EAST HARTFORD – Forced to play away from home and his family circle due to the pandemic, Toronto FC continues to ride.
On Saturday, Toronto beat their third consecutive East Conference candidate, reuniting to send the Philadelphia Union 2-1 in second-half goals through Ayo Akinola and Alejandro Pozuelo.
Greg Vanney’s team had to triumph over the pitfalls in and out of the area with back-to-back victories over New York City FC, Columbus and Philadelphia. Toronto needed a penalty in the 90th minute from Pozuelo to beat NYCFC 1-0 and a three-goal second. half rally to beat Colón.
Against Columbus, the TFC lost 1-0 in an opposite purpose to its side. Against Philadelphia, Toronto lost 1-0 after five minutes. Both times, TFC turned it on in the middle of the moment.
Off the field, Toronto, such as Montreal and Vancouver, had to move south of the border due to restrictions that prevent U. S. groups from entering Canada.
“What we do is not simple. It’s not simple what we do, what other Canadian groups do,” said Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio, a member of downtown Toronto. “Being away from home, being away from those who enjoy for long periods of time, is not simple. It’s not just mentally. This can be exhausting.
“But we’re in the same boat and it brings us many combinations. We stay in the same place, so we are in combination all the time, for each and every meal. And it helps. The boys are helping us. We were all looking to succeed over this in our own way, but in combination. “
Vanney added: “We cannot be motivated through an apology. We have to solve the problems. We want to be open-minded and locate tactics to adapt to a difficult time. I think the out-of-the-box mentality has translated into the box. And the band keeps growing together. “
Toronto (9-2-4) soon climbed the league’s most sensible standings with Saturday’s win, but a moment on the night about the difference after Columbus went back to tie FC Dallas 2-2.
The game, the moment at TFC’s pandemic home, at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, the first of five in 16 days for Toronto. Then a game in New England followed an assembly with Cincinnati, the Red Bulls and Atlanta.
TFC’s winning purpose came here in the 76th minute after Chris Mavinga threw a headbutt from a corner at a Pozuelo without scoring at the time of the post for his seventh of the season and fourth in the same number of games.
He is the fourth winning goal of the season and the third in a row for Pozuelo, who was named MLS Player of the Month in September. in the most sensible in the league.
Toronto extended its undefeated streak to five (4-0-1), but the win would possibly have come at a cost, however, TFC lost fullback Justin Morrow and jozy Altidore for injuring the game.
Morrow, who will turn 33 on Sunday, gave way to Tony Gallacher in the 39th minute after a crash. A teacher put ice on his right calf on the bench while the veteran side held his head in his hands. 53 minutes after grabbing the back of his left thigh while trying a ball.
Vanney said it was probably a challenge for the hamr tendon for Altidore, who has a history of such challenges.
Sergio Santos scored for Philadelphia (8-3-4), which interrupted his five-game undefeated streak.
Toronto had 58% ownership and beat Philadelphia 13-9, the Union had a 5-3 merit in frame shots.
Union was ahead of 5 minutes with the first shot of the match, with a headbutt of Mavinga from a Philadelphia player who sent the ball to Santos, the Brazilian overtook defender Omar Gonzalez, who failed to clear, and pulled goalkeeper Quentin Westberg at a narrow angle.
Westberg made a glorious tackle in the 30th minute, flying through the air to fend off Capverdian Jamiro Monteiro’s long-range shot from the bar. He then stopped Kacper Przybylko in the rebound, but the game was canceled offside.
Toronto had nearly 65% ownership in the first half, but that resulted in a single knock-on-door.
Akinola tied in the 58th minute, receiving two large long-distance passes, Marky Delgado’s first and Gallacher’s tune-up. The Scottish side introduced a better centre for Akinola, dividing the power plants, to defeat Andre Blake with a header.
The seventh of Akinola’s season, at the time of the Toronto shooting, finished the Jamaican foreign goalkeeper’s bleaching series with 323 minutes to play.
Toronto has covered an unchanged list for the team that beat Columbus last Sunday. The TFC travel organization rented his home after the game, returning to Hartford on Wednesday.
This report through The Canadian Press was first published on October 3, 2020