By Canadian Press

Toronto FC in hostile territory as it looks for first road win of the MLS season

Jun 23, 2023 | 9:29 AM

After losing 3-0 midweek at league-leading FC Cincinnati, Toronto FC finds itself in equally hostile territory Saturday when it visits New England.

Cincinnati (13-1-4) entered the MLS record books with Wednesday’s victory, tying the 2002 San Jose Earthquakes in winning the first 10 home games of the season. Now Toronto (3-6-10) faces a New England Revolution side that has yet to lose at Gillette Stadium in nine games this season (6-0-3).

New England, wrapping up a homestand that has already produced 3-1 victories over both Inter Miami and Orlando City, will set a club record for the longest home undefeated streak to open a season if it wins Saturday. The Revs (9-3-6) also went undefeated for the first nine home games in both 2005 and 2015.

“It’s good. I would trade one of those draws for a win,” New England coach Bruce Arena said when asked about his team’s undefeated run at home. “I think the most important thing is getting maximum points at home so we’ve fallen short there. But it’s been obviously a positive venue for us up to date.”

New England has won two straight, is unbeaten in five games and did not play midweek. It has scored three goals in each of its last three home wins.

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The Revs are outscoring opponents 21-8 in league play at home. New England, which stands third in the Supporters’ Shield standings, ranks fourth in MLS with 31 goals scored, averaging 2.33 goals per game

New England captain Carles Gil has five goals and four assists in his last seven games, including two goals and three assists in the last two home games.

“They’re a good team and they are especially difficult to play against in their stadium,” said Toronto coach Bob Bradley. “The (artificial) turf, they adapt well. Some good players. They go forward in good ways. Some dangerous attackers. So for us, a big test against a good team.”

Saturday’s match completes a trio of games for Toronto against the league’s top teams. TFC tied visiting Nashville, which stands second overall in the league, 1-1 on June 10. 

The loss in Cincinnati ended a four-game unbeaten run for Toronto (1-0-3). But Bradley’s team has won just two of its last 16 games in all competitions (2-6-8).

And yet Toronto, despite sitting 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference, is just four points out of a playoff berth.

TFC had 63.8 per cent possession against Cincinnati but was outshot 14-11 (7-4 in shots on target) and managed a team XG (expected goals) of just 0.7 compared to 2.4 for Cincinnati.

Midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye sees positives but knows they have to be turned into points.

“It’s never been far way from getting things right,” he said of his team’s play. “We’re at the point now where we show a lot of good moments but good moments aren’t enough to win us games. We have to put the ball in the back of the net. We need to be a little bit more clean. We need to see passes. We need to see openings. We need to make runs to the net.

“We need to be more determined and ruthless in our ability to score goals because possession, yeah, it’s great. You get to keep the ball, you don’t maybe run as much. But at the end of the day it’s about goals. And we’re not going to win games unless we score goals. And that’s a full team effort.”

Toronto has scored 17 goals in 19 games.

Both teams go into the game with depleted rosters.

Fullback Richie Laryea and midfielder Jonathan Osorio have left Toronto to rejoin Canada for the Gold Cup. Starting goalkeepers Sean Johnson and backup Tomas Romero were already with the U.S. and El Salvador, respectively.

Midfielders Michael Bradley and Victor Vazquez and forwards Adama Diomande and Hugo Mbongue are out injured.

Third-string ‘keeper Greg Ranjitsingh gets the start for the second game in a row. The 29-year-old, making his first MLS start since September 2020, looked a little nervy in the opening minutes against Cincinnati but went on to make some good saves.

Defenders Matt Hedges, Raoul Petretta and Kobe Franklin and midfielder Alonso Coello are listed as questionable.

Petretta and Franklin both left the midweek game early with Petretta suffering from a stomach ailment and Franklin aggravating a shoulder issue after falling awkwardly. Coello, a 23-year-old Spaniard who has impressed in his rookie season, has been out since suffering an injury in a May 9 Canadian Championship loss to CF Montreal.

New England will be without defender DeJuan Jones, who is away with the U.S. national team. But goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic is back from international duty with Serbia.

Dylan Borrero, Nacho Gil, Henry Kessler, Brazil’s Maciel, Christian Makoun and Tommy McNamara are out injured for the Revs.

New England won 2-0 when the teams met at BMO Field on May 6 and holds a 10-4-6 edge at home in the all-time series against TFC. But Toronto is undefeated in its last four visits to Gillette Stadium (2-0-2) and hasn’t lost there in more than five years.

Road wins have been hard to come by for Toronto of late, however.

TFC is 0-5-4 on the road in league play this season and has won just four of 43 matches (4-28-11) away from home since the start of the 2021 season. Toronto has collected just 23 out of a possible 129 points away from home during that time period, the fewest among MLS teams that have taken part in the last three seasons.

In need of goalkeepers, Toronto signed Gianluca Catalano on Friday to a short-term MLS Next Pro contract for TFC II. Catalano will be added to the club’s roster pending league and federation approval. The 23-year-old most recently played for Vaughan Azzurri of League1 Ontario.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press