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Toronto and Columbus don’t have much in common.
One is the fourth largest city in North America. The other is home to one of the most famous university athletic programs in the United States.
Their mayor became the first African-American to hold the position in Ohio’s capital while our mayor, well, you know...let’s move on.
What we do share is a flower. The trillium is the official flower of the province of Ontario. It’s also the official wildflower of the state of Ohio. It’s the namesake of the cup Toronto and Columbus vie for every year. This time, Toronto is in the driver’s seat to win it.
It’s relatively new ground for the Reds, who have found silverware hard to come by since the competition came into existence in 2008. Toronto FC has won only once in six tries.
That victory came on Sept. 10, 2011 in Columbus, when TFC beat the Crew 4-2 after they drew 1-1 earlier in the year. Nick Soolsma, Ryan Johnson, Julian de Guzman and Danny Koevermans scored the goals. Three years feels like an eternity when rehashing that game.
Saturday’s contest at BMO Field could be the scene of a second Cup win for Toronto. Here’s why.
Success in Columbus
Michael Bradley’s first goal for TFC came at Crew Stadium on a blustery Saturday in Ohio. The departed Issey Nakajima-Farran added an insurance marker in the second half to ensure a massive road result for a team that isn’t used to success away from home.
Rookie and Ohio native Nick Hagglund made his homecoming one to remember, playing like a eight-year pro beside Bradley Orr in central defence.
Ryan Nelsen’s squad moved to 3-1 with the win, and put themselves in the position to capture this year’s installment of the Trillium Cup.
Crew missing Higuain
Ask those in the know and they’ll agree: Federico Higuain doesn’t get the press he deserves. Unfortunately for Columbus, Higuain won’t be available on Saturday after being suspended for accumulating too many yellow cards.
Who is going to fill in for the Argentinian designated player? No one, according to Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter.
“You don’t replace Federico, simple as that,” he said after the Crew’s 2-0 win over Chicago last weekend. “We get someone on the field that can play their game. We’re not going to ask someone to come in and play like Federico. That would be foolish of us.”
Someone will have to play in the No. 10 role for the Crew, and names like Justin Meram, Ben Speas, Daniel Paladini and Dominic Oduro have been bandied about. While each offers their own unique skill set, none compares to Higuain.
The Reds are hungry
Rivalries aren’t fun when one side is doing all the winning. They aren’t really rivalries when that’s the case. Ryan Nelsen wants this, just as bad as he wants the Voyageurs Cup. He made that clear following the first leg of the Canadian Championship.
“It's a big game Saturday. It's the Trillium Cup and we want to win that just as bad as the Amway Cup,” he said.
Jermain Defoe and Luke Moore are expected to be in action after missing out on Wednesday’s fixture. Kyle Bekker, Justin Morrow and Mark Bloom will also retake their place barring any unforeseen circumstances.
The Reds are going for it. As they should: it’s an important league game against an Eastern Conference opponent.
But it’s also for a trophy, and for a team that is continuing to forge a new identity, it’s about even more than that.
