Toronto FC (8W-14L-3T, 27 points) dropped a 3-1 road result against Inter Miami CF (15W-4L-5T, 50 points) at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday evening.
First Half:
Toronto FC Head Coach John Herdman employed six changes from his starting eleven that emerged victorious against Philadelphia Union on the weekend with Sigurd Rosted, Shane O’Neill, Matty Longstaff, Kosi Thompson, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Prince Owusu making way for Nicksoen Gomis, Jonathan Osorio, Deybi Flores, Richie Laryea, Lorenzo Insigne and Deandre Kerr.
After dominating the majority of the possession in the opening stages, the affair’s first chance fell to the Reds when Lorenzo Insigne’s left-footed shot from Raoul Petretta’s low cross forced Inter Miami CF goalkeeper and captain Drake Callender into a routine, yet important, save in the 17th minute.
Ten minutes later, TFC missed a golden opportunity to take the lead when the side’s swift counterattack transitioning from defence to attack culminated in Deandre Kerr’s right-footed finish from Federico Bernardeschi’s pass in the box closely missing the target in the 27th minute.
Inter Miami CF found the evening’s opening goal against the run of play in the 43rd minute when Diego GĂ³mez controlled Federico Redondo’s lofted pass and fired home with a powerful strike.
Moments later, Federico Bernardeschi forced Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender into a crucial, outstretched save from a long-range effort, keeping the hosts’ one-goal lead intact heading into the Interval.
Second Half:
The Herons returned from the break and raced into a swift 3-0 lead, courtesy of a quick-fire double from Federico Redondo within the opening 15 minutes.
First, the Argentine midfielder headed home from Julian Gressel’s free-kick delivery in the 53rd minute before Redondo added his second from Diego GĂ³mez’s pass six minutes later.
Looking for a second-half turnaround, Drake Callender was on hand to complete another important, low save to deny Bernardeschi’s powerful drive in the 69th minute.
The Reds scored a consolation goal in the 80th minute when Derrick Etienne Jr. found the net with a clinical, side-foot finish following neat build-up between substitutes Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Kosi Thompson.
Despite the late push, the visitors were unable to further add to the scoreboard late on in Florida with Inter Miami ultimately emerging as 3-1 victors and earning all three points on the Wednesday night.
Next up, Toronto FC travel to face CF Montréal in the latest edition of the 401 Derby on Saturday evening. Kick-off from Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and on TSN 3 in Canada.
LINEUPS
INTER MIAMI CF – Drake Callender (C); Ian Fray, TomĂ¡s AvilĂ©s, Serhiy Kryvtsov (Noah Allen 35’), Jordi Alba; Federico Redondo, Yannick Bright, MatĂas Rojas (David Ruiz 80’); Julian Gressel (Leo Afonso 80’), Diego GĂ³mez (Robert Taylor 80’), Leonardo Campana (Luis SuĂ¡rez 61’)
Substitutes Not Used: CJ dos Santos, Ryan Sailor, Franco Negri, Lawson Sunderland
TORONTO FC – Sean Johnson; Richie Laryea (Kosi Thompson 71’), Kevin Long, Nicksoen Gomis, Raoul Petretta (Shane O’Neill 70’); Federico Bernardeschi (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty 71’), Jonathan Osorio (C), Deybi Flores, Derrick Etienne Jr.; Deandre Kerr (Matty Longstaff 59’), Lorenzo Insigne (Prince Owusu 70’)
Substitutes Not Used: Luka Gavran, Aimé Mabika, Sigurd Rosted, Kobe Franklin
POSTMATCH SOUND
- Link can be found here
