TORONTO

“We need to win” was the headline in Saturday’s Toronto Sun.

Toronto FC head coach Ryan Nelsen likely took issue with it.

In fact, he bluntly addressed expectations being ratcheted up ahead of Saturday night’s 3-0 loss to New England.

“I’ve won this league,” Nelsen started. “I’ve played in a World Cup.

“One thing I know: This was not (a pressure) game.”

He said his general manger’s decision to speak publicly Friday afternoon “absolutely” didn’t help matters.

The club’s GM, Tim Bezbatchenko, took reporters aside Friday afternoon to publicly challenge his players to put in a performance Saturday night.

After back-to-back lackluster showings, his Reds needed more “urgency,” he calmly stated.

“The time for gelling is over,” Bezbatchenko added.

On Saturday, though, the Reds looked like a squad still in the process coming together — something Nelsen said was a byproduct of artificial pressure being thrust upon his team.

“Are you guys kidding me? Come on,” Nelsen said post-game. “Ten games left in the season. Long way to go.

“Unfortunately, things happened and didn’t help. As you saw, the (players) were very, very aggravated.”

As were the fans.

Undone by first-half goals from the Revolution’s Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe, Toronto FC was everything but urgent in a game that was billed as a “six-pointer” in the Eastern Conference, a match that looked destined to define this season during what Nelsen later labeled excessive buildup.

Toronto FC also looked exceedingly unsettled in a fresh formation it looked sloppy in from the start.

Maybe it was to guard a makeshift back four. Maybe it was tactical.

Either way, the 4-2-3-1 Toronto FC began Saturday night’s game in didn’t pan out.

“I wanted (Jonathan) Osorio to play in-between the lines,” Nelsen explained. “I wanted to try and get him in there. Luke Moore has played (out left) many times. It wasn’t happening for us. It wasn’t falling from there.

“It doesn’t help when you’re down a couple of goals, none of which were a factor of the system.”

The Reds were down a goal in the blink of an eye after a costly turnover saw Nguyen beat Bendik from distance two minutes in.

It was stunning, as if conceding a stoppage-time equalizer to Chicago seven days earlier had little impact on a side that’s fighting for its playoff lives.

With defensive stalwarts Steven Caldwell and Justin Morrow sidelined, fans and staff expected things to be tough.

Still, they expected more. They paid for more. Supporters thought they’d never feel this way again.

When a Bradley Orr giveaway midway through the first half saw Rowe make it 2-0 from long-range, hearts sunk more.

Beyond the score, the body language was poor. When the teams entered halftime, Toronto FC looked as if it wanted to head for the exit door.

“I think we felt sorry for ourselves,” Nelsen said. “They’re killer blows when you give away the goals we conceded. They were our own doing.”

Nelsen’s decision to switch back to a more conventional 4-4-2 did little to restore order. New England’s third goal was a bit comical.

“A lovely interception by the referee,” Nelsen quipped.

After a Michael Bradley diagonal pinged off referee Silviu Petrescu’s head, Rowe pushed numbers forward before releasing Charlie Davies, who slotted across the box for Canadian-born Teal Bunbury to place into an open goal.

Some fans weren’t interested in watching anymore. With 30 minutes remaining, fans began heading home.

“We write this one off,” Nelsen said. “We’re still in a lovely position. We move on. We have a very important game on Wednesday.”

The Reds are still very much in the hunt, but recent results mean there will likely be sleepless nights come October.

Nobody expected things to be easy, but they expected a heck of a lot more than what was on display this weekend.

That means Wednesday’s match in Philadelphia is that much bigger. A loss there and Toronto FC could fall out of the playoff picture for the first time all season.

If they do, though, Nelsen hopes pre-game chit-chat will be different in the future.

“Everything we do, we keep inside the walls,” he said. “The players, staff, everything stays in the four walls.”