MLS Toronto FC

Toronto Fc (2) â€Â" Columbus Sc (0) Post Game Summary

Published on May 12, 2021 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Toronto FC News Release


SCORING SUMMARY

TFC - Michael Bradley 13'

TFC - Jozy Altidore 87' (Omar González)

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

TFC - Marky Delgado 46' (caution)

TFC - Alex Bono 54' (caution)

CLB - Aboubacar Keita 89' (caution)

CLB - Jonathan Mensah 90'+2' (caution)

TFC - Jozy Altidore 90'+3' (caution)

RECORDS

Toronto FC 1-2-1 4 points

Columbus SC 1-1-2 5 points

LINEUPS

TORONTO FC - Alex Bono; Auro Jr., Omar González, Chris Mavinga, Richie Laryea; Michael Bradley (C), Ralph Priso, Marky Delgado (Tsubasa Endoh 77'), Nick DeLeon (Patrick Mullins 62'), Yeferson Soteldo (Kemar Lawrence 64'); Ayo Akinola (Jozy Altidore 62')

Substitutes Not Used: Quentin Westberg, Eriq Zavaleta, Jayden Nelson, Noble Okello, Jacob Shaffelburg

COLUMBUS SC - Eloy Room; Saad Abdul-Salaam (Harrison Afful 65'), Jonathan Mensah (C), Vito Wormgoor, Waylon Francis (Aboubacar Keita 46'); Isaiah Parente, Darlington Nagbe, Luis Díaz, Lucas Zelarayán (Miguel Berry 89'), Alexandru MăÈ›an (Bradley Wright-Phillips 73'); Gyasi Zardes

Substitutes Not Used: Evan Bush, Grant Lillard

MEDIA NOTES:

Yeferson Soteldo made his first start for Toronto FC.

Kemar Lawrence made his debut for Toronto FC.

Jozy Altidore scored his 75th goal for Toronto FC in all competitions. He is second to Sebastian Giovinco (83) on TFC's all-time goals list.

Alex Bono recorded his TFC 30th clean sheet for Toronto FC in all competitions. He is the club's all-time leader in shutouts.

Chris Armas earned his first MLS victory as coach of Toronto FC.

CHRIS ARMAS - HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC

Q. Congratulations on your first win in the League at the TFC home.

Appreciate that.

Q. You had said in the lead-up to the game that you wanted to reward for your team's work and to minimize errors. It seemed you got that in a terrific team effort tonight.

Yeah, it's it was so good to see. And I've seen what's going on around here on the inside in training, the commitment from guys, the real togetherness. The energy in training yesterday was incredible and you almost sensed it was coming in terms of a win. Even tonight when you talk about, yeah, for them getting the reward here, Alejandro Pozuelo and guys in the stands urging things along, and Eriq Zavaleta, some of these guys really pulling for each other because it's important that we get going here with some points and a victory and you see many guys come into the match. Tsubasa we thought was excellent and Jozy, Kemar gets some first minutes. This was really a complete testimony performance and yeah we're just going to try to put some good performances together and get the rewards.

Q. Can you just talk a little about just the way Michael Bradley has stepped up this season, and tonight in particular, and just how nice it was for you to see Jozy score?

You know, Jozy, his energy around the team, the way he pushes guys, the way he pushes young players, it's a beautiful thing on the inside because I get to see it up close here.

But then, you know, he's a leader around here. You know, Michael's a certain voice and captain and Jozy's, you know, the other guy, let's say and there's others. But Jozy, the way he can -- the energy he brought in that locker room before the match tonight, the way he's been training, and again, for Jozy, he wants to score goals. To see him -- that's a desire goal there and you can see his ability to make some plays and understand how to draw some fouls and operate in that final third. So it was great to see Jozy have a great influence on the game, and Michael, since the day I showed up around here, he's really helped push the messaging and his commitment to what we are doing, and it's nice to see him drive the team tonight. You know, he gets rewarded with a goal but I think for him and us, it's the performance; that it's -- he's connected in all ways and he's really, again, helping -- you know, coach the guys out there. You know, we talk in little ways before the game, but yeah, good performance from both guys and that's the leadership of this team.

Q. Just wanted to get your thoughts on Soteldo. Obviously, he played a couple days ago but this was his first start. He looked pretty lively. What did you see from him in the 60-odd minutes that he played?

We were trying to create some width at different moments to open them up, on the right it was Richie and we tried to use Yeferson in some wide areas. He's a good 1 v. 1 guy and you can see that in the final third, he can unbalance and he's dangerous. And in other moments he's a very intelligent player. It was almost tough to take him off. We're trying to manage minutes but he's a guy in certain moments when we needed to keep the ball he's one of the guys that could do that.

Listen, what I think he adds to the team is quality but also, you know, a real belief. You feel like your chances are better with guys like that.

