Without their fans but with a vengeful spirit, the Toronto FC players should come to Saputo Stadium on Saturday to face CF Montreal again. The stakes will be different this time.
The Bleu-Blanc-Noir defeated the “Reds” 2-1 in Tuesday’s quarter-finals of the Canadian Championship. Fortune of the calendar sees Toronto once again be the opponents of the Quebec team, but this time in Major League Soccer (MLS ).
Also read: Canadian Championship: CF Montreal defeats rivals Toronto
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“I don’t think it’s revenge because it’s another competition,” head coach Hernan Losada said at a news conference on Thursday.
“We know Toronto very well and they know us very well. I don’t expect big changes in the teams. It can be a completely different game because we’re playing at home. I don’t know what tactics they will use to come here, but both teams need points.”
Montreal is on a five-game winning streak in all competitions. In MLS, three points could put him in the qualifying zone for the playoffs. Of course it would be nice to see a positive record if CFM had won four games and lost six.
“Now comes the hardest part, which is keeping the pace,” continued Losada. Don’t think that everything is at its best because there are always things to improve. We must not give up and will keep working.
Marathon pace
The next few weeks will be crucial. Players have shown their character by taking control of their season, but the May and June calendar now looks like an endurance race.
“It’s still an important game, not only because it’s played at home against Toronto, but also because we want to keep winning. After Saturday, four of the next five games will be played away from home. It’s a tough program,” Losada said.
In fact, CF Montreal will be on the field about every four days for the next month. The Canadian Championship semi-finals on May 24 against Forge FC and a possible final on June 6 make that schedule quite busy.
“I’m a little disappointed with the schedule because I don’t think it’s normal,” said the Argentinian driver. Playing two games a week for the next three or four weeks is too much. It is and we will try to keep everyone in shape.
Losada doesn’t expect to field the same starting XI in every game. To get everyone a good rest, rotations are necessary. In defence, Joel Waterman will miss Saturday’s game due to a series of yellow cards.