an injury while Michael Bradley had a man-of-the-match performance and scored the winning goal. Bradley, of course, is away for the World Cup with the American national team and the hope will be that Defoe, held out of the midweek Canadian Championship match versus Montreal in preparation for the weekend, can be just as influential Saturday.
Head coach Ryan Nelsen took a risk against the Impact by resting a number of the Reds’ regulars beyond Defoe and the expectation will be that Mark Bloom and Justin Morrow will also be returning to their regular positions on the flanks of Toronto’s defense. With Steven Caldwell suspended who Nelsen elects to start between them remains to be seen. Bradley Orr and Nick Hagglund both had excellent games deputizing for Caldwell and Doneil Henry in Columbus, and are the most likely combination unless Henry’s performance against Montreal was enough to earn him another start.
The domino effect of moving Orr back from the midfield position he has occupied for the last few matches would be leaving a new hole there to be filled. That’s the job Collen Warner was brought in to do but, per the Twitter feed of Sportsnet’s John Molinaro, he’ll be unavailable due to a longstanding family commitment. Kyle Bekker had a poor performance in Kansas City and was substituted early but with Jonathan Osorio apparently ready for a return to action it’s probably a straight choice between him and Jeremy Hall, who he replaced in the second half Wednesday, for the other spot in central midfield.
When Toronto FC has been successful so far in 2014 the recipe has been simple: solid defense that gives a platform for their best players to be the difference makers. It certainly hasn’t been pretty but that’s the formula they’ll likely hope to replicate Saturday. If it works again, they’ll be ahead of the Crew by the end of the weekend and, still in the first third of the season, be within one win of their entire win total from a season ago. Critique it however you want, but that’s progress.
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