MONTREAL — Dominic Oduro called Montreal's 4-2 loss in the first leg of its Amway Canadian Championship semifinal with Major League Soccer rival Toronto FC a "slap in the face."

Still, the Impact forward still believes his team is in good shape as they prepare to host Wednesday's decisive second leg.

Ten-man Montreal was losing 4-0 in the dying minutes of last Wednesday's match in Toronto when they salvaged valuable away goals in the 86th minute and in stoppage time.

"Everyone is really pumped up just to rewrite this whole thing and make the script better," Oduro said Tuesday. "Trust me, everybody is ready. Tomorrow can't come soon enough. Everybody is excited to fix this. We just want to make it right.

"The result was a slap in the face. We were all devastated. We knew it wasn't good enough."

Because Toronto holds a two-goal aggregate lead going into Wednesday's second leg, Montreal needs to win by two or more goals to clinch a series victory. The Impact would eliminate TFC on the away goals rule with a 2-0 or 3-1 scoreline.

"We're going to have the crowd behind us," said goalkeeper Eric Kronberg, who gave up four goals on 10 shots in the first leg. "We're going to have the energy. Two goals is definitely a possibility.

"We're in a good position to go through. Obviously we're going to push the game and play an exciting style of soccer. This is what it's all about."

Toronto needs a win, a draw, or a one-goal defeat to stay alive in the tournament. Even a two-goal loss in a high-scoring affair would be enough to send the Reds to the Canadian Championship final.

Toronto's Drew Moor is expecting Montreal to push forward and be aggressive right from the opening whistle.

"I imagine they're going to play a little bit more like they did late in the game (last week), where they're going to throw some numbers forward right away," Moor told the team's website. "We have to be ready to defend, but also take our chances when we get them.

"We want to keep things safe at the back. We need to expect a storm from them. We can't just sit back and expect to absorb tons and tons of pressure."

Montreal (5-4-4 in Major League Soccer) will get a boost from the return of defenders Ambroise Oyongo and Victor Cabrera, who did not play in the first leg of the semifinal. Oyongo was away on international duty with Cameroon, while Cabrera has missed the last three weeks with a calf injury.

The Impact, however, will have to contend with a decimated midfield.

Designated player Ignacio Piatti underwent surgery on his hand last Friday. The Argentine will miss two to three weeks of play. Marco Donadel (ankle) and Calum Mallace (foot) are also injured.

Captain Patrice Bernier was red carded for a late two-footed slide tackle on TFC's Daniel Lovitz last match and will miss the second leg as a result.

And Johan Venegas is representing Costa Rica at the Copa America.

Because of the lack of holding midfielders, coach Mauro Biello says there's a good chance Montreal plays with a 4-4-2 formation instead of a 4-2-3-1.

Spelling even more trouble for the home side is the probable return of Sebastian Giovinco to Toronto's lineup. Giovinco missed the first leg of the semifinal with an adductor injury.

Toronto (4-5-4 in MLS) will also benefit from the return of Will Johnson, who was away last week with the Canadian national team. Johnson, who was sent home early from Canada's camp with a hip flexor injury, could return Wednesday.

"We have an advantage, but we have to play smart," Jonathan Osorio, who scored twice for TFC in the first leg, said on the team's website. "They're the home team now, they're going to come out gunning. We just have to play smart defensively. We'll have our chances too to put in some goals."

The winner of this semifinal will face either the Vancouver Whitecaps or Ottawa Fury in the final at the end of the month. The winner of the final series will hoist the Voyageurs Cup and earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League.