TFC Republic Weekly: August 26-September 1
Toronto FC faces a must-win situation in Tuesday's Canadian Championship semifinals second leg vs. Forge FC
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 offer a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Toronto FC gets playoff boost with big road win
A two-week break from MLS didn't end up having any adverse effects on Toronto FC. The Reds returned to action on Saturday following their Leagues Cup exit and boosted their playoff chances with a 1-0 road win over the Houston Dynamo in the first meeting between the clubs in over five years.
Prince Owusu ended a personal streak of 10 league games without scoring by bagging the winner for Toronto (10-14-3) who solidified its hold on eighth place in the Eastern Conference with seven matches remaining in the regular season.
The shutout was TFC's second in a row in MLS, having blanked CF Montreal 1-0 in its last league outing on July 20, and it owed a lot to the stellar play of centre back Kevin Long. While the Reds struggled to create much in the final third, Long expertly quarterbacked a bend-but-don’t break defence that frustrated Houston all game long.
The victory was just Toronto’s second in 12 visits to Houston and its first in 14 years.
"It was a great performance. Come to Houston and kept a clean sheet, it's our first win since 2010. We don't come here often but it's not a stadium that I think players get excited to come to. It's tough," coach John Herdman told reporters after the game.
Cassius Mailula sent on loan to Wydad Athletic Club
TFC made an important roster move last Wednesday when they announced the loan of Cassius Mailula to Moroccan team Wydad Athletic Club through July 31, 2025. Wydad AC will have the option to exercise a permanent transfer for the South African forward at the end of this loan.
Nobody should be surprised by this news. Last July, Toronto signed Mailula to a deal through 2026 with an option for 2027 following a transfer from Mamelodi Sundowns FC of South Africa's top division. It took a month for Mailula to make his debut as he was dealing with some fitness issues after he first arrived. Injuries also limited him to just three MLS appearances (totalling 68 minutes) once he was cleared to play, so the South African youngster didn't have much of a chance to prove himself.
Things didn't improve for him in 2024. Mailula, 23, barely featured for the Reds this season with just five appearances (totalling 262 minutes) across all competitions. His two goals and assist came during his three appearances in the Canadian Championship. His two MLS appearances in MLS came in April and June when he came off the bench.
Transfer deadline closed, but TFC can still make moves
The closure of the MLS secondary transfer window earlier this month means teams can't make any more trades involving players or transfer signings for the rest of 2024.
However, clubs can still sign free agents – players who are out of contract and unattached – so long as they do so by the MLS roster freeze date of Sept. 13.
Among the other options still on the table for TFC are:
- Loaning or selling a player to a non-MLS club, subject to the receiving club's applicable federation's transfer window,
- Making trades with other MLS teams that don't involve players (draft picks, international roster spots, general allocation money and other assets),
- Signing homegrown players from its youth academy,
- Calling up players on loan from TFC 2.
So, there's plenty of important work that GM Jason Hernandez can complete even though the transfer window is now closed.
Aside from the possible signing of free agents, you'd have to think that accumulating general allocation money (GAM) would be at the top of Hernandez's to-do list. The more money he accumulates between now and the opening of the MLS primary transfer window in January, the better position he'll be in to strengthen Toronto's roster ahead of the 2025 campaign.
TFC vs. Forge FC on Tuesday
Toronto FC faces a must-win situation in the second leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals when it hosts Forge FC at BMO Field on Tuesday (OneSoccer/7:00 p.m. ET).
TFC suffered a 2-1 loss to Forge at Hamilton's Tim Hortons Field on July 10 in the opener of this aggregate series. That means that the Reds have to win the return match in order to advance to the finals. A loss or draw would result in TFC's elimination.
Forge head to BMO Field in fine form, having earned points in eight of its last nine league matches, including a 0-0 draw away to York United last Friday, and tops the CPL table with a record of 10-5-5 and 35 points.
Former TFC youth academy product Kwasi Poku leads Forge in scoring with eight goals this year. But he was recently sold to Belgian club RWD Molenbeek for a league-record transfer fee. Forward Tristan Borges (six goals in 2024) also cut his teeth with the TFC youth academy. Forge's roster also includes midfielder Kyle Bekker and forward Jordan Hamilton who both played for Toronto earlier in their careers.
The other semifinal sees the Vancouver Whitecaps tangle with Pacific FC of the CPL. The winner of that series will host the one-match final in late September. Vancouver earned a 1-0 road win in the first leg in July.
TFC have won the Canadian Championship a record eight times. The Reds beat Forge FC via a penalty shootout in Hamilton two years ago in the 2020-Covid delayed final, while the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated TFC and CF Montreal in the finals to win back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. The winner of this year’s Canadian Championship qualifies for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
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TFC vs. D.C. United on Saturday
Toronto returns to MLS action when it hosts D.C. United on Saturday (Apple TV & TSN/7:30 p.m. ET).
D.C. (6-12-8) currently sits in last place in the Eastern Conference table, seven spots and seven points behind Toronto, although they have a game in hand.
Belgian forward Christian Benteke leads the team in scoring with 17 goals this season. D.C. has only scored 38 times this year in MLS, and their second top scorers are Cristian Dájome and Jared Stroud (three goals apiece). Stroud also has a team-high eight assists, while former TFC goalkeeper Alex Bono has started 21 of 26 league games with two clean sheets.
Toronto and D.C. previously met on June 1 when they battled to a 2-2 draw at Audi Field. Sitting on a 2-0 lead, TFC looked to be home and dry. But Federico Bernardeschi and Nicksoen Gomis were both sent off, and D.C. scored twice in the final 11 minutes, including from the penalty spot deep into injury time to earn a share of the points.
"What I’ve seen in MLS is there’s no game over on the road. There’s no game over ever. For us, we’re disappointed. The dressing room, we’ve said what we needed to be said; players have owned key moments. I think last year we’d have celebrated a point on the road but this is a different mindset from this group. They know they dropped two points tonight,” John Herdman told reporters after the game.
D.C. leads the all-time MLS regular season series against Toronto with 17 wins and 12 draws in 41 games.
Saturday's game is the last meeting of the regular season between the clubs.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
A first-round draft pick of Toronto FC in 2013, midfielder Kyle Bekker spent less than two seasons with the Reds before being traded. After bouncing around for several years, Bekker has found a home with Forge FC, where he's won four CPL titles and a league MVP award. Forge is on the cusp of qualifying for the Canadian Championship final after posting a 2-1 home win over TFC in the first leg of the semifinals last month. How does Bekker, a 33-year-old from Oakville, Ont., feel about facing the team that drafted him in Tuesday's do-or-die second leg at BMO Field? TFC Republic contributor Joshua Healey spoke with Bekker ahead of the return match between TFC and Forge. Look for his feature story later today.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- My piece looking at the key storylines to watch from TFC this week.
- My “Random Thoughts on TFC” column.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- A new audio interview piece with Oliver Platt of OneSoccer ahead of Tuesday's game vs. Forge FC.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's home game vs. Forge.
- Part 1 of our two-part Q&A with Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis.
- A new audio interview piece with Steve Goff of the Washington Post ahead of Saturday's game vs. D.C. United.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's home game vs. D.C.
- The TFC 2 report with James Grossi.
- Analysis of the latest Canadian men's team roster that will be announced ahead of September's friendlies vs. the U.S. and Mexico.
- The reader mailbag
- 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 Jojo Yanjiao Qian/Forge FC)
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