Reds return to their MLS ways
A strong wind whirled around BMO Field on Friday night as Toronto FC hosted the Philadelphia Union, and the 3-0 win was a far cry from the whirlwind that was the Reds’ start to the season.
Nine days after TFC lost a heartbreaker to Chivas de Guadalajara in the CONCACAF Champions League final, things were largely back to normal in the Reds’ world.
The team was playing on nearly a full week’s rest for the first time since early April. The stadium was nearly full, but gone was the palpable tension in the crowd during those do-or-die games. And, true to the fashion that has defined the club in recent years, Toronto had its way with an Eastern Conference rival, the contest decided by a goal on either side of halftime, from midfielder Victor Vazquez and striker Sebastian Giovinco respectively. Canadian substitutes Jordan Hamilton and Jay Chapman combined for Toronto’s third just before injury time.
There were still some painful reminders of the Reds’ Champions League campaign: a worn-out pitch stretched thin thanks to an abundance of action during inclement weather over the past two and a half months; the fact that the three points earned on the night gave Toronto a total of seven on the season, still well below the playoff line and with considerable ground to make up; and the long list of names not available for the match because of injury, like Jozy Altidore (hamstring), Drew Moor (quadriceps), Justin Morrow (calf ), Chris Mavinga (hamstring), Eriq Zavaleta (quadriceps) and Nick Hagglund (hamstring).
But even without a number of starters, Toronto looked more like itself than it has in many league matches this year. Where injuries left holes, the Reds’ depth stepped up, as it did so many times last season. And TFC’s big names made the most of their moments, with captain Michael Bradley once again bossing the backline as a makeshift centre back, Vazquez getting the opener in the 28th minute and Giovinco providing insurance a little more than 35 minutes later.
Vazquez’s opener was set up by the striker, who found wingback Nico Hasler wide on the right side of the Union’s penalty box. Hasler, who celebrated his 27th birthday on the day, played a cross into Vazquez, who used the inside of his foot to drag a shot across his body and into the far corner of Union’s goalkeeper Andre Blake’s net.
Philadelphia had its moments, but Toronto’s crowd of 24,728 wouldn’t have to spend much time with their hearts in their throats.
A header off Reds goalkeeper Alex Bono’s crossbar by Union captain Alejandro Bedoya within the first 10 minutes of the match was the visitors’ most eye-catching chance of the evening, and TFC spent much of the second half running at their guests in the attacking end.
That’s how Giovinco’s goal, his first in league play this year, came about.
Midfielder Jonathan Osorio carried the ball out of his own half before finding Giovinco wide on the left, nearing the top of the penalty box. The Italian shook off a pair of defenders as he weaved closer to the net, putting a shot past Blake and into the far corner of Philadelphia’s net.
The visitors barely mounted a comeback in the final half hour.
And Chapman’s goal, which closed things out, in the 89th minute was a thing of beauty at the end of a solid night, a longrange shot from the top of the Union box that Blake had no chance at stopping.