If Toronto FC’s defence was mid-table calibre, the Reds would be all alone atop the Eastern Conference. They’d be a lock for the playoffs with games in hand, with a whole whack of home matches looming this fall.

But TFC’s defence isn’t mediocre. The club’s team defending has been awful through July, a month that has seen the Reds, on average, concede 3.66 goals per game away from BMO Field.

Columbus was the benefactor Saturday night in Ohio, where the Reds somehow, someway picked up a significant road point in a wild 3-3 draw against an Eastern Conference foe.

The result kept Toronto FC just three points behind second-place Columbus with three games in hand.

“If we can take one and keep the opposition form getting points in their home games, those are bonus points,” TFC bench boss Greg Vanney said post-game. “We know we need to get results at home.”

Away from home, however, things looked lost from the start Saturday night in Central Ohio.

The three-goal lead the hosts built before the 47th minute appeared insurmountable. Then again, so did the two-goal lead New York City FC built against TFC two weeks ago before a 4-4 finish at Yankee Stadium.

Call it payback for the bogus sending off the Reds suffered when these two sides met at MAPFRE Stadium earlier this season. Toronto FC’s Jozy Altidore was awarded a questionable penalty minutes from the final whistle when he went down easily under a clumsy challenge from the Crew’s Waylon Francis. The U.S. international converted to save face following a poor defensive display.

“At the end of the day, it has to be harder for teams to put the ball in the back of the net,” Vanney said. “We have to be a little bit sharper in a number of ways. That’s on an individual level and a collective level.”

Moments after Ethan Finlay extended the Crew’s lead to three, Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco one-timed a long diagonal from Collen Warner past the Crew’s Steve Clark to start the comeback.

The Reds were within a goal five minutes later after Warner finished off a teasing cross at the back post to set up Altidore’s late equalizer.

“It was great for us to get those two goals back-to-back, which made the game very manageable at that point (with 30 minutes remaining),” Vanney said.

“One goal at a time (was the plan after halftime). We knew we would get our chances. We needed to be closer together defensively.”

Once again it was Toronto’s unstoppable offence rescuing the club’s flappable defence, one that continues to push TFC to the brink of defeat game after game.

Only a big save from Joe Bendik late in the match prevented Kei Kamara from re-doubling the Crew’s advantage to 4-2.

After Kamara cut past a TFC defender at the top of the area, the Sierra Leone international struck a left-footed drive that TFC’s ’keeper pushed over the frame.

“It was the difference in the game at that point,” Vanney said of Bendik’s key save. “That save was enormous. The goals that happened today there was nothing he could do.”

And there were plenty of them.

The Reds appeared done and dusted when the Crew lit up the scoreboard through the first two-thirds of the game.

Kamara opened the scoring in the 17th minute after finishing with his head off a ping-ponged ball inside in the goal box. The hosts doubled their lead 20 minutes later when Tony Tchani’s one-timer curled past Bendik at the near post.

Down 2-0 coming out halftime, Toronto’s embattled defence was unlocked along the right edge of the box before Finlay finished past Bendik to, for the time being, put the game out of reach.

“Overall, I’m extremely proud of the group,” Vanney said. “We had a lot of reasons to put our heads down at 3-0.”

Instead, they fought back to earn another confidence-building point on the road.

Better defending, however, would have meant three.

After signing Moroccan centre back Ahmed Kantari earlier this week, Toronto FC is hoping to finally shore up a defensive unit that is, statistically, among the worst in the league.

Kantari could be available next weekend depending on fitness, the hope being the French-born defender will make the difference in TFC’s aspirations to win the conference.

BELIZE THEN THE BIG BOYS FOR CANADA

Not Mexico. Anyone but Mexico.

Yep, Canada got Mexico.

Assuming Les Rouges gets past Belize in Round 3 of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying next month, they’ll meet Mexico, Honduras and the winner of Curacao/El Salvador in Round 4 — a death sentence.

During Saturday’s World Cup qualifying draw in St. Petersburg, Russia, fans held their breath before learning Canada’s path to Russia 2018.

It could have been much worse in Round 3. In drawing Belize, Canada avoided Nicaragua, Antigua and Grenada — three teams that in previous World Cup cycles have proven to be difficult opponents while playing at home.

Canada’s good fortune, though, didn’t carry over to Round 4, where they were drawn against 2014 World Cup qualifiers Mexico and Honduras in a four-team round-robin.

“Speaking about the group in which we could be included if we beat Belize, I think that all the teams have a similar level,” Canada head coach Benito Floro said.

“It’s true that Mexico is one step over the rest. But we need to trust in our players because history has demonstrated that it’s possible to qualify for (CONACAF’s final round of qualifying).”

They’ll need to get past a side FIFA lists as the No. 162 best team in the world, a squad that has just a handful of players competing outside of Belize.

“We can say Belize is a team that has made positive and continuous progress,” Floro said. “That’s good for us because it won’t be easy to pass this (home-and-home) round. We need to focus on these first two games with a lot of intensity.

“Of course we’re only going to focus on Belize right now because if we don’t win that, it doesn’t matter to think about the groups. For us, it’s very important and we can’t have any doubts about that.”

Fans and players will look ahead to Round 4 regardless.

Canada, which will play in Group A if it tops Belize, was unlucky not to have been dropped into Group C alongside the U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago. Playing away in those countries is nowhere near as daunting as playing in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.

Canada hosts Belize on Sept. 4 at BMO Field in Toronto before traveling to Belmopan, Belize on Sept. 8.

Should Canada advance, they’ll enter the Round 4 group stage in November.

