Toronto FC shaken by late goal from Earthquakes
Sitting nine points back of the sixth and final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference and with 10 games remaining, Toronto Football Club needs every point they can get.
But, heading home with a single, after having three points seemingly in their grasp, the club’s head coach Greg Vanney was having a tough time seeing the bright side after San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski scored the tying goal in the 77th minute of a 1-1 draw with the Earthquakes on Saturday night.
“Probably in most seasons and most nights I would be OK with it. It’s our fifth game in 15 days and we travelled all the way from Toronto here on a short rest — the guys put a lot of effort into it no doubt,” said Vanney.
“But having gone up 1-0 and in pretty good control of the situation, to lose a ball that in one pass turns into the goal, really just off of mistakes, just shooting ourselves in the foot at that point, then it’s extremely disappointing.”
Wondolowski ran onto a long pass from Nick Lima and ripped a shot from the right side that bounced off goalkeeper Alex Bono. Wondolowski chased down the rebound and chipped it in from the top of the six-yard box.
He has 141 career MLS goals, four behind Landon Donovan for the league record.
Lucas Janson, a 24-year-old forward making his first MLS appearance after signing with Toronto on Aug. 8, opened the scoring for the Football Club (6-12-6) in the 59th minute. Sebastian Giovinco led Gregory van der Wiel down the right side of the penalty box where he first-timed a cross to Janson for the finish into an empty net.