April 5, 2011 MLS--Reds Face A Short Week & Long Trip (from TorontoFC.ca)
Reds Face A Short Week & Long Trip
Asif Hossain
TorontoFC.ca
April 5, 2011
Toronto FC players had light training exercises on Monday as part of their recovery from last weekend's match. On Tuesday they will have a more demanding session in preparation to face San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, April 9 at 10:30 p.m. ET on GOL TV Canada.
The long flight to California in a couple of days means it's a short week for the Reds on the training ground. Head coach and technical director Aron Winter won't have extensive time to work with the several new players Toronto has acquired in the last couple of weeks from trades, signings and, in the case of midfielder Julian de Guzman, a return to fitness.
Later on Tuesday more will be learned on the plight of defender Nana Attakora and left sided attacker Alen Stevanovic. The pair were substituted a few minutes apart in the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw to Chivas USA at BMO Field. Both players appeared to suffer slight knocks during the contest.
Any prolonged absence for Attakora could mean Ty Harden's retrun to centre back after largely patrolling the right side of the backline against Chivas. Should Harden be back in the middle at Santa Clara (San Jose's home grounds) this weekend, Toronto enjoys competition on the right from Dan Gargan and 2011 MLS SuperDraft pick Demitrius Omphroy.
Going to the Bay Area is a homecoming of sorts for Omphroy, who hails from nearby Alameda, California. The 21-year old has yet to feature in a regular season match for the Reds but the speedy defender is used to slogging it out on and off the pitch.
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