Toronto FC before the decisive match: the play-off phase begins with consecutive home matches

Toronto missed a chance to make up a two-point lead after Saturday’s draw in Chicago.

“It was really disappointing. We had opportunities to kill them and conceding the goal at the end was devastating,” Longstaff said. “If we had (beat) Chicago, the playoffs would have been a little easier, but sometimes that’s football and it doesn’t always go your way.”

“We knew we had to reset and we said we had to focus on the Red Bulls now,” he continued. “We know they’re having a tough run themselves, but they’re a good team, so we just had to make sure we were ready for tomorrow’s game.”

The playoff permutations and ramifications of one outcome or another this time of year can be overwhelming – Miami can win the Supporters’ Shield on Wednesday with a win in Ohio over the Columbus Crew – so it’s best to keep it simple.

“I didn’t even pay attention to that side,” Herdman explained. “I promised myself I would avoid looking at all these variants of what could happen.”

“Over the last few weeks, I haven’t really looked at what other teams are doing (in the rankings), just what was in front of us,” he continued. “It was Charlotte, then Orlando, then Charlotte, then New York. We chased after them. We didn’t even try to look at what was ahead of us, but of course when teams score the same points, we realize that now we have to take care of things at home.

“We have two great opportunities in this stadium. If Miami wins (midweek), great, good job, they’re great this season. And if not, it simply doesn’t matter,” Herdman emphasized. “We have to be ready for whatever comes on Saturday and realistically we have to win. That’s the plan.

The out-of-town scoreboard is secondary to the one in Toronto.

“We’ve learned that the results may go your way, but if you don’t take care of the business, it won’t do you any good,” Longstaff said. “We know we have to win tomorrow night. We have to put points on the board, so that’s all we’re focused on.

Wednesday will be the third game of the season against the Red Bulls. Sandro Schwarz’s team won the MLS match in June 3-0 in New Jersey, but Toronto led to a goalless draw at the Red Bull Arena in the League Cup at the end of July and then won the result in a penalty shootout.

“They are a tough team to play,” Herdman said. “We know these will be difficult conditions. The pitch will be a little bumpy, so it suits their style, which is an aggressive, transitional style. Last time we played we had about 68% possession, lots of chances, but they just found a way to hit you in transition and they are very good at it.