— Kurtis LarsonKURTIS LARSON

Toronto Sun

If Toronto FC’s defence was mid-table calibre, the Reds would be all alone atop the Eastern Conference. They’d be a lock for the playoffs with games in hand, with a whole whack of home matches looming this fall.

But TFC’s defence isn’t mediocre. The club’s team defending has been awful through July, a month that has seen the Reds, on average, concede 3.66 goals per game away from BMO Field.

Columbus was the benefactor Saturday night in Ohio, where the Reds somehow, someway picked up a significant road point in a wild 3-3 draw against an Eastern Conference foe.

The result kept Toronto FC just three points behind second-place Columbus with three games in hand.

“If we can take one and keep the opposition form getting points in their home games, those are bonus points,” TFC bench boss Greg Vanney said post-game. “We know we need to get results at home.”

Away from home, however, things looked lost from the start Saturday night in Central Ohio.

The three-goal lead the hosts built before the 47th minute appeared insurmountable. Then again, so did the two-goal lead New York City FC built against TFC two weeks ago before a 4-4 finish at Yankee Stadium.

Call it payback for the bogus sending off the Reds suffered when these two sides met at MAPFRE Stadium earlier this season. Toronto FC’s Jozy Altidore was awarded a questionable penalty minutes from the final whistle when he went down easily under a clumsy challenge from the Crew’s Waylon Francis. The U.S. international converted to save face following a poor defensive display.

“At the end of the day, it has to be harder for teams to put the ball in the back of the net,” Vanney said. “We have to be a little bit sharper in a number of ways. That’s on an individual level and a collective level.”

Moments after Ethan Finlay extended the Crew’s lead to three, Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco one-timed a long diagonal from Collen Warner past the Crew’s Steve Clark to start the comeback.

The Reds were within a goal five minutes later after Warner finished off a teasing cross at the back post to set up Altidore’s late equalizer.

“It was great for us to get those two goals back-to-back, which made the game very manageable at that point (with 30 minutes remaining),” Vanney said.

“One goal at a time (was the plan after halftime). We knew we would get our chances. We needed to be closer together defensively.”

Once again it was Toronto’s unstoppable offence rescuing the club’s flappable defence, one that continues to push TFC to the brink of defeat game after game.

Only a big save from Joe Bendik late in the match prevented Kei Kamara from re-doubling the Crew’s advantage to 4-2.

After Kamara cut past a TFC defender at the top of the area, the Sierra Leone international struck a left-footed drive that TFC’s ’keeper pushed over the frame.

“It was the difference in the game at that point,” Vanney said of Bendik’s key save. “That save was enormous. The goals that happened today there was nothing he could do.”

And there were plenty of them.

The Reds appeared done and dusted when the Crew lit up the scoreboard through the first two-thirds of the game.

Kamara opened the scoring in the 17th minute after finishing with his head off a ping-ponged ball inside in the goal box. The hosts doubled their lead 20 minutes later when Tony Tchani’s one-timer curled past Bendik at the near post.

Down 2-0 coming out halftime, Toronto’s embattled defence was unlocked along the right edge of the box before Finlay finished past Bendik to, for the time being, put the game out of reach.

“Overall, I’m extremely proud of the group,” Vanney said. “We had a lot of reasons to put our heads down at 3-0.”

Instead, they fought back to earn another confidence-building point on the road.

Better defending, however, would have meant three.

After signing Moroccan centre back Ahmed Kantari earlier this week, Toronto FC is hoping to finally shore up a defensive unit that is, statistically, among the worst in the league.

Kantari could be available next weekend depending on fitness, the hope being the French-born defender will make the difference in TFC’s aspirations to win the conference.

BELIZE THEN THE BIG BOYS FOR CANADA

Not Mexico. Anyone but Mexico.

Yep, Canada got Mexico.

Assuming Les Rouges gets past Belize in Round 3 of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying next month, they’ll meet Mexico, Honduras and the winner of Curacao/El Salvador in Round 4 — a death sentence.

During Saturday’s World Cup qualifying draw in St. Petersburg, Russia, fans held their breath before learning Canada’s path to Russia 2018.

It could have been much worse in Round 3. In drawing Belize, Canada avoided Nicaragua, Antigua and Grenada — three teams that in previous World Cup cycles have proven to be difficult opponents while playing at home.

Canada’s good fortune, though, didn’t carry over to Round 4, where they were drawn against 2014 World Cup qualifiers Mexico and Honduras in a four-team round-robin.

“Speaking about the group in which we could be included if we beat Belize, I think that all the teams have a similar level,” Canada head coach Benito Floro said.

“It’s true that Mexico is one step over the rest. But we need to trust in our players because history has demonstrated that it’s possible to qualify for (CONACAF’s final round of qualifying).”

They’ll need to get past a side FIFA lists as the No. 162 best team in the world, a squad that has just a handful of players competing outside of Belize.

“We can say Belize is a team that has made positive and continuous progress,” Floro said. “That’s good for us because it won’t be easy to pass this (home-and-home) round. We need to focus on these first two games with a lot of intensity.

“Of course we’re only going to focus on Belize right now because if we don’t win that, it doesn’t matter to think about the groups. For us, it’s very important and we can’t have any doubts about that.”

Fans and players will look ahead to Round 4 regardless.

Canada, which will play in Group A if it tops Belize, was unlucky not to have been dropped into Group C alongside the U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago. Playing away in those countries is nowhere near as daunting as playing in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.

Canada hosts Belize on Sept. 4 at BMO Field in Toronto before traveling to Belmopan, Belize on Sept. 8.

Should Canada advance, they’ll enter the Round 4 group stage in November.