This game will not be forgotten.
Toronto FC erased a two goal deficit, scoring three goals in the second half to stun the Portland Timbers in front of a raucous crowd at BMO Field.
"These are the kind of days that can change seasons," said Michael Bradley after the game.
It was Bradley that picked the team up after the Reds fell behind early after two mistakes in their defensive end.
It was Bradley that picked his game up, after watching good friend Will Johnson suffer a broken leg just seconds into the match.
It was Bradley that scored the game winning goal in the 89th minute to complete a comeback few saw coming, except for the players in the TFC locker room.
“I don’t think I needed to convince anybody of anything.” answered head coach Greg Vanney when asked what the mood was like at halftime.
“I think the group is definitely believing in what they’re doing. In the end they believed in themselves and they believed in each other.”
The 3-2 win set a series of team records. It was the second time in history TFC came back to win from 2-0 down. The club also set a franchise record for wins, 11, and points, 40, in a season. More importantly than that, TFC continues to chase the dream.
The win keeps the Reds alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and we can still check the standings and muse about who needs to beat who and when in in the coming days.
How did we even get here?
The start of the game was marred by Johnson’s injury, which occurred when the Canadian midfielder and Mark Bloom crashed into each other on a 50-50 ball. Johnson immediately signalled to his bench that the injury was serious.
TFC was sluggish after the restart 10 minutes later, and the Timbers capitalized on a pair of defensive lapses to take a 2-0 lead after 16 minutes.
The Reds looked to have pulled one back via a Steven Caldwell header, but the captain was just offside.
Dominic Oduro was a menace on the right flank, creating two excellent scoring opportunities. Gilberto couldn’t get enough leg on the first and the second was deflected off the post by a Portland defender.
The sellout crowd BMO didn’t waver.
"The fans and crowd were unbelievable today,” Bradley said.
TFC gave them reason to believe 17 minutes into the second half. Nick Hagglund atoned for his mistake on Portland’s opening goal, towering over Alvas Powell to make it 2-1.
Bradley’s excellent delivery from a free kick led to Hagglund’s second goal of the game, yet another header, eight minutes after his first MLS goal.
With Bradley standing over ball with one minute left in regular time it almost felt written. The U.S. international was excellent on set pieces all day and his final kick of the game was no exception. 3-2 TFC.
This is why we watch, why we commit endless hours that could’ve been spent doing so-called “productive” things. Sports, man.
TFC now prepares for a trip to LA for a date with the Galaxy. The beat goes on and on.
