Altidore plays hero as Toronto tops Columbus

TFC 1, CREW 0

TORONTO Jozy Altidore, limping on a bum ankle, scored in the 60th minute to return Toronto FC to the MLS Cup final with a 1-0 win over Columbus Crew SC in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final Wednesday.

After a scoreless tie in Game 1 Nov. 21 in Ohio, Columbus needed a win or draw with goals to advance. But an ailing Altidore took matters into his own hands in dramatic fashion before a sellout crowd of 30,392 on a crisp night at BMO Field.

The goal started with an Alex Bono goal kick that found Sebastian Giovinco deep in Columbus territory. The diminutive Italian held off several defenders and back-heeled the ball to Altidore, who stabbed it to Victor Vazquez. The Spanish midfielder paused and then dinked a pass to Altidore, who rolled a right-footed shot past Zack Steffen.

It was Toronto’s first goal in 258 minutes. The last score came almost a month ago — on Oct. 30, via a Giovinco free kick in the 72nd minute of a 2-1 win at Red Bull Arena.

Columbus striker Ola Kamara nearly tied it up in the 87th minute, but couldn’t get a boot to the ball on a raking cross. Bono then beat Kamara to a cross in stoppage time.

Altidore seemed destined for an early night after suffering an ankle injury in the 50th minute in a collision with Crew wingback Harrison Afful.

But Altidore soldiered on, coming up big when needed. He limped off eight minutes after the goal.

Toronto will host either the Seattle Sounders or Houston Dynamo in the Dec. 9 MLS Cup final. The Sounders, who took the title from Toronto in a penalty shootout last year, lead the Western Conference final 2-0 going into Game 2 Thursday in Seattle.