Inter Toronto's high-stakes September continues on Wednesday with a midweek clash against Pacific FC at York Lions Stadium.
With six matches this month, the club will make up the games in hand on the rest of the league. They have some ground to make up on the playoff positions as well.
With 19 points from 18 matches so far this season, Toronto are 11 points behind Vancouver FC for the fourth and final playoff spot. They could narrow that gap to as low as five points this week still with a game in hand, seeing as they also host the Eagles on Sunday.
But that starts with taking care of business against Pacific FC, which has not been an easy proposition for anyone of late.
The CPL's last-place team have been in their best form of the season, losing just one of their past five matches. They picked up their first clean sheet of the season on Saturday in a 0-0 draw in the nation's capital.
After this strong stretch of results, there is a new swagger to this Tridents team, who head to Toronto feeling like they can be true disruptors in the CPL playoff race.
Inter Toronto, meanwhile, look to be on the verge of a breakthrough of their own, having now scored first in four straight matches.
Where they have struggled is closing out those matches. In their past three games, Toronto dropped a vital seven points from winning positions, including late in a 1-1 draw against Forge in Hamilton this past weekend. A big issue has been their lack of scoring, Inter Toronto has scored more than once in a match on just one occasion in their past 14 games in all competitions.
This is the first of two meetings in Toronto between the two clubs this month, as the Tridents return to town on September 27. Inter Toronto are unbeaten in their past five against the Tridents.
But this Pacific team is full of belief, and are ready to spoil the party in Toronto on Wednesday.
NEWS & NOTES
- Inter Toronto striker Sebastian Gonzalez is suspended for Wednesday's match, but will be available to return over the weekend.
- The hosts on Wednesday are also expected to be without leading scorer Julian Altobelli and Béni Badibanga.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Inter Toronto: Pavela; Singh, Sturing, León; Guzmán, Yeates, Bassett, Córdova; Clarke, Skublak, Almagro
Pacific FC: Melvin; Chung, Konincks, Quintana, Greco-Taylor; Gomulka, Browning-Lagerfeldt; Toualy, Daniels, Bustos; Kratt
KEY QUOTES
"The mentality that it's do-or-die for us right now is in the group and the weight of this game and they're up for the task."-- Inter Toronto manager Mauro Eustáquio
"We've come out of that slump that we were in and the players and the results and the team as a whole feels a lot better in the way we are playing as a whole. So I think that's really positive for us and I think that's just our main focus to push towards the end of the season. We have some games in hand, but we need results, we need wins and we need points."-- Inter Toronto midfielder Kembo Kibato
"Looking back at our last five games, It's just one loss in five. There's a win. There's our first clean sheet of the season. Our form's good, but we need to turn these performances into more wins"-- Pacific FC manager Terry Dunfield
"I think spoiling everyone else's party is also a good little incentive if we're stopping other teams from making the playoffs, as well as closing the gap and making sure we're close to them as well."-- Pacific FC fullback Christian Greco-Taylor