So yeah, it was really good to see him mesh with the team. He has only been training for a new days but we think he added something really interesting to our team and we're just getting started with him.

Q. Chris it seemed like there was a better balance tonight between the periods of pressing it and the pauses in possession. Was that perhaps a better example of the game plan you're looking to get from everybody, and what was perhaps the difference for you tonight?

Yeah, look, you're right, and it was deliberate. We have players that are really good in possession, and trying to put them in spots to work towards that strength while understanding moments to really attack and almost play where it could feel like transition from possession, where you have the ball but it's not just a pass-around. I thought we used the ball well tonight. I thought we attack asked got ourselves in some good spots and we attacked certain areas that we were hoping to. In the first half you could really see we created some overloads and this was a good thing and I think our guys understand that well.

So, yeah, look, I think that the good thing that I also saw defensively was when it feels like 90 degrees and humid, it's hard to press with long stretches, so it's, then what, maybe we are controlling certain spaces and trying to be organized in the mid-block. I thought our guy the relatively stayed organized and then it's still hard. I know some guys started pressing on their own but it is hard to do that in the heat but I think tonight with the ball was a nice step forward and then defensively, it was important that we were organized for most of the night.

Q. Can you speak on the back line? The past few games, it's been a bit rough. Can you speak on how they were able to respond tonight and get the clean sheet for you guys?

Well, I thought the partnership -- look, it's a back four, right, and then you can talk about the sixes and then it's the back four with Alex, Alex does a lot of talking back there and helps things along. I think you could see a real focus from Omar and Chris. I think they both were the foundation of what was going on, and then I think, you know, when you look around the field, you know, especially to the left and right with Richie and Ayo I think they were locked down on the night, not an easy matchup for sure. Kemar comes in late to help things on the left side, but yeah, look, I think it's pretty straight that we avoided, you know -- we were tidy on set pieces. That's a good team we just played there. It's a good team that can hurt you in a lot of ways and guys put out fires, they defended with real urgency, the details were covered, and it's still about us getting really good at things that win you games and avoiding some of the things that cost you results, which is sometimes mistakes and giveaways and things like that. It was a good team victory and nice for the back line. They owned the shutout with our goalkeeper for sure but that was a good team effort. Nice to see that back line get rewarded, too.

Q. Just wondering if you could comment on what's your evaluation of the partnership between Ralph and Michael in midfield because it seems like a burgeoning partnership and Michael has benefitted from playing alongside. What's your take on it?

Well, I think you're right. I think there's a ball-playing six and the ball-winning six, right. Michael is also a ball winner. If Ralph is the ball winner, Michael is also the ball winner and Ralph is also the ballplayer.

But you have some different skill sets there and Ralph adds a certain type of ability to cover ground and he can sniff out second balls. And you can see probably four or five occasions where not just winning a second ball, from being in good position, but his ability to win a duel and to physically impose himself. This is nice. When what we tell Ralph oftentimes is stay close to Mike, stay close to Markie and Mike or Marc with Ralph and those guys really being connected without the ball but for sure with the ball and Ralph was pretty tidy on the night even with the ball.

So, yeah, look I think Ralph gives us something different. So it's nice to see that he's one of the young guys, right, that he's getting some reps and I think he's taking his chances well.

Q. It's always hard to see on TV but it looked like Yeferson was on the left, on the right, tucked in behind the striker. Do you give him freedom to do that or are you instructing from the sideline?

Yeah, there's freedom with our, call it interior wide midfielders that at times just because we oftentimes take up interior spaces that they could -- Marc you could see was tucking in a lot and helping out and you could see how that helped us create some over loads and he would get on the ball. There's some flexibility more so for Yeferson to operate in wide areas and in interior areas. They switched on their own -- in some moments and they just stayed there, right, until things -- one was off a set piece and they just stayed there until their actions finished. But yeah, I think you'll see that Yeferson, he can create on the right and where he's most comfortable on the left and even on the left underneath a few times he found a little pocket. So as we get to know him and as he gets to know our system a bit, yeah, he'll show up in different spots. Yeah, he understands space pretty well.

MICHAEL BRADLEY - MIDFIELDER, TORONTO FC

Q. How big of a result was this for Toronto just in light of the fact of the slow start to the continue and coming off of what was a pretty disappointing result in New York on the weekend?

Yeah, it was a big win, there's no two ways about it. It's been a crazy start to the year. You know, there's so much that's gone on, so much that's gone on behind the scenes, and obviously you know, you guys all know me. I'm never one to make excuses ever but it's been our reality for this last stretch. You know, I think we've - the feeling on the inside of the group has remained really good. I think we all feel like we're moving ourselves in a good direction but obviously when you have the standards that we do, you have to win games. You have to take points. You have to walk off the field at the end of 90 minutes feeling like you got the upper hand and obviously we haven't done that on enough days so far this year. And so in that respect to, you know, to play a good team tonight and to come away with, you know, a really, really strong win and three points, that part's really important.

