Toronto FC lost 2-0 to the Columbus Crew in a hard-fought battle at BMO Field on Wednesday night.

The home side were up for the challenge of welcoming the defending MLS Cup Champions to town and had the better of the play through the first half. Federico Bernardeschi kissed a shot off the crossbar in the 7th minute after a neat turn and ball from Alonso Coello found him down the right and he cut in-field. Lorenzo Insigne was regularly getting into good positions, but could not beat Patrick Schulte in the Columbus goal.

A half-time exit and entrance saw Jonathan Osorio forced off for Toronto and Cucho Hernández come on for Columbus, six minutes later the visitors had the lead when Cucho blasted a shot past Sean Johnson from the top of the box.

Andrés Herrera made it two in the 70th minute when he bundled over Raoul Petretta and slipped a shot into the right side.

“It was a difficult, difficult night,” said John Herdman post-match. “We should have taken something out of the first half, that was pretty clear. And then the second half, when we had momentum, we had to capitalize on the moments that we had.”

“Tactically, the team was sound, we were able to minimize their opportunities, they had one shot in the first half and then six or seven in the second, but you see Cucho come in, first touch, and do what he did,” he continued. “The lads were in the fight tonight. There was a good spirit. They were disciplined, they were committed. Players that were asked to do jobs, like Richie Laryea, were absolutely brilliant tonight. He really showed his leadership calibre and his desire to get this club into the playoffs.”

“We need that from every single player,” Herdman underlined. “We need that absolute hunger and desire to play above their level. A lot of good things. There was effort, spirit, fight, tactical discipline, but not enough quality when we needed it to take that game to the next level.”

Toronto were left ruing what could have been.

“First half we were pretty dominant,” said Matty Longstaff. “Obviously we would like to score a goal. Created some good chances, but sometimes it's just not your night.”

“We know they’re a top team and such a difficult team to play against the way they move the ball in triangles. We'd done well stopping them from creating too many chances and it would have been nice for us to take the lead.”

From the opening whistle it was clear TFC were taking a different approach to the previous meeting in Columbus, where they looked to get to halftime before letting the game open up. Toronto came to play.

“We're at home and we want to put our stamp on the game,” said Longstaff. “You know they are going to have periods on the ball and you're going to have to suffer, but defensively we were really good. On the ball, we created chances and got in some really good areas, but sometimes it just doesn't happen.”

Like that previous meeting, however, Toronto did not take their chances and Columbus did.

“It was the case again,” said Herdman. “We had three good opportunities the last time we played them on the back-post. As I said to the lads, there's got to be that fast-pace-to-goal-ruthlessness because they are a very athletic, well-organized team and you don't get too many second chances with them.”

“When the moments were there we were close, but just not clinical enough or as ruthless as you need to be,” he continued. “Fede [Bernardeschi] puts a cross in and someone has to arrive on the back-post. They have to be there. That's the difference. That's what I've said to them. We’ve just got to go next task, no corner-cutting, do all the right things.”

The departure of Osorio and Columbus taking the lead was a body blow.

“He's a big player for us,” said Longstaff. “His mentality is such a big thing for the team and he gets in great positions as well. As a team, you never want to lose your captain, especially the run we're on – we need to win games and stay in the fight. Hopefully it's not too bad and we have him back for the weekend, if not, then in Vancouver.”

“It's a bit of a killer when they score,” explained the midfielder. “When you've got a player like Cucho – he did the same to us in the away game – he's one of the best in the league for a reason. He scores out of nothing really, a second ball that drops down and he touches and hits it from outside the box, it's a great finish.”

“Even at that stage I still thought if we could nick a goal and get back in it then you never know, especially if we can get the crowd behind us,” Longstaff added. “But it just seemed to never come.”

On a different night the second goal could have been chalked off for a foul on Petretta, but it was not.

“It was a soft goal. I'd have to say that,” said Herdman. “In that part of the field, you've got to be more aware, more switched on, more ruthless with how we were defending. To be fair, I thought Raoul, Richie, Siggy [Sigurd Rosted] had done a great job all night.”

“It looked like a foul from where I'm at,” he smiled, allowing room for bias. “But with VAR you know there's going to be a review. It was reviewed and we didn't get it.”

Results out of town – both Charlotte FC and NYCFC lost – confirmed what a missed opportunity it was to climb up the table.

“Massive,” said Herdman. “We had to score in that first half – we had to.”

“They’d rotated, we were putting our best lineup out there. We knew they were going to strengthen in the second which would equalize things,” he continued. “We played with a great tempo in the first half, we got into good areas, but we're just lacking that killer punch, that next-level quality it's going to take to get us there.”

“And that's what I'm challenging the team with – the staff, the team – we have to focus on those areas, the finishing end products. It was not an issue last week, but it was an issue this week,” Herdman compared. “The issue last week was some of the defensive work. The defensive work was above that threshold tonight.”

“We'll keep pushing. We're in the fight. We're right there,” he urged. “The way these results are going, no one knows. I don't think anyone can predict who is going to be in or out. A couple of results went our way; a couple didn't. We were playing the champions, the best team in MLS in terms of the team, the depth, the quality, the tactical execution, and we were right there for long periods.”

Four games left; it’s all to play for.

“Every player looks after a game and sees if results went your way or not, but the biggest thing for us at the minute is that we're in it,” said Longstaff. “We're in a playoff position and we need to make sure we finish there come the end of the season.”

“We play again on Saturday in Colorado. We know we’ve got to go there and pick up points,” he closed. “It’s such close running at the minute. It's a fight we are glad to be in. Going into Colorado we know that we need points and we'll be ready.”