Second-half substitutes Insigne, Kerr lead Toronto FC comeback to beat Union 2-1
Courtesy of Philadelphia Union
Toronto and Philadelphia squared off Saturday night separated by just three points in the Eastern Conference standings with Toronto 9th & Philadelphia 14th. Philadelphia set out for Toronto, 1-7-4 in their last twelve games, while Toronto was winless in six, their last point coming on a draw with DC United, one game after drawing the Union nil-nil at the end of May. Behind a two-goal second half and the contributions from their substitutes, Toronto got back in the win column on Saturday night.
A game involving two teams, desperate to get back in the win column, certainly set off with some energy. In the 3rd minute, Toronto right back Sigurd Rosted made a run forward off a set piece, Federico Bernadeschi receiving the initial pass before playing Rosted in on the right side. His near-post cross for Prince Osei Owusu was defended well by Jakub Glesnes and went out for a goal kick.
In the 9th minute, a right-wing Union set piece from Kai Wagner resulted in a “disallowed” Jesus Bueno goal, the referee whistling a foul before Bueno had struck his header that went in. I did find it weird the Apple announcers never mentioned that Bueno’s header even went in, let alone that it was beautifully placed inside the near corner to Sean Johnson‘s left.
Bernardeschi again found himself involved in the 17th minute, with plenty of space opening up in the middle for him to run at the Union defense. The Union’s failure to close out almost resulted in the opening goal. The Italian international and MLS all-star went onto his left foot late in the run and, from about 20 yards out, laced through an always-rising shot that went over the bar.
The Union had two golden chances during the 20s, Jesus Bueno wide open on the back post, his shot pulled just wide off an Olivier Mbaizo cross right onto his foot. Mikkel Uhre then ran onto an over-the-top ball and was in on goal, Sean Johnson was down to make a strong right-hand save and control the rebound.
Toronto missed a partial chance in the 37th minute from about twelve yards out, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty skying a gorgeous cross from Matty Longstaff to the back edge of the box.
Right after that miss, the Union finally sliced through the deadlock. Daniel Gazdag was fouled 25 yards out on the left wing, a perfect angle for a Kai Wagner left-footed free kick. His back-post ball invited Thai Baribo to attack it, and Baribo’s header powered inside the post, almost in the same spot as Bueno’s earlier, just up higher.
That goal forced things to open up a bit more and when John Herdman brought on Lorenzo Insigne and Nickseon Gomis at halftime, Toronto started to control the middle and became more of an attacking threat. Shane O’Neill had looked really good defensively for them before being subbed off but the result and response are hard to argue with now.
Insigne injected some creativity and life into Toronto going forward, playing Owusu through the middle in the 56th for Toronto’s first shot on target, Andrew Rick cradling the ball comfortably to his chest. Right after the Union went downfield, Toronto came charging back. Insigne played Ettienne wide left, the ball eventually finding its way back to him off a shot block. Out of the air, he struck a right-footed side volley across his body, the ball skidding just outside Rick’s post to his right.
If Jack Elliott‘s rough night had not started before the 74th minute (nothing sticks out in my mind) it certainly did at 74 and got worse. Attacking on the right wing, Bernardeschi delivered a left-foot cross to the backside post. A wide-open Marshall-Rutty got down low to the ground and nodded his header off the ground across the box. Deandre Kerr, who came on for Prince Owusu in the 62nd minute, would have put the ball in himself if Jack Elliott had not scored an own goal trying to beat Kerr to the spot.
Just four minutes later, Elliott tried to force a pass out of the Philadelphia back and turned it over off of Deybi Flores‘ foot. Flores, who came on at the same time as Kerr, stuck his foot out to intercept the pass, the ball bouncing right off his boot to Insigne. Insigne played Kerr through on the left so he was 1 v 1 with Rick, who came out to challenge. Kerr’s left foot shot beat Rick short-side to his right, giving Toronto a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Over the final 10+ minutes, the Union didn’t pose much of a threat for a team facing the potential bottom of the table. Damion Lowe posed the best threat towards the end, getting to the middle of the pitch and attempting from 20+ yards out, his shot just going high of the crossbar as he was falling back. Two 2nd half substitutes, Chris Donovan and Quinn Sullivan, also had shots that did not threaten the keeper, Sullivan wide Donovan high and wide.
On the BMO Field pitch Saturday night, John Herdman pressed the right buttons for Toronto, all of his substitutes helping to change the tide of the game. The Union have not been pressing many of the right buttons lately and, for that reason, the Union have gone winless in ten for the first time in team history. They look to put an end to their struggles Wednesday night when they return home to host the New England Revolution. Gametime is 7:30 PM EST and is available on Apple TV.
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