MLS Toronto FC

Toronto FC (1) - Montreal Impact (0) Post-Match Summar

Published on October 15, 2017 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Toronto FC News Release


TORONTO FC (1) - MONTREAL IMPACT (0) POST-MATCH SUMMARY

SCORING SUMMARY

TFC - Jozy Altidore 16'

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

MTL - Hassoun Camara 23' (Caution)

TFC - Michael Bradley 26' (Caution)

MTL - Blerim Dzemaili 29' (Caution)

MTL - Maxime Crépeau 45' + 3' (Caution)

MTL - Víctor Cabrera 59' (Caution)

TFC - Benoit Cheyrou 90' (Caution)

RECORDS

Toronto FC: 20-5-8 68 pts.

Montreal Impact: 11-16-6 39 pts.

LINEUPS

TORONTO FC - Alex Bono; Eriq Zavaleta (Jonathan Osorio 70'), Drew Moor, Chris Mavinga; Nicholas Hasler (Steven Beitashour 75'), Markey Delgado, Michael Bradley ©, Victor Vazquez, Justin Morrow; Jozy Altidore (Benoit Cheyrou 86'), Sebastian Giovinco

Substitutes Not Used: Clint Irwin, Reaheem Edwards, Armando Cooper, Tosaint Ricketts

MONTREAL IMPACT - Maxime Crépeau; Hassoun Camara, Laurent Ciman, Víctor Cabrera, Shaun Francis; Samuel Piette, Hernán Bernardello (Patrice Bernier 71'), Andrés Romero, Blerim Dzemaili, Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla (Michael Salazar 62'); Matteo Mancosu (Dominic Oduro 78')

Substitutes Not Used: Evan Bush, Deian Boldor, Louis Beland-Goyette, Shamit Shome

MEDIA NOTE:

With tonight's victory, Toronto FC ties the MLS all-time record for points in the regular season with 68, tying the 1998 LA Galaxy. In addition, the win ties Toronto FC for the MLS regular season wins record in the post-shootout era with 20, tying the 2014 Seattle Sounders

GREG VANNEY - HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC

Thoughts on the game? I thought we had some good moments, and some not so good moments. I thought it lacked some continuity, I thought we weren't as sharp as we'd like to be. I knew some of that was possible, given that we haven't been together as a group for some time. A lot of guys coming back from different places, whether it was international duty or injury or different things. That's why I said these next two games were going to be very important and these next two or three weeks were going to be important, because it is about establishing that continuity again and linking up some of the timing of things. We were just off a little bit, missed some passes, missed the timing, some things like that. We made some silly errors, that put us under some pressure. It was probably the strangest 1-0 game that I've ever been a part of, it could have easily been 6-5 or something like that. For us to get a shutout that game is interesting and fortunate. Good hard work, all things combined, but we also could have put a couple in on the other side. It's about getting sharper over the next couple weeks.

Seba really wanted a goal today, what did you think of his performance? One of the big things tonight for Seba was getting 90 minutes, working through it, building up his match fitness, getting his legs underneath him and us getting him as much touches as possible just to work through. It's been a little while since he has played a match. He put in a lot of work. At some point he deserved to get a goal but it didn't fall for him. It's about remaining optimistic and keep pushing forward. I think for us to get him 90 minutes today will help him get his legs underneath him and obviously we have two weeks to push that.

You tied that league record that your 98 Galaxy set, with still one game to go... It is a nice feather in the cap for the group of guys who have worked very hard this year. They have set out goals in front of them and they keep attaining them and keep pushing forward as a group to get to them. It's been nice for this group to have. They want to create a form of legacy for themselves and to be able to set history, and things like this are great talking points. I think they also have their eyes focused on the playoffs and lifting the MLS cup. If we can get the next one it is going to be a product of us focusing on our performance, each and every day, coming out and trying to be the best team we can be on the day and do what we need to do to win games. We have done that throughout the good chunk of the year and we are going to try to keep on doing that throughout the playoffs.

JOZY ALTIDORE - FORWARD, TORONTO FC

Thoughts on the game.

It was a weird game. Conditions didn't really help out. It was a tough game for everyone, them included. Good teams find a way to win and we found a way to get three points.

Have you been able to step back from what's happened this week as far as international play and focus back on the club?

It has been one of the toughest periods of my life. The darkest three days, I didn't really leave the house or do anything. But then I remember I'm in a special place and quickly I'm reminded just going to get a coffee and seeing somebody in a TFC shirt and hear them say how much it means to them how how well the team's done and I'm just reminded how special the club and the city are and the opportunity that I have. I was lucky to be able to bounce back and go out there and represent the city well and keep these fans happy and I thought we did that with the three points.

Was there an extra jolt tonight in Toronto?

Yeah, a little bit. Every time we play here it's amazing. The support we get is great. You look at all the other MLS teams and around the world it's slowly introducing itself and the fans are terrific here. It definitely gives you an extra jolt of energy.

ALEX BONO - GOALKEEPER, TORONTO FC

Thoughts on the game.

It was good. For me, I'm not too focused on the record and that sort of thing. I'm focused on getting the team ready for the playoffs and getting our form back. That's what we're after.

How did it feel when you made that big one on one save?

It's good. Sometimes goalkeepers have to make saves like that. Couple of them were making up for my own mistakes. I'm just trying to save myself as well as the guys in front of me.

What were the conditions like, especially in the first half?

The winds were a little strong. As we progress later into the season we are going to face conditions like that or even worse. It's good to have those conditions now so we can prepare and see how they are and see how the field reacts to it. It was good for us playing in conditions like that especially against it in the first half and had to play ourselves into the game and obviously a little easier in the second half with the wind at our backs.

MAURO BIELLO - HEAD COACH, MONTREAL IMPACT

Did you think your team deserved a better fate? Yeah, I think so, I think we played a good game, we created chances, I think that we played well enough to get some goals there; we had the double post, Matteo (Mancosu) in alone twice, in the end you have to take your chances. On their first goal there was a clear foul on Matteo and it went the other way and they ended up scoring but overall we defended well, we forced turnovers in good areas for us and we were able to put them on their heels.

Do you think justice was done when the second penalty was saved? Well I don't know if it was justice but in the end he decided to make the call because he felt (Maxime) Crepéau moved early but you could also argue that Sebastian (Giovinco) walked up and stopped and then continued. In the end, he made the call, we got the lucky break on the second one. In the end we pushed, the players fought, and I think that's what was important.

SAMUEL PIETTE - MIDFIELDER, MONTREAL IMPACT

Thoughts on the game... I think we played very well today, it was a good effort from everybody. They had their chance, we had our chances. We had very good chances that we should have finished and I think the result could have been a tie for us today but sometimes football is not fair and today we leave with zero points.

On missing some key pieces today... It's easy to say that Jackson could have finished tonight but sometimes the ball just doesn't want to go in. Matteo (Mancosu) had some good chances but maybe today just wasn't his day on the finishing side. We had some good chances as well with Victor (Cabrera) on the shot that hit two posts. Obviously with missing Anthony (Jackson-Hamel) and Nacho (Ignacio Piatti), these are key players for us, but I think the guys that played today did a very good job and I think that we should be proud of our performance today.

Thoughts on teams academy and the future of Canadian soccer? I think it is looking very good. We have seen a lot of Canadian players in the MLS, a lot of players coming from the academy, I know in Montreal we have a very good system with the Montreal Impact academy, good prospects, so I think it is looking very bright for the future.

TORONTO FOOTBALL CLUB

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