Toronto FC defeated Philadelphia Union 2-1 on Saturday night at BMO Field.
Tai Baribo gave the visitors the lead in the first half when he got on the end of a Kai Wagner free-kick in the 39th minute, but TFC rallied in the second with two goals in a four-minute span.
The first came in the 74th minute when Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty cushioned a Federico Bernardeschi cross into the middle for a sliding Deandre Kerr to finish. It was ruled an own-goal – for now – but Kerr definitely got the final touch in the 78th minute when Deybi Flores intercepted a pass, found Lorenzo Insigne up the field and the Italian slipped his teammate down the left-side of the box for a thumping finish – three substitutes combining to find the game-winner.
“Brilliant from DK [Kerr],” smiled John Herdman post-match. “We had a mission to finish strong. We have a lot of players who are fatigued and going back-to-back games, we've been strong in games, but we wanted to keep some of the weapons on the bench today just to make sure.”
“We've been getting punished in that last 30 minutes and we wanted to ensure some weapons were coming in with a level of freshness and an ability to change the game,” he continued. “It was a good start tonight. We said this was a chance to start again and that we wanted to make sure that we were set up for success [with] Richie [Laryea] and Oso [Jonathan Osorio] coming back.”
“We can go into that match now against Miami with one of my best starting XIs for the first time since the beginning of the season,” Herdman anticipated. “Never too high, never too low, and we just keep our feet on the ground, stay focused. It’s one win – and I thank the fans, they have been brilliant with us tonight, they kept us going – but it's just the start, the start of a playoff push.”
One could see what it meant to the side after the final whistle brought a nine-match dry spell to an end.
“It felt amazing, it felt long overdue,” said Kerr. “It's been a tough stretch, so to get this win in front of the fans, they deserve it.”
Herdman saw a different “mentality” in his side on the night.
“The [Philadelphia] goal rocked them, but it didn't crush them,” he observed. “That was a real testament to some of the work that's been going on behind the scenes from myself, Robyn [Gayle], the leadership group. We've been working hard on that resiliency and how to respond in them moments.”
“After half-time, we had a real clarity with Lorenzo's addition to the [midfield] box. We were able to find some of those third-man combos behind the oppressing structure with his quality – we were lacking that little bit of quality in the first half to be able to break their medium press, but Lorenzo gives that X-factor when he comes into the game and then Flores brings an energy and different sort of grit. He covers the ground well and you could see him intercepting on that pass,” Herdman explained. “We kept enough in the tank to finish strong. We used our depth in the first half.”
Kerr exemplified that gumption.
“He's been struggling with a foot injury. Wednesday night we couldn't start him because of the turf; Atlanta, he could not come on because of the turf. He's got something that's been bugging him all season and he's been really mentally strong to stay in the fight,” credited Herdman. “[Some] players might have decided to pull the pin and try and take three, four, five weeks off, but he knows we're in the grind and he stayed in it. Really proud of him tonight. He has been battling.”
“We had a good chat on Wednesday because he was desperate to play. He was in good form in the CanChamp, had been waiting for his opportunity, and his foot has been holding him back, so to see him get out there tonight, show what he can really do: we need that at this time,” he highlighted. “This is what we need at the moment, a guy that's going to get two shots and score two goals.”
Kerr recounted the game-winner: “I just remember Deybi winning the ball and once Lorenzo gets it with space, I just know I need to make a run or give him the eyes and he found me with the pass.”
“Just focus on the finish,” he continued. “And it worked out.”
Kerr also claims the first one.
“Yes, I did get a touch,” he replied, “I’m going to talk to whoever I have to talk to to get that goal back.”
Toronto has two more games in quick succession before the start of the Leagues Cup. The side travels to Florida to face Inter Miami CF on Wednesday and then heads one province over for a rematch against CF Montréal on Saturday.
“We're grinding it out,” said Herdman. “This last two months has been wild.”
“When you think of the injuries that we have, the long-term injuries, you really have had to push guys, but what I've enjoyed is seeing guys like Kosi Thompson rise to the challenge,” he continued. “He’s gone four 90 minutes; it’s wild, who does that? He's running on the passion of the club. I told him tonight, he's got to be the enforcer for the team. We have a lot of guys on yellow cards who can't enforce themselves on the game. Young Kosi put a hell of a shift in on fumes.”
“Big Aimé Mabika comes in, 12 minutes, every guy has got to contribute in the moment,” Herdman applauded. “And it's going to be like that right till the end of the season.”
There are 10 games left in the 2024 MLS regular season. TFC are in a mass of nine teams vying for the final three spots in the Eastern Conference. The rest of the season begins now.
“We needed that more than anything,” said Kerr. “We felt like we hit rock bottom midweek, so this was a must win to start climbing again.”
Toronto celebrated the victory by banging the drum in front of the faithful. It was something they’d been envisioning for some time.
“Just to hear the drum,” smiled Herdman. “We created a picture of that drum last week, the week before, that's the feeling we all crave, it's what we play for to have that moment.”
“To hear it bang tonight.... We won a match and we are banging the drum,” he continued. “Normally you do that after you've won a cup final or a league or something, but I’ve seen one of the fans literally jump and bring the drum to the players. They know how much we needed it.”
“Never too high, never too low. As I said to the players, let's get back on task now. It was a good feeling – we needed that feeling,” Herdman closed. “We'll get Richie and Oso back and we'll be ready to fight again.”
