TFC Republic Weekly: May 19-25
Can Toronto FC build upon its historic win in Montreal and keep the momentum going this week when it hosts Nashville?
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 earns big win in derby vs. CF Montreal
Who saw this coming?
A Toronto FC side who endured a terrible few weeks that included a premature exit from the Canadian Championship bounced back in a big way with a historic 6-1 win over archrivals CF Montreal at Stade Saputo on Saturday.
Federico Bernardeschi had two goals and a pair of assists in a man of the match showing against the hosts who played a man down when Joel Waterman was red carded in the 21st minute. Substitute Theo Corbeanu also had a brace on his birthday, Ola Brynhildsen scored his first goal for the Reds, and Tyrese Spicer netted his first of the campaign.
Two TFC players haven't bagged a brace in the same match since Alejandro Pozuelo and Jordan Hamilton scored in a 4-3 win over Minnesota United on April 19, 2019.
Toronto (3-7-4) exacted a measure of revenge following its elimination from the Canadian Championship at the hands of Montreal (1-9-4) last month. The Reds lost two of their next three MLS games after exiting the cup competition, so coach Robin Fraser will hope that this dominant effort can lead to similar displays going forward.
"The biggest thing for me is commitment. And from the very beginning we looked like we were up for it. ... We need the entire group. And what I want them to remember from today is the commitment level that we had from the very beginning," Fraser told reporters after Saturday's win.
John Molinaro
Petretta, Franklin out injured for a few weeks
Toronto FC just can't seem to get healthy.
Defender Nicksoen Gomis is expected to miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon earlier this month. Midfielder Marcus Cimermancic (lower body) suffered a setback last week and was ruled out for this past weekend's trip to Montreal. And there's still no firm timeline as to when forward Deandre Kerr (ankle) will return.
If all of that wasn't bad enough, fullbacks Raoul Petretta and Kobe Franklin both suffered ankle injuries in last week's loss against FC Cincinnati. Petretta was subbed out in the 20th minute. Franklin came on in his place before being subbed off just 16 minutes later. Robin Fraser revealed last Friday that both players are expected to be out for several weeks.
Petretta has made 10 MLS appearances this season, making nine starts while logging 734 minutes. Franklin has been limited to just 69 minutes across four league games.
The good news for Toronto is that captain Jonathan Osorio is close to returning. Osorio dislocated his shoulder in the first half of TFC's loss to CF Montreal in the Canadian Championship on April 30. He ended up missing the Reds' next four MLS matches.
"He's been training this week with the brace on his shoulder and is just kind of getting back into it. But he looks really sharp," Fraser said.
Wingback Richie Laryea (hamstring) is expected to be back by the end of the month. He's been out since March 1.
"Richie's doing really well," Fraser said. "Watching him move, it's exciting. We haven't seen Richie run in a long time and he looks really sharp. It will take some time for him to get back into it but he's certainly on the way back.
John Molinaro
TFC vs. Nashville SC on Saturday
Toronto FC returns to action when it hosts Nashville SC at BMO Field on Saturday (7:30 pm. ET/Apple TV & TSN).
Nashville (7-4-3) sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, nine spots and 11 points above Toronto, and is unbeaten in its last five MLS matches (with three wins). They're also unbeaten in their last six in all competitions.
B. J. Callaghan's team is coming off a 0-0 home draw vs. D.C. United this past weekend, a result that the former U.S. national team coach wasn't too happy about.
"[D.C.] made it difficult to play tonight, and they have a lot of numbers behind the ball. So, you're in a pretty combative game that there wasn't a lot of space," Callaghan said.
He later added: "We weren't clean with the ball. We missed a few passes, a couple balls got blocked. I just think from the beginning to the end we could have probably executed a little better."
The Tennessee-based-club will be on short rest when it faces Toronto due to a midweek U.S. Open Cup match on Wednesday away to fellow MLS side Orlando City.
Nashville leads the all-time series against Toronto (including playoffs) with four wins and three draws in nine matches
This will be the first of two regular season games between Toronto and Nashville. The clubs will meet again on July 19 at Geodis Park.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
TFC 2 forward Dekwon Barrow made his senior team debut last month when he started for the Reds in their home loss to CF Montreal in the Canadian Championship. Even though he didn't score, the 21-year-old prospect had a pretty solid outing and showed why the club is so high on him. I recently chatted one-on-one with Barrow about his debut for the first team and his goals for the future. Look for my feature story in the coming days.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- A TFC notebook column after Tuesday or Wednesday's training session.
- A feature story on Ola Brynhildsen.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. Nashville SC.
- An audio interview piece with Ben Wright of SixOneFive Soccer ahead of Saturday's home game vs. Nashville.
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- The reader mailbag.
- The weekly TFC 2 report.
- A news story on the latest Canadian women's team roster.
- 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.
(Top photo courtesy of Casey Telford)
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.
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