Toronto FC will move onto the knockout rounds of the Leagues Cup with some extra wind in their sails after defeating reigning Concacaf Champions Cup champions CF Pachuca 2-1 at BMO Field on Sunday night.

Derrick Etienne Jr. opened the scoring just before half-time, latching onto a Lorenzo Insigne ball in behind and lifting his finish over the goalkeeper in the 44th minute. Oussama Idrissi equalized in the 59th minute, converting the rebound after Solomón Rondón was denied by Sean Johnson on the counter, but a wing-back to wing-back move in the 78th minute saw Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty pick out Kobe Franklin at the back-post for a low game-winning finish.

TFC will face Inter Miami CF in Florida on Thursday in the Round of 32.

“It was an enjoyable performance from our players,” said John Herdman post-match. “We knew what we were coming up against with Pachuca, an aggressive team that can suffocate you and it needed a bit of bravery to play out of their press.”

“We've been working on that this week, putting players right on the razor's edge, right at the limits of what they were comfortable with, and when we were able to break the press once or twice, our confidence grew,” he continued. “We deserved the win tonight and I'm really proud of Kobe getting that goal.”

“He's worked all year – all year – for that moment,” Herdman added. “It's great to see moments like that happen. It's what you coach for.”

With the victory, Toronto topped Group East 6 of the Leagues Cup.

“We did a very good job,” assessed Etienne. “Unlucky to only come away with two goals, we created some good chances; unfortunate to not get the clean-sheet, but to get the win and top the group is very good. And to beat a strong side like that, we’re proud of that.”

Said Franklin: “Very happy; very happy.”

“A really good side in Pachuca, the team put an all around performance in,” he continued. “Happy to get the three points at the end there.”

TFC started brightly and found a few half-chances inside the opening ten minutes – Insigne found Etienne in the box, but he couldn’t get the ball to settle, Federico Bernardeschi saw a left-footed curler deflected wide – culminating in an Etienne goal which was ruled offside in the 9th minute – Nicksoen Gomis had strayed too far in the build-up.

Herdman’s decision to start Etienne in a central role was working to plan.

“We felt with their aggressive pressing, we needed more of a false nine to create an extra number in the midfield and be ready to split the two centre-backs at the right time – and he did,” explained the coach. “It was really cool to watch.”

“I'm happy for Derrick tonight, he's been one of our most consistent performers, a great signing for this club, and he's been rewarded because he puts a shift in every game,” Herdman noted. “He did well tonight.”

Pachuca came back into the game with a few looks of their own, as the two traded possible blows through the rest of the half, until Kevin Long found Matty Longstaff up the left-channel and he in turn found Insigne, who spotted the run of Etienne to craft the opener.

“I have a very good connection with Lorenzo,” said the goal-scorer. “I knew when he gets the ball facing forward that if you make a run in behind, he'll be able to find you.”

“And,” continued Etienne. “That's exactly what happened.”

The visitors responded, finding another gear into the half-time whistle and then when play resumed, after going to their bench, Pachuca came with a renewed vigour in the second half.

Toronto weathered that storm until the 59th minute when an attacking free-kick came quickly back the other way and Idrissi was on hand to turn a rebound into the open net to equalize.

Herdman went to his bench, bringing on Marshall-Rutty, Prince Owusu, Deybi Flores, Franklin, and Henry Wingo, who made his TFC debut, in a four-minute span.

“The goal they scored, one of their first shots on target, took the air out of our momentum, so we shifted to a 5-3-2, brought Jahkeele’s energy in, Deybi Flores’ energy in – he was really strong – Wingo making his debut, Prince brought an energy,” said Herdman. “The tactical shift allowed us to keep that density central and put us into more of a transitional game, which helped us.”

The newest member of the side impressed in his first 25 minutes

“He brings a composure, a real composure, and just an instinct and explosiveness to cover ground at the right time,” said Herdman of Wingo. “He reads the pass before it's made and technically he's clean, very clean. I'm excited to see what Henry brings.”

It was a pair of those substitutes who combined to change the result.

Two minutes after coming on, Franklin rose up at the back-post to get on the end of a Marshall-Rutty cross, putting his header wide. Five minutes after that another chance came his way and this time he made no mistake.

Marshall-Rutty toyed with his defender up the left-side, making space to send in an early ball, and Franklin timed his back-post move to perfection, meeting the delivery with a cushioned left-footed volley, scoring the game-winner.

What most pleased TFC was the response to getting pulled back level.

“They were obviously going to push us,” anticipated Etienne. “We were able to ride their wave and get that second goal to put the game out of reach. That was big for us.”

“In games in the past, we probably would have tied that game or maybe even lost,” he continued. “It's a step in the right direction. We just want to continue to move off of that.”

Earlier in the week it was clear that either Miami or Tigres UANL lay ahead for TFC; by kickoff it was known that a win would mean an away date in Florida and a defeat a home date with the Mexicans. It wasn’t even a question really.

“It was pick your poison,” smiled Herdman. “We were watching Tigres against Miami and they looked very good. You've never gone into a game [thinking] let's not win to get a home match. The players were so clear, the leadership group, that we've been on a good run for the last four games and we wanted to keep that winning mentality.”

“The focus tonight was we weren't happy about our attacking performance against [New York] Red Bulls – we were happy with the defending – and tonight they took it up a notch,” he continued. “We don't get the home advantage, but we get [an extra] day's recovery.”

A date with Miami, who defeated TFC 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium on July 17, is booked for Thursday night.

“We went there, missed some chances early, and they were able to capitalize on their chances,” recalled Etienne. “It's a rematch. We want to continue in this form, do everything we can to get the win, and keep going in the competition.”

“This is something that we looked forward to,” he continued. “Everyone's excited to be in it. To be able to top the group and now have to go on the road to play one of the best teams in the league is a test that all the guys are up for.”

Herdman’s parting message, having handed a defeat to the champions of Concacaf, was, “stay humble.”

“It was a game [where] both teams had already progressed, we know that teams like that have levels. We had a big opportunity, for our fans more than anything, to show that we've got more in the tank and we think we can keep pushing, whether it's in this competition or MLS,” he continued. “We're doing it for them. They deserved a night like that.”

“A lot of people were thinking Pachuca was going to come here and take the result, but we showed our spirit. We wanted it more, but we’ve just got to stay humble, that's the bottom line,” Herdman closed. “It's back to work Monday. Massive game against Miami, which we're excited about – we know a little bit about them having played them recently. It’s going to be exciting Thursday, knockout football.”