Toronto FC II picked up a huge three points after a wild 3-2 victory in Bethlehem. The Young Red’s first trip to Goodman Stadium saw a 10-man squad hold on for the win.
The Young Reds struck first in the 17th minute when Mitch Taintor won a battle in the midfield. His header found Shaan Hundal, who sprinted past a fallen Steel defender to get in 1-on-1 with the keeper. Hundal, who was recently named to the USL’s top 20 under 20, made no mistake and slotted his shot past the keeper.
The Reds were fortunate to make it to the half with the score still at 1-0. An extra time corner from the Steel was headed for the back of the net, but a perfectly positioned Luca Uccello made the goal-line stop.
The second half saw the Steel FC answer quickly. Ryan Richter’s free kick found the head of Nick Bibbs who directed the ball past Angelo Cavalluzzo.
Shortly after conceding, the Young Reds would find the back of the net again. Luca Uccello played a perfect cross into the box. Hundal climbed up to meet it and guide the ball into the back of the Bethlehem net. It is the Brampton native’s first career multi-goal game.
Keeper Angelo Cavalluzzo was not expected to see much playing time this season, however an injury to Phil Di Bennardo had Cavalluzzo making his first career USL start. Just after the 2nd Hundal goal Cavalluzzo would make two incredible stops to keep the score at 2-1.
Some nice footwork from Raheem Edwards created some space. He then played a nice one-two with Hundal along the sideline. Edwards was able to get into the box and send a perfect pass to a wide-open Luca Uccello. The Woodbridge native put home his 4th of the season.
Just a minute later, Wesley Charpie took down a Steel FC forward in the box leading to a penalty kick. Charpie was shown a red card for the foul. Cavalluzzo was able to get his hands on the PK attempt but Ryan Richter beat everyone to the ball and buried the rebound.
The 10-man Reds were able to hold off the Steel FC attack for the final 10 minutes. The win has the Reds just 5 points out of the final playoff position. The Young Reds are back in action on Saturday August 6 when they visit Orlando City B. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM ET.
Scoring Summary
TFC II – Shaan Hundal 17’
BTS – Nick Bibbs 49’ (Ryan Richter)
TFC II – Shaan Hundal 60’
TFC II – Luca Uccello 78’
BTS – Ryan Richter 81’
Misconduct Summary
TFC II – Raheem Edwards 31’ (caution)
TFC II – Sal Bernal 46’ (caution)
BTS – Joshua Heard 53’ (caution)
TFC II – Wesley Charpie 80’ (ejection)
BTS – Amoy Brown 85’ (caution)
Records:
Toronto FC II: 6-12-5 23pts.
Bethlehem Steel FC: 6-8-7 25pts.
Lineups
Toronto FC II – Angelo Cavalluzzo; Wesley Charpie, Mitchell Taintor, Skylar Thomas, Anthony Osorio; Chris Mannella ©, Brian James (Liam Fraser 73’), Luca Uccello (Aidan Daniels 89’); Sal Bernal (Dante Campbell 68’), Shaan Hundal (Ayo Akinola 78’), Raheem Edwards (Marko Maletic 82’)
Substitutes Not Used: Brogan Engbers, Steven Furlano
Bethlehem Steel FC – Samir Badr; Ryan Richter ©, Nick Bibbs, Anderson Conceicao, Taylor Washington; Boluwatife Akinyode, James Chambers, Seku Conneh (Fred 44’); Joshua Heard (Matthew Real 89’), Gabriel Gissie (Jamie Luchini 66’), Cory Burke (Amoy Brown 75’)
Substitutes Not Used: Lamine Conte
