Herdman targets Toronto playoff push as Inter Miami lick their wounds
John Herdman hopes Toronto FC's bad run is behind them and a playoff push on the horizon as they prepare to meet Inter Miami, who are still bristling at suffering their joint-record defeat last time out in MLS.
Toronto staged a second-half comeback to beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 on Saturday, snapping a seven-match losing streak across all competitions.
The Reds had been winless in nine ahead of their victory over the Union, which dragged them up to eighth in the Eastern Conference, three points adrift of the top seven.
With a number of players returning from injury and confidence restored, Herdman hopes that result can be something of a turning point.
"We can go into that match now against Miami with one of my best starting XIs for the first time since the beginning of the season," Herdman said.
"We're never too high and never too low, and we just keep our feet on the ground, stay focused.
"It's one win – and I thank the fans, they have been brilliant with us, they kept us going – but it's just the start, the start of a playoff push."
Miami, meanwhile, have been knocked off the top of the Eastern Conference, losing 6-1 to FC Cincinnati on their last outing on July 7.
Cincinnati then won their subsequent match to leapfrog Miami, who have been without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez due to the Copa America, at the summit.
Boss Gerardo Martino highlighted the Herons' defensive issues after their last match, saying: "We had a period early in the season where we were vulnerable at the back.
"We started to fix that, the previous five or six games we did a solid job defending, but then we reverted defensively to how we played early in the season.
"We are still not there despite our good results and performances. We have to keep working and hoping in the final part of the season we can improve with our full roster."
However, Miami may have to wait to reintroduce Messi after he exited Argentina's Copa America final victory over Colombia with an ankle injury.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Inter Miami – Julian Gressel
Gressel has eight assists in MLS this season, a tally only bettered by Messi (nine) among Miami players.
His tally of 4.19 expected assists (xA), meanwhile, is better than Messi's 3.59. With the Herons still missing some of their key men, they may need Gressel to supply the chances.
Toronto FC – Federico Bernardeschi
Only nine players have bettered Bernardeschi's tally of 53 chances created in MLS this year, while he also has 12 goal involvements (eight goals, four assists).
Ranking fourth for shots attempted (79) but just 34th for expected goals (6.5 xG), the Italian is not afraid to try his luck from any position.
MATCH PREDICTION: INTER MIAMI WIN
Toronto halted a nine-game winless streak by beating Philadelphia last time out, but their last pair of back-to-back victories in MLS came in late April and early May.
They are winless in their last seven away games, losing their last four in a row and conceding multiple goals in six of their last seven.
Miami, meanwhile, have only lost one of their last eight home matches in MLS, winning four of their last six. Despite their absences, they approach the game as favourites.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Inter Miami – 72.4%
Toronto FC – 11.7%
Draw – 15.9%
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David, King demand more from Soca Warriors in October window as League A survival on the line
Trinidad and Tobago’s interim head coach Derek King and captain Aubrey David were left ruing the Soca Warriors’s sub-par performances in the September window, which has their Concacaf Nations League, League A survival in the balance.
The Soca Warriors, who lost their opening contest 0-4 away to Honduras, were heavily favoured to take three points off French Guiana in the following encounter at home, but they were instead held to a goalless stalemate.
This was much to the disappointment of King, David, and the many spectators that flocked the Dwight Yorke Stadium, as that result left the Twin Island Republic sitting at the foot of Group B on a point. Jamaica (four points), Nicaragua (four points), Honduras (three points), Cuba (two points), and French Guiana (one point) complete the group.
The Soca Warriors now face a must-win scenario in their next two fixtures against Cuba on October 10 and 14 to have a slim chance at making the top two for a quarterfinal berth, but more importantly to avoid relegation to League B.
Having made the quarterfinal in the previous edition of the Concacaf Nations League, David believes there is a need for individual and collective introspection as they need to raise the standard of their game.
"It was a sad result for us. It's a draw, but it feels like a loss for us because three points would have put us in a good position in the group once again. Unfortunately, we didn't get going. We need to reset again because we have two important games coming up,” David said as he reflected on the outcome of their contest against French Guiana.
"I think we as a team have to look at ourselves in the mirror and go back to the drawing board and look at the things that brought us success in the last campaign. I think we need to be humble and have that hunger to get good results,” he added.
Alvin Jones echoed similar sentiments.
"I think each and everyone has to look in the mirror and decide what they want—whether we want to play big football or we just want to compete. I think we have a lot of work to do mentally and physically. Each and every player,” he noted.
Meanwhile, King, who was appointed ahead of the tournament following the dismissal of Angus Eve, felt his team could have done more to secure the three points against French Guiana.