Toronto FC head coach John Herdman praised his team’s “collective performance” at BMO Field in their 2-0 triumph over Atlanta United.
With several key players out — like Sean Johnson and Richie Laryea — through injury and the international break, the Reds needed to rebound at home in front of their supporters after their recent defeat to NYCFC to keep the positive momentum going. They did that and more as their opponents were muted to a handful of shots during the entire 90 minutes played.
“A collective performance. You look at Fede [Bernardeschi]’s efforts, you look at Jahkeele [Marshall-Rutty], he took a step up again, and you see Alonso, Matty Longstaff, putting good shifts in. It was nice to see,” Herdman said postgame.
It was a signature victory for a team that endured a terrible 2023 season with just four wins in 34 regular season games played but has now flipped the page with Herdman at the helm. Over 25,000 fans packed the stands at BMO Field despite the cold, miserable conditions up north.
“A big shout out to the fans that made it tonight, they make a difference. We talk about this being a fortress for us, keeping a streak going here, and the fans were awesome tonight,” said Herdman.
Herdman went on to explain that teams that have goals of lifting titles may lose a game here and there, but they don’t allow themselves to fall into a losing streak and subsequently slide down the table.
“You’re going to lose games, but the critical part is you don’t go back-to-back losses,” he said. “They had to fight for that tonight. We knew Atlanta were a bit depleted, but we had excuses as well. The clarity of championship teams, strong teams, those antifragile teams, they don’t lose back-to-back. [The guys] fought tooth and nail to keep a clean-sheet and make sure we got that result to keep us on track.”
Herdman also gave plenty of praise to the number one overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Tyrese Spicer. The 23-year-old scored the opening goal of the game in his first start in MLS.
“That’s a pretty special moment. He’s got quality; we had a feeling he’d score tonight,” Herdman said of Spicer. “We had that conversation with him and defensively I was proud of his work.”
TFC return to action at BMO Field on March 30 to take on Western Conference side Sporting Kansas City, looking to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference standings with another three points.
