A depleted Toronto FC will travel to Charlotte looking to restart after back-to-back losses.

Back-to-back losses to Sporting Kansas City and Vancouver and a growing injury list have brought Toronto FC back to earth after an impressive 3-1-1 start to the MLS season.

Coach John Herdman is urging courage and patience from his depleted squad as they look to end the slide at Charlotte FC on Saturday.

But what Toronto (3-3-1) needs most is time.

A healthy and mature time under the former Canadian coach.

“We're still building as a team,” Herdman said. “This is a team that's two points off the bottom of the league … We haven't been able to get a consistent, cohesive squad that consistently puts the same guys in key positions.”

The visit to Bank of America Stadium marks TFC's fifth road game in eight matches and its second against Charlotte.

Toronto beat Charlotte 1-0 at home at BMO Field on March 9, thanks to Lorenzo Insigne's 80th minute strike from distance. It was later recognized as the goal of the week.

The win improved TFC's record to 2-0-1. But Herdman's club has gone 1-3-0 since then, including a 4-0 loss in Vancouver last Saturday.

“We've let ourselves down twice in the last two games, where we didn't have the patience and control in a game-changing moment,” Herdman said.

Coming off two recent losses, Toronto is 7-1 entering the weekend in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte (2-3-2) is two points down in ninth place.

While Charlotte is winless on the road at 0-3-1 this season, it is 2-0-1 at home, and its average attendance this season is 30,778 – second only to Atlanta's 50,961.

Toronto is third at 25,498, just ahead of Vancouver at 25,293. (The Whitecaps announced on Thursday that they had sold more than 16,000 of their season memberships). Montreal has yet to play at home this season.

Charlotte has gone 1-2-1 since the first meeting with Toronto, most recently losing 1-0 in New England.

Scoring has been a problem for both teams, with just six goals against in seven games – an average of 0.86, which ties the two for 25th in offense. Vancouver leads the league with an average of 2.33 goals per game.

Six goals were scored by six different players in Charlotte, with Argentina forward Enzo Copetti, the designated player, yet to score in five games.

“If we don't create chances, you start to worry,” said England midfielder Ashley Westwood, Charlotte's captain. “We are creating good opportunities. It's up to us to work hard in training and get it right.”

“One minute they'll be like London buses, all coming at once… We believe we'll knock someone for six soon. I told this to the boys. he added. “We are very close to being a really good team. It's just the last part. That's why the best strikers in the world get the most money because it's the hardest job in football.”

Toronto continue to search for a centre-forward to complement Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi when the main transfer window closes on April 23.

“We're pushing, absolutely pushing,” Herdman said. “We have a pot of money saved up. That pot of money may not be enough to get us what we need. We're still looking at evaluating what we can get out.”

But the club is waiting for the right part, he added.

“We can't band-aid this and just panic buy,” Herdman said. “I want to be patient and see what happens in the summer (transfer) window. And I know it's going to kill the fans. But it's also going to kill the fans, if a guy comes in, they just feel like there's no rebellion.

The defense was much better for both teams, with Charlotte third in the league in allowing an average of 0.86 goals per game. Toronto's numbers gave up 1.29 goals per game after losing to Vancouver with Herdman's team tied for 12th.

Toronto is without injured Insigne, Richie Laria, Brandon Servania, Shane O'Neal and Raul Petretta, and Tyrese Spicer is a question mark. The rookie was due to see a foot specialist on Thursday due to a toe injury.

On a positive note, center back Nixoen Gomis is back in a cast to protect his surgically repaired wrist in Vancouver.

Toronto may get their first look at Charlotte's recent acquisition of Israeli international winger Liel Abada. Coach Dean Smith has options: Copetti and 6-footer Patrick Agyemang are both healthy.

“I want it to be a competitive battle,” Smith said of his starting power forward.

Charlotte is without defender Nate Byrne and midfielder Ben Bender, while midfielder Andrew Privett is questionable with a hamstring problem.

Herdman calls Charlotte “a very well-organized department.”

“The tightest team in MLS… They're back-to-back. This is live football,” he said.

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This Canadian Press report was first published on April 12, 2024

Neil Davidson, Canadian Press