TFC Republic Weekly: May 11-17
Winless in seven games across all competitions, Toronto FC kicks off a six-match road swing this weekend vs. Charlotte FC.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.
This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC, and also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Toronto FC winless in 7 after home loss to Miami
A nine-game homestand that looked promising at the start ended in despair for Toronto FC.
TFC closed out their two-month residence at BMO Field on Saturday with a 4-2 loss to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, a result that moves them a bit closer to seeing their season completely slip away before the calendar even turns to June.
Messi was the man-of-the-match with a goal and a pair of assists all coming in the second half before an announced crowd of 44,828 at BMO Field. Rodrigo De Paul also had a goal and two assists for the reigning MLS Cup champions. The Reds showed plenty of fight in clawing back two goals late in the contest while down 4-0, but the comeback ultimately fell short.
Toronto (3-4-5) is now winless in seven games across all competitions and haven't recorded a victory since April 4. This home stretch didn’t go quite to plan for the Reds – just 11 out of a possible 27 points – and they won't be back at BMO Field until mid-August with their next six contests coming on the road.
Even more worrying is the rate at which TFC are conceding. The Red have gone nine straight games without a clean sheet (and only have one all year) and have given up 24 goals through their first 14 games of the campaign – that’s more than half of the 44 goals they conceded in 34 matches last year.
“We made mistakes that led to goals for them. We made mistakes where we didn't take advantage of our transition. But overall, I thought the work was good. We made it difficult for them to penetrate us. Obviously, as the game goes on, we're pushing and it opens up, but I thought we did a really good job," coach Robin Fraser told reporters after the loss.
John Molinaro
Fraser questions pair of non-calls by the referee
Robin Fraser was miffed at two non-calls from the referee on Saturday, one that led to Miami's second goal, and the other when Derrick Etienne Jr appeared to be fouled inside the box and no penalty kick was given.
In the 56th minute, Luis Suárez slotted a pass from Lionel Messi past Luka Gavran to make it 2-0 after the Argentinian latched onto a one-touch feed from Rodrigo De Paul.
The goal wasn’t without controversy as Edwards was down injured inside his box after being fouled and he kept the South Americans onside. While Toronto wanted Miami to kick the ball into touch, the visitors showed the hosts no mercy.
“I feel really hard done because Raheem was clearly fouled outside our box, a yellow-card foul at that [and the referee] lets it go,” Fraser said.
“And then the player who is now hurt, is the player who keeps them onside for the second goal. And then Raheem has to come off five minutes later. So, I feel really hard done by some of the calls. But I do admit that we made mistakes that led to our own undoing — turnovers for the most part. But the thing that’s really going to stick in my craw is those two calls. It’s mind-blowing to me.”
John Molinaro
TFC would love to see more of Antone Bossenberry
By all accounts, Antone Bossenberry has a bright future ahead of himself and barring unforeseen circumstances he’ll eventually be signed to an MLS contract by Toronto FC. But it might take a little longer for the TFC 2 midfielder to graduate to MLS even though he recently made his debut for the senior team.
“He's certainly not ‘ready, ready’ yet, but he's certainly a player who is really coming on and we're really excited about. And I would say he's definitely ready to contribute minutes, but this is a player that we certainly are intrigued by and would love to see more of,” Robin Fraser said last week.
Bossenberry, a Toronto native, was signed to a short-term contract for the Reds’ home game vs. Atlanta United on April 25 and saw his first action for the MLS club when he was subbed on in the 72nd minute of a 2-1 loss. In doing so, Bossenberry became the seventh player to debut for the Reds this season. He's also the eighth youngest player in club history (17 years, eight months and 12 days) to play for Toronto.
The youngster came off the bench again (for 14 minutes) in a 1-1 home draw vs. the San Jose Earthquakes. He then earned his first start for the senior team when he went the full 90 minutes in last week's 3-1 defeat to Atlético Ottawa in the Canadian Championship.
Per MLS rules, a team can sign any player (age 25 or younger) from its MLS NEXT Pro affiliate to a maximum of four short-term contracts (up to four-day contracts, maximum of 16 days) during the MLS season. However, those players can't appear in more than two MLS matches. Bossenberry has already played in two MLS matches this season, which means he can’t play again for Toronto FC in league action in 2026, unless he’s signed to a first-team contract.
“Tony's done really well for us. He had a very good pre-season [with the first team]. He really grew in the six weeks of pre-season. You could see in the very beginning, it took a while for him to catch [up to the] speed of play, and by the end, I thought he fit right in. Certainly, in these last three games, he's come in, and he's given us some really good moments,” Fraser said.
John Molinaro
TFC vs. Charlotte FC on Saturday
Toronto FC begins a six-match road swing when it visits Charlotte FC on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET/TSN & Apple TV).
Charlotte (4-5-3) sits seventh in the Eastern Conference, just two spots and one point above Toronto. The Crown are coming off a come-from-behind 2-2 home draw vs. FC Cincinnati this past weekend to snap a three-game losing skid. Charlotte's previous win came on April 18.
Spanish midfielder Pep Biel has been Charlotte's main attacking catalyst this season, as he lead the team in goals (six) and goal contributions (10). English midfielder Ashley Westwood is Charlotte's top playmaker with five assists, while Israeli forward Idan Toklomati has chipped in with four goals. Croatian goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina has started all 12 games with one clean sheet.
Before hosting Toronto on Saturday, Charlotte will welcome New York City FC to Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday night.
This weekend's match is the first of two meetings during the regular season between Toronto and Charlotte. They'll meet again on Aug. 19 at BMO Field.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Deandre Kerr recently joined a special group of by players in TFC history by appearing in his 100th MLS game for the club. The young Canadian recently spoke about reaching that milestone and his goals for this season. Look for my feature story on Kerr in the coming days.
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- A feature story on Robin Fraser's connection to Bruce Arena.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" news stories throughout the week.
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. Charlotte FC.
- An audio interview piece with reporter Sam Spencer of Soccer Sheet ahead of Saturday's road game.
- The return of the reader mailbag.
- The weekly Random Thoughts column.
- The weekly TFC 2 report.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic will feature a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.
I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.
TFC Republic subscribers can get up to a 25% discount on ticket prices for Toronto FC home games during the 2026 MLS regular season and the 2026 Canadian Championship.
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TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.
