TFC Republic Weekly: May 5-11

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 serenaded by boos after latest home loss 

May is going to be a make-or-break month for Toronto FC’s regular season. And early evidence suggests this month is going to break it.   

Knocked out of the Canadian Championship by bitter rivals CF Montreal, TFC capped off a week to forget with a 2-0 defeat to the New England Revolution at BMO Field on Saturday. A shorthanded TFC side that was decimated by injuries put forth their worst display of the campaign, highlighted by a feeble attack that barely tested Revolution goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič.   

Loud choruses of boos rang throughout BMO Field during the game and again after referee Tori Penso blew the final whistle to mercifully put fans out of their misery.

A throng of fans in one of the supporters’ sections in the south end stands staged a silent protest at the start of the match before abandoning their seats and walking out in the 11th minute after the Revolution's early goal. Before leaving they unfurled two banners that read, “Accept existence or expect resistance” and “This badge don’t belong to you.”  

As a result, there was a funereal atmosphere inside the stadium, as clear an indication as any that the team’s fanbase is frustrated.

"What can we say to the fans to look for to give them hope? I think this is a group that when we are engaged, we can compete, and when we're engaged, we keep ourselves in games. We have not been as sharp in front of the goals we need to be, and it will get better. We know it'll get better. We work at it. We're working on a lot of these situations,” Robin Fraser said. 

No end in sight to TFC's home woes 

Saturday's defeat means Toronto (1-6-4) is winless in nine consecutive home games. 

The Reds haven't won at BMO Field since earning a 2-1 decision over Austin FC on Sept. 14, 2024, when John Herdman was still in charge. Toronto has not scored in MLS action at home in 439 minutes, dating back to Deandre Kerr's goal on March 15 in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire. 

TFC have six more games this month, five of which are at home.  

"We wanted to start the month of May with a lot of games at home winning, and this is not the start that we wanted this month to be. I think in order to look at that big picture, you have to try and know for sure what you're trying to do and base your analysis in terms of that," midfielder Alonso Coello said. 

Reds dealing with a rash of injuries 

Toronto was missing eight injured players on Saturday: captain Jonathan Osorio, defenders Richie Laryea, Zane Monlouis and Henry Wingo, midfielders Derrick Etienne Jr. and Markus Cimermancic, backup goalkeeper Luka Gavran, and Deandre Kerr. With so many players ruled out due to injury, the club signed TFC 2 midfielder Michael Sullivan to a short-term agreement for this match.   

Osorio is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks with a partially dislocated shoulder that he suffered last week in the loss to CF Montreal. 

"I don't want to make it sound like a pity party. It is what it is, and we are where we are, and we still have an obligation to compete, and that certainly won't change," Robin Fraser said of TFC's injury woes. 

Things went from bad to worse for TFC early in the second half vs. New England when Nicksoen Gomis, who just returned from an injury spell, suffered a serious non-contact injury when he crashed to the pitch in a heap in the 66th. The French defender had to be carried off the pitch and back to the locker room by several members of the training staff.   

"Because I haven't spoken directly to [the trainers] yet, I don't want to say, but I don't think it's very good. In fact, I think it's quite bad," Fraser said when asked about Gomis' condition after the game. 

Ola Brynhildsen has struggled with fitness and injury issues since signing on loan prior to the start of the season. The Norwegian striker started on Saturday but had to be subbed out at half time and was replaced by Tyrese Spicer. 

"He's being monitored, so I guess you could say it’s still injury related," Fraser said. 

Likewise, Sigurd Rosted went off injured at halftime and fellow centre back Kevin Long sat on the bench because he's dealing with a fitness issue. 

TFC vs. D.C. United on Saturday    

Toronto FC returns to action when it hosts D.C. United on Saturday (4:30 pm. ET/Apple TV). 

D.C. (3-5-3) occupies 12th place in the Eastern Conference, two spots and five points above Toronto in the table.   

After going winless in five matches, the Black and Red have two wins in their last three outings, including a 2-1 decision at home over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Christian Benteke and Hosei Kijima both scored in first half injury time to propel D.C. to the come-from-behind victory.  

“When you go down one-nil and you’ve had the better of the chances and the better of the game, and you’ve been in a difficult spot five out of the last six weeks, it would be easy for the group to roll over. And so, when you talk about grit, relentlessness, determination, being resilient, our group just displayed that,” coach Troy Lesesne said.  

D.C. leads the all-time MLS regular season series against Toronto with 18 wins and 13 draws in 43 games.

This will be the final meeting of the regular season between Toronto and D.C. The clubs played to a 2-2 draw at Audi Field on Feb. 22 on opening day of the 2025 MLS campaign. 

RELATED READING: Newsletter || Features || Match reports || Opinion || Q&As || Videos || News || Transactions || TFC 2 ||

Stories to look out for at TFC Republic 

Kosi Thompson has emerged as a regular contributor for Toronto FC under Robin Fraser. The fourth-year pro floated in and out of the starting 11 since making his MLS debut in 2022. But this season, Thompson has appeared in nine of TFC's 11 games with seven starts as he's filled in at the right fullback position. I'll have a special feature story on Thompson 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. 
• In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. D.C. United.  
• An audio interview piece with Steven Goff of The Washington Post ahead of Saturday's home game vs. D.C. United.
• A new TFC Random Thoughts column. 
• 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. 
• Post-game coverage of AFC Toronto's match vs. Vancouver Rise FC.
• 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 Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)

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.