Giovinco magic too much for Crew
Atomic Ant sparks offence and Reds open big week with overpowering home win
The shot seemed entirely innocuous, a boot from 35 metres or so out that looked like one of those “well, let’s see what might happen here” moments that pop up in soccer games all the time.
But when the ball leaves the foot of Sebastian Giovinco magic sometimes happens, and it did again on Sunday night.
Giovinco’s shot glanced off the back of teammate Tsubasa Endoh — who was credited with the goal, hardly a move that could be called a deflection because it looked more like a moment of self preservation more than anything — before it curled, floated, drifted and bent into the narrowest of openings in the far corner of the net, helping power Toronto FC to a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Crew on a delightful evening for soccer enjoyed by an announced crowd of 23,979 at BMO Field.
The eighth-minute goal kick-started the Reds to their second home win inside a week, lifting them to an 8-7-6 record to solidify their grasp on a playoff spot and open a key week at home that includes games Wednesday against Real Salt Lake and Saturday against the New England Revolution.
“Getting this week off to a start of three points was huge in my eyes, because we don’t have a lot of depth at the moment and we know we’re going to be pushing guys deep this week, and to start off with three points is massive,” said coach Greg Vanney.
Giovinco, who snapped an increasingly frustrating eight-game goalless streak with a hat trick last weekend against D.C. United, scored one of his own in the 24th minute, finishing a wonderful give-and-go with Jay Chapman by depositing a shot past Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark in almost the same spot as the first goal.
The Atomic Ant’s prowess once again proved he’s worthy of all the accolades that come his way, and he had a glorious opportunity to add to his goal total in the 60th minute.
After taking a lovely back-heel pass from Jozy Altidore, who came on as a 57th-minute substitute as he works his way back from a hamstring injury, Giovinco rattled two shots off the post in about 10 seconds. Altidore, the American international who missed 10 weeks with his injury before returning last weekend, looked to be rounding into form, completing the scoring in the 87th minute after he and Giovinco got more into a groove.
“Seba has missed Jozy as much (as) or more than anyone over the course of the last few months . . . so when he gets on there, it’s getting him into the rhythm and groove of things,” Vanney said.
“Get him touches, get him in front of goal, keep him involved, (help) them to continue to work off each other, because if they do they will be virtually unstoppable.”
Despite Altidore coming back, the Reds remained far from full health. Midfielder Benoit Cheyrou sat out with an unspecified injury, joining Michael Bradley, midfielder Will Johnson and goalkeeper Clint Irwin on the shelf. The diminished roster didn’t suffer, however, as TFC’s midfield depth was more than good enough thanks to the young and steady quartet of Marky Delgado, Endoh, Jonathan Osorio and Chapman.
“We’ve got a group out there that’s working hard for each other,” said Vanney. “They respect that it’s not going to be perfect all the time, but they continue to do the work and try to cover one another and work together.”