Toronto FC is showing some steely resolve after years of being a pushover, and the way things are going, that could make the difference for the Canadian club in terms of qualifying for the 2026 MLS post-season.
One of the reasons why TFC has failed to make the MLS playoffs since 2020 was a consistent lack of a killer instinct. A mental fragility has plagued this franchise over the last five years — as evidenced by the way it easily folded in games and its complete lack of backbone to fight when things got tough. But the Reds appear to have firmly turned a corner and now show a fighting spirit that could see them end their playoff drought.
Saturday’s 1-1 home draw vs. the San Jose Earthquakes was just the latest example of Toronto’s new mentality being on full display as it collected a point amidst a major injury crisis.
Unavailable for Toronto on the day were winger Theo Corbeanu (knee); defenders Benjamin Kuscevic (groin), Nicksoen Gomis (Achilles) and Henry Wingo (thigh); fullbacks Matheus Pereira (groin) and Richie Laryea (thigh); DP Djordje Mihailovic (pelvis) and fellow midfielder José Cifuentes (knee); and DP Josh Sargent (thigh) and fellow forward Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (groin).
An 11th player was added to the injury list when centre back Lazar Stefanovic (making his first start of the season) limped off the pitch with an apparent lower-body issue late in the first half and headed straight back to the locker room. He was subbed off at the start of the second half.
How bad was TFC’s injury situation on Saturday? So bad that four players from their TFC 2 reserve team — defender Micah Chisholm (who subbed on for Stefanovic), midfielders Antone Bossenberry and Fletcher Bank, and forward Jahmarie Nolan — were signed to short-term contracts for the match just so that coach Robin Fraser could completely fill out his team sheet.
“There have been so many different types of injuries this year. I think it’s inexplicable, to be quite honest. I don’t have an answer. I don’t have an explanation,” Fraser said.
“We certainly want to get guys healthy as quickly as possible and get our full roster back together, but it’s been a difficult one for sure.”
Still, Toronto managed to go toe-to-toe with San Jose, which arrived in town sitting atop the overall MLS standings and having won six games in a row. Short on manpower against the league’s best team, TFC overcame due to an abundance of character.
“This team has, for a while now, been a group that you can always rely on to fight. And always they’re going to put in a really good shift,” Fraser said.
“When we play with that sort of urgency, and that sort of effort, we’re difficult to play against. I was really proud of the manner in which we approached the game and the manner in which we played. It was efficient, it was pragmatic and out of that we were able to create some good chances.”
What’s been especially encouraging for Toronto is the way depth players have stepped up. In recent weeks, fullback Kobe Franklin scored the first two goals of his MLS career, forward Emilio Aristizábal bagged his first goal for the club and winger Malik Henry has looked lively and shown he is ready to take on more responsibility.
Midfielder Markus Cimermancic was in the starting 11 against San Jose and hardly looked overwhelmed despite his lack of playing time — it was his first appearance for the club since last October and only his fourth career start. The native of Kitchener, Ont., provided the Reds with a solid presence in the midfield and made a crafty move and timely pass to help set up teammate Dániel Sallói’s opening goal.
“It’s just tough to break in. And when you get your opportunity, what are you going to do with it? And I felt like he took it and really ran with it today. … He’s been waiting for a long time, and he’s been training really well, and he’s earned this opportunity and I thought he did quite well with it,” Fraser said.
With no relief in sight to this injury crisis, Toronto will need more performances like the one Cimermancic provided and will have to continue to rely on its character if it has any hope of survival.
Elsewhere in MLS this weekend…
• It was back to losing ways for CF Montreal, which came out on the wrong end of a 3-1 decision at Atlanta United on Saturday. The loss dropped Montreal (3-7-0) into second-last place in the Eastern Conference and halted a modest two-game winning streak under interim coach Philippe Eullaffroy, who took over for the recently fired Marco Donadel. English midfielder Matty Longstaff opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but it was downhill for the visitors after that as Saba Lobjanidze scored a pair of goals to pace Atlanta to the comeback win.
• The Vancouver Whitecaps kicked off a nine-game road swing with a 1-1 draw vs. the LA Galaxy on Saturday. Down 1-0, Vancouver (8-1-1) took a share of the points on offer when Mathias Laborda scored a header in the 82nd minute off a free-kick delivery to the back post by Sebastian Berhalter. The draw allowed the Whitecaps, off to their best start in MLS in club history, to extend their unbeaten streak to five games (four draws) and retain their hold on second place in the Western Conference.
• It was a comeback of the ages by Orlando City vs. Inter Miami in Saturday’s Florida Derby. Miami jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 33 minutes before the hometown crowd with Lionel Messi notching his eighth goal of the season. But Orlando scored four consecutive goals to record an amazing comeback win in a game that saw Canadian national team goalkeepers Dayne St. Clair and Maxime Crépeau go head-to-head.
Editor’s note
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.