Toronto FC took on fourth place Philadelphia Union Wednesday night at BMO Field.
The opening half saw Toronto FC register four shots on target to Philadelphia’s one. TFC started the game on an offensive note when Federico Bernardeschi’s left-footed shot attempt from outside the 18-yard box was saved in the bottom left corner by Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake in the 15th minute. Just eight minutes later, TFC would open the game’s scoring courtesy of Lorenzo Insigne.
The goal was a result of a brilliant link-up play that ended up with TFC forward Deandre Kerr squaring the ball to Insigne, who made no mistake in placing his right-footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner in the 23rd minute of the game. TFC would continue to drive forward with offensive momentum throughout the opening half. In the 37th minute TFC left-back Raoul Petretta connected with Bernardeschi’s cross, but Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake made a great save denying the headed opportunity. Philadelphia was able to tie the game late into the first half when a deflected cross made its way to striker Julián Carranza at the far post.
The Reds kicked off the second half searching for breakthrough goals. In the 58th minute, TFC was able to secure their second lead of the evening courtesy of a terrific team goal. Defender Kobe Franklin’s excellently weighted through ball found Federico Bernardeschi on the inside right-hand side of the 18-yard-box; Bernardeschi squared it up to TFC forward Deandre Kerr, who made no mistake in driving the ball into the bottom left side of the Philadelphia net.
Just five minutes later, TFC was back it again. In the 63rd minute, midfielder Jonathan Osorio scored TFC’s third goal of the game after connecting on a brilliant cross from defender Kobe Franklin. Osorio’s thumping header was buried into the far-right side netting! As the game progressed, the frustration seemingly increased for the Philadelphia Union. In the 97th minute, midfielder Jesús Bueno was sent off for violent action towards TFC left-back Raoul Petretta. The initial refereeing call on the field was a yellow card but the VAR decision was to upgrade the punishment to a straight red after further replays.
The result means that TFC picked up all three points and snapped their losing streak. The Reds return to action on Saturday, September 16th at BMO Field vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
