The Philadelphia Union will look to create some breathing room in the Eastern Conference standings when they visit last-place Toronto FC on Wednesday.
The Union (13-7-4, 43 points) have won 11 of their past 16 MLS matches, a stretch that began with a win against Toronto on April 22. The club is coming off a 3-1 victory against D.C. United on Saturday, moving it into second place in the Eastern Conference.
However, third-place New England and fourth-place Orlando also have 43 points.
“The games are adding up and in this league anyone can beat you if you’re not prepared,” Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin said. “That has been our message to the group. We respect Toronto a great deal and they still have incredible players, and they are a good team that will be tough to break down.”
The Union have scored 42 goals this season, tied for fourth most in MLS, while only conceding 27 goals, also tied for fourth fewest.
Nearly half of Philadelphia’s tallies have come from either Julian Carranza or Daniel Gazdag, who share the team lead with 10 goals apiece.
Toronto (3-13-10, 19 points) fell to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with its eighth straight loss, a 2-0 setback against the Columbus Crew on Saturday in which it allowed a whopping 31 shot attempts.
The Reds have made plenty of headlines this season because of their struggles, but they’re hoping their latest move will put the club back on track. Toronto hired a new coach in John Herdman, who will assist from afar and assume the role fully on Oct. 1 after maintaining his position with the Canada men’s national team.
Terry Dunfield will continue to guide the team as interim head coach. The club has yet to earn any points since Dunfield replaced Bob Bradley on June 26.
“The biggest thing that gives us hope right now is that collectively we’re becoming difficult to beat,” Dunfield said. “The goals that we give up right now are individual errors. I’d say as a team, we’re organized defensively, we’re now becoming a threat in transition.”
Toronto has scored a conference-worst 20 goals this season, with five of those coming from Federico Bernardeschi.
–Field Level Media
