Toronto FC faces decisive showdown: playoff push begins with back-to-back home games

Toronto missed a chance to build a two-point lead with Saturday's draw at Chicago.

“It was really disappointing. We had the chance to eliminate them and conceding the late goal like that was killer,” Longstaff said. “If we had beaten Chicago it would have been a little easier for the playoffs, but that's how football works sometimes, it doesn't always go the way you want it to.”

“We knew we had to restart and said we have to focus on the Red Bulls now,” he continued. “We know they have a difficult period themselves but they are a good team so we just had to make sure we were ready to go tomorrow.”

The playoff permutations and the implications of this or that result can be overwhelming at this time of year – Miami can clinch the Supporters' Shield with a win in Ohio over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday – so we'll keep it simple.

“I haven’t even focused on that side,” Herdman explained. “I promised myself that I wasn’t going to pay attention to all these different variations of what could happen.”

“In the last few weeks I wasn't really paying attention to what other teams were doing (in the standings), just what was ahead of us,” he continued. “It was Charlotte, then Orlando, then Charlotte and then New York. We were on their trail. We didn’t even really pay attention to what was behind us, but when teams end up on the same score, of course it’s a realization that we have to take care of business at home now.”

“We have two wonderful opportunities in this stadium. If Miami wins (midweek), great, well done, they've been brilliant this season. And if not, it doesn’t matter,” Herdman emphasized. “We have to be ready for whatever comes on Saturday and realistically we have to win. That’s the plan.”

The out-of-town scoreboard is secondary to the one in Toronto.

“We've learned that the results can be what you want, but if you don't take care of the business, it won't do you any good,” Longstaff emphasized. “We know we have to win tomorrow night. We need to score points, that’s all we’re focused on.”

The third meeting of the season will take place against the Red Bulls on Wednesday. Sandro Schwarz's side won the MLS meeting 3-0 in New Jersey in June, but Toronto fought to a goalless draw in the League Cup encounter at Red Bull Arena in late July before securing the result on penalties.

“It’s hard to play against them,” Herdman said. “We know it will be difficult conditions. The pitch will be a bit bumpy so it suits their style which is an aggressive transitional style. Last time we played we had about 68% possession and a lot of opportunities, but they just find a way to keep hitting you in transition and are very good at it.”