COMMERCE CITY — The Colorado Rapids celebrated making the playoffs Saturday. Toronto FC has plenty more work to do to join them, with teams nipping at their heels.
A rejigged Toronto side weathered a storm in the first half, going into the break at 0-0. But Colorado went ahead in the 52nd minute via Reggie Cannon and padded the lead with a late Djordje Mihailovic penalty for a 2-0 win.
Toronto managed just two shots on target, failing to hit the mark more often than not despite causing some problems in the Colorado penalty box.
"I thought we had enough opportunities in the second half to get something out of the game," said Toronto coach John Herdman, who dug into his roster to save players for Wednesday's Canadian Championship final in Vancouver.
"But we just can't seem to find that killer punch at the moment," he added.
The win vaulted Colorado (15-10-5, 50 points) past Los Angeles FC into third place in the Western Conference.
It's been an impressive turnaround under first-year Rapids coach Chris Armas. Colorado finished 28th in the league last season at 5-17-12 (only Toronto had a worse record at 4-20-10) and finished 17 points out of the playoffs.
"I'm proud of those guys because that's a big accomplishment — for a team that many picked to finish last in the Western Conference," said Armas, who was fired by Toronto in July 2021 after just 11 games (1-8-2) in charge.
"There's more out there for us, but we should stop and celebrate a big accomplishment on the night," he added.
Toronto (11-7-3, 36 points) remains in eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, on the playoff bubble with one eye over its shoulder.
Colorado pulled ahead on a well-constructed counterattack. Darren Yapi was the provider, threading a pass to Cannon who sidefooted a low shot into the corner from just outside the penalty box for a goal in his first start for the Rapids.
The 26-year-old Cannon joined Colorado on Sept. 11 as a free agent following a stint with Queens Park Rangers in England's second-tier Championship.
Herdman brought on Richie Laryea, Matty Longstaff and Deandre Kerr to open the second half. Federico Bernardeschi joined them in the 56th minute and Alonso Coello in the 72nd.
Bolstered by the substitutions, Toronto offered more in attack.
But Mihailovic delivered the coup de grace from the penalty spot in the 91st minute — a Panenka down the middle — after Aime Mabika brought down Yapi. It was the 11th goals of the season for the former CF Montreal midfielder, who set a Colorado club record with his 20th goal contribution of the season.
Colorado outshot Toronto 17-11 (9-2 in shots on target) and had an xG (expected goals) of 3.1 compared to 1.5 for Toronto.
Herdman, who is also dealing with some injury concerns, made eight changes to his starting 11 — with only goalkeeper Sean Johnson, defender Sigurd Rosted and winger Derrick Etienne Jr. remaining.
Toronto's starting 11 did not include any of its designated players with Laryea and Bernardeschi on the bench to start. Lorenzo Insigne, the other DP, and captain Jonathan Osorio — both listed as questionable after feeling some tightness in their legs during the mid-week 2-0 loss to visiting Columbus — did not dress.
Armas made five changes to his lineup.
Toronto failed to pick up points on the night and got little help elsewhere.
Charlotte blanked New England 4-0, creating a five-point buffer (along with New York City FC) over Toronto with a game in hand. Montreal downed Chicago 2-0 to move into ninth place with 34 points also having played a game less.
Philadelphia and D.C United, both on 33 points, meet Sunday.
The eight- and ninth-place teams in each conference meet in a playoff wild-card game, with the winner advancing to face the top seed (currently Inter Miami in the East).
The Rapids had 63.5 per cent possession in the first half, outshooting Toronto 10-3 (5-0 in shots on target). An ailing Etienne had to leave at the break.
Rosted made his 50th appearance for Toronto across all competitions, becoming the 10th current TFC player to reach the milestone. TFC midfielder Brandon Servania made his 100th MLS appearance in his sixth season, split between FC Dallas and Toronto.
Colorado improved to 10-2-3 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park this season, unbeaten in its previous 10 league games (8-0-2) there since a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on May 11. Toronto has not won there since a 1-0 decision in August 2008, going 0-6-2 since including a scoreless draw the last time they met in September 2021.
The game kicked off a three-game Toronto road trip.
At stake in Wednesday's final against the defending champion Whitecaps is the Voyageurs Cup, a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and $50,000 from Canada Soccer in prize money.
Toronto then returns to league play, playing at Chicago next Saturday before returning home to host the New York Red Bulls on Oct. 2 and Inter Miami on Oct. 5.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.
The Canadian Press