TORONTO

The arrival of new TFC big body Bright Dike brought something that hasn’t been sensed around Toronto’s Kia Training Ground since the Reds somehow managed a Week 2 win over Sporting K.C. at the Rogers Centre: Optimism.

Dike, the 26-year-old forward the Reds traded for Monday, sending Max Urruti to Portland, said he has seen this act before and that things can change for lowly TFC over the course of an off-season.

“Last year in Portland we were in the same boat,” said Dike, who was on the Timbers’ bench during Saturday’s 4-0 win over TFC. “You look at how (Portland) did this year and I know how quickly things can change. There’s a fine line between good and great.”

Ahead of Wednesday night’s match against the visiting Chicago Fire, the Reds are neither, and sit somewhere between bad and average as they work towards the off-season, attempting to play dream-crusher along the way.

Chicago enters Wednesday night two points adrift of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with six weeks to go — something the Reds will use as motivation with the playoffs so far out of reach that rattling off seven wins from their final seven games won’t see them into the post-season for the first time in the club’s seven-year history.

“We want to get results for us,” said Jonathan Osorio, who returned from international duty with Canada on Monday. “But that would be great if we crushed some (playoff) dreams, too.

“The most important part is playing games for us and winning games for our fans and a good end to the season.”

A good start to that strong ending might be Dike’s introduction on Wednesday. Toronto’s newest striker trained Tuesday and is available for selection against Chicago.

A solid cameo from the player head coach Ryan Nelsen traded a purported top prospect for will go a long way in restoring a bit of faith among a fan base that at this point is cautiously optimistic the New Zealander is the right man for the job.

“Hopefully this is a new start and new beginning and hopefully great things will come from that,” Dike said after telling reporters Tuesday he has fully recovered from an ACL tear earlier this year.

“I’m a big, strong athlete. I’m fast and an aerial threat as well so you can look for me to play a No. 9 role and help this team out. Hopefully I’m another weapon TFC can use.”

At this point, though, Dike might be the best option the Reds have in their efforts to drive a dagger into the Fire’s playoff chances.

Robert Earnshaw hasn’t scored in close to three months and Andrew Wiedeman’s not exactly the go-to No. 9 the Reds have been without for a majority of their existence. Still, the aforementioned combination is likely to start Wednesday as Nelsen continues his practice of not throwing new players into the fire.

“Bright brings something that we just don’t have in terms of the pace and the power,” Nelsen said, hinting that he has no plans to start his newest addition against Chicago. “He’s just a piece of the jigsaw that at the moment and looking forward we just don’t have.”

A pair of players Nelsen will have at his disposal midweek are Osorio and Doneil Henry, who the Reds will enjoy having back after watching stand-in centre back Gale Agbossoumonde produce a howler out west.

Agbossoumonde’s late mistake against Portland opened the floodgates and made Saturday’s loss appear worse on paper than it actually was.

“It’s a lesson for us that we have to be focuses for 95 or 96 minutes,” TFC captain Steven Caldwell said. “If you switch off for a second in this game you can get punished.

“We’ve got a lot of offer in these last seven games and we have to prove that and try and achieve a few victories. It’s just as important for us as it is for any other team in the league.”

Just not according to the playoff picture.

KICKOFF – CHICAGO @ TFC – 730 ET ON TSN

MARQUEE MATCHUP

Steven Caldwell (TFC) vs. Mike Magee (CHI)

Chicago’s Mike Magee might be the most in-form striker in MLS at the moment. Since being traded from the L.A. Galaxy to the Fire earlier this season, Magee has nine goals in 14 starts, a streak that has seen the 29-year-old forward catapult up and into the 2013 Golden Boot race. Magee’s the kind of forward centre backs like Caldwell hate, an attacker who always seems to pick out the right run and is constantly looking to make himself available for teammates. He’s not fast, crafty or even dangerous in any way. But he’s always in the right place and the ball seems to stick to him in around the penalty area.

GAME NOTES

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: CHI: Joel Lindpere (Estonia), Arevalo Rios (Uruguay)

INJURIES: TFC: Matias Laba (toe), Danny Koevermans (calf); CHI: Brendan King (L Hamstring Strain)

ALL-TIME (14 meetings): TFC 3 wins, CHI 7 wins, Ties 4

AT TORONTO (8 meetings): TFC 3 wins, CHI 4 wins, Ties 1

RETURN MATCH: 10/19: Chicago Fire vs. Toronto FC, 8:30 p.m. (TSN2, RDS2)

LARSON’S 11

Earnshaw Wiedeman

Rey Hall Osorio Lambe

Elmer Henry Caldwell Eckersley

Bendik