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It all comes down to this: Jonathan Osorio and his Toronto FC teammates would love to “get” Club de Foot out of the MLS playoff photo.
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The Club de Foot Montréal, which visits BMO Field for a 401 Derby game on Saturday night, is struggling to stay in the image of the MLS Cup playoffs. The Montreal stream is one point above the MLS playoff line.
TFC, on the other hand, is essentially playing the MLS season with four remaining MLS regular season games, and the Canadian Championship semifinal on November 3 is the team’s number one priority right now.
However, given the heated nature of the rivalry between the two Canadian teams over the years, Osorio said the Reds would love nothing more than to help knock Montreal out of the playoffs with a victory on Saturday.
“The stakes are high for them and we would love to hurt their chances of making the playoffs,” Osorio said Friday. “That definitely adds a bit of an incentive for us. We don’t want our rivals to win anything with us. And they don’t want us to gain anything from them. So sure, that is at stake and we are aware of it. But more than anything, we only want to win for the fans. You always want to beat them no matter what. It is a special match. We want to win for ourselves and the fans because this is a great game. “
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The focus of TFC coach Javier Pérez is trying to win the last four games of the season but more importantly preparing his team for the Canadian Championship semi-final against Pacific FC on November 3. Certainly some of the club’s youngsters – possibly including Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (17) and Jacob Shaffelburg (21) – will start against Montreal, but only because they deserve time on the field based on their recent play.
But no matter who participates in Saturday’s game, it will be a huge challenge for TFC. Montreal won the previous two games against Toronto this season, scoring seven goals, only the second time in rivalry history that Montreal has won back-to-back games against Toronto (October 2015, including the playoffs).
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“Every time we played against them it was a difficult game,” Perez said. “It is a team that plays a 5-2-3. With (Djordje) Mihailovic has quality up and (Joaquín) Torres also, left-handed. And then they’ll take the No. 9 position a little bit. And then the middle one, (Victor) Wanyama, we don’t know if he’ll be there or not. With (Samuel) Piette they have control in the middle. But I think the strength is especially in the back with the three behind, with (Rudy) Camacho and the two full-backs, (Zachary) Brault-Guillard and (Mathieu) Choinière. They are doing a good job. I think (Zorhan) Bassong comes into the picture sometimes. They base their game on being very solid defensively and then have a good transition based on Mihailovic’s ability to control the ball. So we’ll have to be good at home. “
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The Reds have to find a way to keep Montreal off the board early. TFC trailed 2-0 before halftime in a 3-0 loss to Miami on Wednesday beginning with a 10th-minute goal from Federico Higuaín. Toronto’s 27 goals conceded in the first half this season are the majority in MLS, as are its 11 goals allowed in the first 15 minutes of games.
On the other hand, while Montreal came from a goal down to tie at Orlando City on Wednesday, it has won just one of its last 10 away games (four draws and five losses) dating back to June.
Osorio said that given the stakes for Montreal, it will be important for TFC to try to match, or even exceed, Montreal’s energy level on Saturday night.
“I just want to see this team fight, fight for the club,” the Brampton native said. “I care about this club and a lot of people care here. We are disappointed with how the season has gone, of course. It hurt. Stinks. In each game we want to represent this club in the best possible way and represent our fans. So in every game I just want us to fight and try to win games.
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“We have to keep going, keep going to win and try to play in the best possible way, getting opportunities for the youngsters and giving them confidence in the future,” added Osorio. “And also the Canadian Championship is still up for grabs, so we have to wait for it and use these (regular season) games to prepare for the Canadian Championship games. There is still something we are playing for and we have to go ahead and represent this club the way it should be represented. “
Camacho scored his fourth career MLS goal in Montreal’s 1-1 draw with Orlando City on Wednesday. All four goals have come from corners, including both this season assisted by Mihailovic.
IN AND OUT
Perez said Yeferson Soteldo will be out for the Montreal game, having injured his hamstring in Wednesday’s game in Miami, adding that it is unclear how long the Venezuelan international will be out. Pérez hopes to have “all hands at work” for the semifinal of the Canadian Championship on November 3. The coach added that veteran central defender Omar González will also not play Saturday due to a groin injury, but said he is “recovering fast” and will play very soon. However, Gonzalez’s regular baseline partner Chris Mavinga will be available to play against Montreal.
Twitter @Beezersun
Reference-torontosun.com