Toronto FC welcome Philadelphia Union to BMO Field for midweek clash as TFC fans await John Herdman era
Published: August 29, 3:51 a.m. ET
Updated: August 29, 12:48 p.m. ET
Toronto FC are back home on the shores of Lake Ontario on Wednesday night to play the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, Jim Curtin’s Philadelphia Union.
After TFC’s 10th straight defeat on Saturday night, the Reds were very lucky to leave Columbus with only a 2-0 loss considering the Crew amassed 31 shot attempts.
TFC continues to make history for all the wrong reasons this season, and with eight games remaining, it isn’t crazy to say that things may get worse.
On Monday, it was announced that John Herdman has been hired as Toronto FC’s new head coach, though he won’t take charge of the team until Sunday, October 1 — which would mean his first game at the helm would come against Charlotte FC.
Interim head coach Terry Dunfield will manage the squad for five more matches until Herdman, the former coach of both the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams steps into his first club management role.
Dunfield will have Raoul Petretta available for selection this week after the Italian defender served a one-game suspension for a red-card offense against CF Montréal which occurred on Sunday, August 20. German striker Prince Owusu and fellow new signing Cassius Mailula will not be available due to lower-leg injuries.
The Philadelphia Union are currently in the midst of yet another consistent season and will most likely finish top five in the Eastern Conference. Philly’s defence is as solid as usual with captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake recording eight clean sheets so far this year, and the Union have only conceded 27 goals in 24 league matches. With left-back Kai Wagner typically on set piece duty, Philadelphia is always a threat on corner kicks and free kicks with centre-backs Jack Elliott and Jakob Glesnes who both stand over six feet tall.
The Union have won four of their last five games in all competitions, including an impressive Leagues Cup run that culminated with them beating CF Monterrey 3-0 in the third-place match, after running into Lionel Messi’s unstoppable Inter Miami in the semi-final.
Philly’s three Designated Players are meeting, maybe even exceeding, expectations as midfielder Dániel Gazdag, and strikers Julian Carranza and Mikael Uhre have scored 28 of Philadelphia’s 42 MLS goals. Although TFC have only conceded one penalty in 2023, Gazdag is the Union’s penalty kick-taker, and he is yet to miss a spot kick.
The team from the City of Brotherly Love was victorious this past weekend as they defeated D.C. United 3-1 in the nation’s capital, with Gazdag and Uhre on the scoresheet.
This battle between TFC and the Union will be the second and final one of the season. The reverse fixture took place on Saturday, April 22 at Subaru Park where the hosts came out victorious by a score of 4-2. Goal scorers that night were Lorenzo Insigne and Richie Laryea.
Match Details
Opponent: Philadelphia Union
Kick-off: 7:30 p.m. ET
Stadium: BMO Field, Toronto, ON
Watch: MLS Season Pass
Hungary’s finest (Daniel Gazdag) will demolish TFC’s back
four on Wednesday Night. This current back four is weak, inept and has no clue on how to defend against set pieces.
It does not even have the skill set to complete in the CSL. A total shambles created by Bob Bradley and Bill Manning. Their fingerprints are all over this mess. Looking forward to John Herdman arriving and completely changing the personnel on the pitch.
An abattoir it will be!
Not necessarily. It’s Home field.
Nobody predicted a 2-nil loss versus Columbus, yet here we are.
Incoming spanking, especially if TFC concede early.
Also worth noting that Philly have played like 10 games more than Toronto and as of right now they don’t have a single player listed as injured.
TFC displaying the greatest evolution in this season will demolish Philly with 2-0 or 3-1.
All due because the squad will feel reenergizated from the news that they will have Herman coaching them in about 1 month.
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Just joking!
Even a draw would be a sensational result for TFC at this point and in the given conditions.
New signings injured already! This club has had problems with injuries for years, particularly muscle injuries. I’m not sure if the club physics are trained professionals or volunteers from the local high school!
I came here to say much the same thing. How can our new signings be injured already? I didn’t watch the game. Did it happen during the game or training?
It’s all because of the training. Even if Herdman flops, just him scrapping the backroom staff will have been a positive.
Are the players wearing turf shoes or proper cleats in training? I’ve seen enough ankles snap on turf because of improper cleats to know for certain that this is a problem.
Some players just can’t bring themselves to wear proper turf shoes for training, just like some players refuse to wear shin-guards during training. A good coach would stamp this out with the snap of the fingers.
Manning said he would make changes to the medical staff. That has to happen asap.
TFC trains on artificial turf, not real grass. Recipe for disaster right there.
But after all, this is Canada and it is what it is.
Loved seeing VV’s picture on this article. It brought back memories of a quality tfc team. It was telling the contrast between the quality of his touches in the Columbus game versus the touches of many of the current tfc midfield. He is the kind of midfield player tfc needs to settle things down. Speed is good, but a skilled visionary touch is what this midfield, heck this team needs. They (tfc) play such scattered football at the moment. Hoping VV, and Gio in the midfield will settle things down, and conjure up images of the glory days. Maybe Lorenzo and Fede will be happier, and the team culture will shift. Hoping Herdman can use these players to teach some of the others about skilled, confident soccer. Some young players need to go, but some should stay to learn from these experienced skilled players. I am hopeful but holding my breath.