Q. You're getting perhaps the best look at Ralph of anybody. What can you say about the young man and his performance beside you?

I love playing with him. I think we've developed a really good relationship. You would -- he plays with a mature -- a maturity, he has an aggression, a physical strength to him. You know, he sees things quickly and you know, gets the ball quickly to the next guy. He's a guy that, you know, I don't know, for me he's been so good and so important for us that obviously it's a guy who given the way he plays, you have to understand -- you have to really understand football to understand what he brings to the game and what he brings to our team in terms of balance, in terms of, you know, sniffing plays out, coming away with -- coming away with tackles and loose balls, and so look, he's one of a bunch of our young players who is continuing to move himself along in a good way, so he's, again -- I -- I love playing with him in the center of the field. I think we've developed a good relationship, and so, yeah, we've got to keep -- keep pushing him along.

Q. I don't think we've talked to you since your team signed Yeferson Soteldo. Why you can you just tell me how you feel? You've talked about this before, but just how you feel about the commitment your club has made again to bringing players like Soteldo and then you guys sign Lawrence and now Dwyer, can you talk about that a little bit?

Yeah, look, I think it's clear from the top all the way down, from -- from Mr. Tannenbaum and the board to Bill and Ali and Chris and right on down to the players. We want to win. The expectation is to compete in every competition we're in, always, and so obviously when you have -- when you have a DP spot open and you're looking, you're going to go out and get a player, the expectation is that you're going -- you're big and you're going to get a guy who is going to come and really push the envelope for the team and the league. And so I think, you know, Yeferson is still getting to know our group and still finding his feet a little bit but you can see the ability he has as a dribbler. He has a way of mixing things up, coming inside, staying a bit wider. And as we get him more time with our group on the training field and in games, we are going to see the best of him. You look then at guys like Kemar and Dom Dwyer, you know, I think from the outside looking in, they see what we've built here, and they want to come and be a part of it. And I tell you what, those are -- those are two guys who they are not just coming to make up numbers. These guys are fearless and they have an attitude and a mentality that they are coming here to help us -- help us compete and help us win. They are not scared of anything. Those are the types of guys you want.

Q. You scored your first tonight since September 7, 2019 for Toronto FC. How sweet of a moment was that to find the back of the net there in the first half?

Yeah, look, I don't -- I don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about when the last one was. You know, I've talked a little bit before about the idea that I'm a midfielder who can play in different ways, can do different things, and obviously for a long stretch of our time with Greg as coach, it was my job to give balance in the midfield and to really, you know, protect the area in front of the center backs to give us rhythm. You know, to make sure that we controlled that part of the field.

With Chris, that will be the job on some days. On others, it will be that I have -- you know, he wants me to be more mobile, more dynamic, to move around the field, to get up and connect things in the attacking part of the field, as well. And so obviously with that comes a responsibility to also, you know, score goals and help set up goals, and so that part -- that part is going to be important. But again, the most important thing tonight was just the response, the mentality and coming away with three points.

Q. Between the calls we had with Chris and Kemar yesterday and the performance tonight, it sort of seems like there was a fresh wind in the group. Is something different and is this perhaps a sign of things to come?

No, I mean, look, like I said, it's been a crazy start to the -- a crazy start to the year. You know, from starting preseason in Toronto, in the bubble, you know, subfreezing temperatures at BMO Field, obviously we dealt with a COVID outbreak. We got down here and we had a week or so to get ready for Champion's League. We all know what Champion's League entails in terms of the travel, playing at altitude. In there, you have two games against Montréal and Vancouver, that kick off at one and two o'clock in the Florida heat and humidity. You know, again, not -- no excuses. We had a bunch of guys get sick in México in the second leg against Cruz Azul, a stomach -- a stomach bug that went through us a little bit, and so, look, it's -- we don't want anybody's sympathy. They are not excuses, but it's what we have had to deal with and so we are -- nobody's panicking. We feel good about the group that we have. We feel good about the work that's being done every day. But again, we have high standards and high expectations and when you're not taking the points that you want, when you're not winning games, the -- that eats at you, and for sure now in the last few days, there's been good discussions amongst the full group and amongst small groups of guys that just said, come on, we've -- we're working in good ways but now we've got to really start to reward ourselves, and so look, tonight's one game. We weren't ready to -- we weren't ready to -- we weren't ready to hit the panic button after the Red Bull game and we're not ready to -- we're not ready to -- to say we've -- we've won anything yet tonight, either. You know, it's a long season. We'll continue to work. We'll continue to move ourselves along. And -- and that's that.

Check out the Toronto FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from May 12, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central