How Toronto FC’s adaptability is vital to their success

Toronto FC are going for back-to-back Canadian Championships at BMO Field on Tuesday night. They tied 1-1 with the Montreal Impact on the road and have the vital away goal.

The road to get there has been exhausting, cup games and Friday night league matches have made it a juggling act for Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney. The championship final will be the club’s third match in six days.

Just 48 hours after a 1-1 draw with Montreal, TFC had to return home for a grudge match against New England on Friday night. Drew Moor, who scored the winner, said after he’d never played two games in such a short time in his professional career.

TFC beat New England 2-0 in a grinding performance that was still on the edge when Giovinco scored with practically the last kick of the ball.

There was a lot of discussion before the game between Vanney and his staff on what changes they should make in the 48 hours.

“We were uncertain what guys were going to transition from Wednesday to Friday,” he said after the game. “The biggest thing was trying to transition the number of centre-backs, Drew (Moor) and Chris (Mavinga) getting them from Wednesday to Friday.”

Vanney stuck with the 5-3-2 formation that has seen them cement their place on top of the MLS standings. Part of that formation is so reliant on the centre-backs and their mobility. The decision was made easier in part by how easily the squad players fitted into the system.

“We have a lot a more ability to adapt to tactical situations in our group then we did in our past.” Vanney said, “That’s to the individual growth of our players and also to the players we’ve added to our team.”

Early in the game, Toronto dominated the possession and were well worth their goal, scored 10 minutes in by Moor. TFC were winning the ball up high and sustaining attacks against the Revs.

Then suddenly the midfield became more passive and Vanney had to make the changes, with 20 minutes left, to solidify the defence and get the win.

“When we brought Ash (Morgan) in and Chris (Mavinga) out, we switched to a back four. Try to make our matchups a little clearer for everybody.” Vanney said, “I thought we were able to get a little bit more of the game back a little more possession back and create some attacks.

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Ashtone Morgan is a crowd favourite who has been part of TFC since they opened their academy in 2008. Predominately a left-back Morgan will now be filling in at wing back for Justin Morrow, who has gone to join up with the US national team at the Gold Cup.

“He’s a left back, so playing left wing-back, if that’s what we do with him, is not a huge change.” Vanney said “It’s just understanding a few different scenarios and what his decisions are in those scenarios.

On the other wing is veteran Steven Beitashour, who knows better than anyone of the differences of playing in back four compared to a back five. He openly admits that at times maybe he should shoot more with the offensive opportunities allowed to him.

“(That) is where Justin (Morrow) thrives because he can just put his head down and shoot. Me I’m still trying to look to pass, where maybe I should be more selfish.” Beitashour said outside of TFC’s training facility.

And for good reason, Beitashour’s passing speaks for itself. He is 8th all time in fullback assists in the MLS with 27. Since he made his debut only Chris Tierney has gotten more assists.

With the space of a wingback comes the lack of support behind you. If a wingback gets caught too high up field and possession is lost, the team is vulnerable to an odd-man counter attack.

This is something Atlanta did earlier this year that I analyzed here.

For wingbacks like Beitashour, that’s one of the positional nuances that he has to be aware of playing higher up the field.

“It can be frustrating if you’re losing or having a bad day.” He said, “I don’t like to get scored on. I think I run backward faster than I do forwards.”

This defensive mindset could be the difference in the final Tuesday, Montreal needs to score to win the championship, as a 0-0 would see TFC win on away goals.

Next: TFC prepare for Mission Impossible 2

Much like against New England, Vanney will know that his team can be adaptive to the opposition or scenario, which is what makes them one of the best teams in the league.

"“Our ability to adapt, within our group, is one of the special qualities of our group that I don’t if there is enough credit for that.” Vanney said, “We will adjust into different systems and different places, guys will assume different roles, and they’ll do so with fluidity, and without their minds blowing up, we couldn’t have done that in the past.”"