Toronto FC was back in training on Tuesday ahead of its road game against the Chicago Fire this weekend.

Here are some news and notes from today’s practice at the club’s training facility in Downsview.

TFC resumes battle for 1st in East

TFC had a bye last week, and have been out of action since suffering a 1-0 loss at home to the Montreal Impact on Aug. 23. Despite the setback, the Reds still closed out that week atop the Eastern Conference table.

Since then, though, Toronto has dropped to third, tied with the New York Red Bulls on 43 points (NYRB is ahead on goal difference) and a point behind leaders New York City FC. Toronto has a game in hand on both clubs.

The Reds also trail FC Dallas by eight points in the race for the Supporters’ Shield (awarded to the first place team overall in Major League Soccer at the end of the regular season), and have a game in hand on the Texas club.

Coach Greg Vanney likes the position Toronto FC is in right now as the MLS campaign enters the home stretch and as the battle for first place in the East heats up. Finishing in the top two in the East would mean a first-round bye in the playoffs, and ensure Toronto of home-field advantage for the two-legged Eastern Conference semifinal—something that is clearly in their thoughts.

“The overall feeling is that we control our destiny at this point,” Vanney said. “Ultimately, it’s about each of our performances, and each of our results, and building some momentum.”

He later added: “We’re always thinking about the top two spots. That’s always in the back of our mind. … But we know our performances need to speak for themselves and that we control our destiny.”

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Alex Bono or Clint Irwin?

Who will start in net for TFC against Chicago on Saturday: Alex Bono or Clint Irwin?

Irwin is back in full training after being out for two months with a quadriceps strain. He suffered the injury in a June 25 game against Orlando City. Irwin started the first 15 games of the season for Toronto, but sat out the last 12 league matches as he recuperated and worked his way back to fitness.

He started and played in recent matches for TFC 2, Toronto FC’s farm team that competes in the third-tier USL, in order to get some game time under his belt, so he’s ready to go for Chicago.

But will Vanney turn to Irwin or stick with Bono?

Bono posted a 7-3-3 record and three shutouts in his 13 appearances, and he’s made a case for more playing time after confidently backstopping the Reds in Irwin’s absence.

Vanney didn’t tip his hand as to who’ll start on Saturday, only saying that Irwin is in consideration—although he did hint that he could give Irwin another week off.

“It’s timing; timing for Clint to make sure that he feels like he’s prepared in every way to be prepared,” Vanney stated.

“Alex has been fantastic, so I’m not in a rush to take Alex off the field by any stretch of the imagination. We want to make sure when we make the switch, if we make the switch, whatever that scenario is that it’s the right timing for everybody involved,” Vanney offered.

With Seba out, secondary scoring needed

Even with Sebastian Giovinco out injured, Vanney likely won’t stray from his preferred two-forward formation, so look for either Tosaint Ricketts or fellow Canadian Jordan Hamilton to start up front alongside Jozy Altidore against Chicago.

Altidore ranks second on the team with five goals—all of them coming over the course of the last seven games—while Hamilton has three goals in 10 league appearances this season.

Curiously, Hamilton is tied for third in team scoring with defenders Drew Moor and Justin Morrow. The Reds only have four goals from all of their midfielders this season—two each by Canadian Will Johnson and Marky Delgado.

While Vanney is pleased with the offensive contributions of Moor and Morrow, he needs more goals from his midfielders, especially with Giovinco expected to miss the next three games.

“We need to pick up some of our midfield scoring … Our midfielders need to continue to pick up some better chances, maybe looking to hit shots [more often]. Sometimes we shy away from the shot and we look for the extra pass. We need to find good scoring positions at the right time,” Vanney said.

Injury update

Giovinco remains sidelined after suffering strains in his quadriceps and adductor during the Reds’ previous game.

Midfielder Jay Chapman is out due to an MCL tear. Defender and fellow Canadian Ashtone Morgan is also unavailable for Saturday with a stress fracture in his foot.

Defender Mark Bloom is still dealing with an ankle injury. He practised on his own during Tuesday’s session, but he told Sportsnet that he’ll likely return to full training next week.

Ricketts, as well as Americans Michael Bradley and Altidore, and Panama’s Armando Cooper are currently away on international duty. Canada and the U.S. will play World Cup qualifying games on Tuesday night—Canada hosts El Salvador in Vancouver, while the Americans play Trinidad and Tobago in Jacksonville, Florida. Panama visits Costa Rica. All four players will return from their national teams to TFC in time for Saturday’s game, barring any injury problems

Looking ahead

Chicago (6-12-8) sits ninth in the Eastern Conference, 17 points and six places behind Toronto (12-8-7). The Fire are coming off a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Union this past weekend.

Toronto sports an all-time record of 5-9-8 against Chicago in MLS play, but the Reds did win the previous contest, a 1-0 decision on July 9 at BMO Field.

These teams will meet for the third and final time in 2016 on the last week of the season on Oct. 23 in Toronto.

Vanney was somewhat thankful for the break last week, as it gave some of his players extra time to recover from minor injuries.

“It was an opportunity for guys to recover a little bit going into the tail stretch [of the regular season],” Vanney said. “We’ll get some guys back [from international duty] tonight, and then we’ll do final preparation for Chicago. But by and large, the mood is good, the guys are working hard.”

After the Chicago trip, TFC returns home for a four-game stint at BMO Field: New York Red Bulls (Sept. 18), Philadelphia (Sept. 24), Orlando City (Sept. 28) and D.C. United (Oct. 1).

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