Tied in factors, Toronto and Montreal meet for ‘huge’ match

Toronto FC coach John Herdman is putting a lot of eggs in one basket.

Speaking of Saturday night’s trip to CF Montreal, Herdman referred to it as a “six-pointer,” the maximum point swing in the standings that occurs if one team gets the win.

“Massive game,” he said. “We’ll get after it.”

Toronto (8-14-3) and Montreal (6-9-9) both come into the match with 27 points, good for an eighth-place tie in the East. But Toronto has been brutal over its last 12 matches, going 1-8-3 with its only win over a Philadelphia side that’s 14th in a 15-team conference.

And Toronto is coming off a 3-1 loss Wednesday night at Inter Miami, which didn’t field a lineup that included superstar Lionel Messi or Sergio Busquets.

“We’ll fix some things,” Herdman said. “We’ll fix our set pieces and move forward. We’ve got to look mentally at how we stay stronger collectively … tactically how we adjust to manage these tougher periods.”

Defense likely will be the point of emphasis for Toronto, which enters the fixture 26th in goals against with 47.

Meanwhile, Montreal at least can boast of some positive momentum going into the match after salvaging a 2-2 draw Wednesday night at the New York Red Bulls. Josef Martinez finished with a brace, converting from the spot in the 81st minute.

Montreal overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in a game that was delayed for an hour and 44 minutes at halftime because of thunderstorms.

“We watched a little bit of video of the first half during the weather delay,” Martinez said. “We have to be better because we conceded the first goal, but the rain helped us a little bit.”

Martinez’s goals gave him 110 in his MLS career, good for eighth in league history. They also helped Montreal improve to 2-1-2 in its last five matches.

This is the second meeting of the year between the Canadian clubs. Toronto romped to a 5-1 victory on May 18 in Ontario.

–Field Level Media