Toronto FC II (9W-12L-6T, 34 points) fell to a 1-5 loss against the visiting Chattanooga FC (9W-9L-9T, 40 points) at York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario on Sunday afternoon.
TFC II Head Coach Gianni Cimini made a pair of changes from last week’s starting eleven against New York Red Bulls II with debutant Shafique Wilson and Lucas Olguin coming into the fray for Abraham Rodriguez and Adam Pearlman.
The hosts settled nicely into their final home game of the 2024 campaign and came close to open the scoring on multiple occasions in a 10-minute span but were unable to convert through Hassan Ayari, Andrei Dumitru and Richard Chukwu in the first half.
Chattanooga FC took the lead against the run of play when Mehdi Ouamri set up Jesús Ibarra in the penalty area, who found the bottom-right corner of the net to make it 1-0 for the visitors in the 34th minute.
TFC II were denied an equalizer twelve minutes into the second half when Hassan Ayari, Andrei Dumitru and Charlie Staniland combined neatly in the attacking third with Chattanooga keeper Jonathan Burke on hand to save Staniland’s driven, goal-bound effort.
The Young Reds levelled the score at one two minutes later when an intricate passing sequence between Ayari, Staniland and Dumitru resulted in Markus Cimermancic side-footing home from close-range. The 60th minute strike marked Cimermancic’s fifth goal contribution (four goals, one assist) and Dumitru’s second assist of the 2024 campaign.
Chattanooga FC responded in emphatic fashion at York Lions Stadium, clinically scoring three goals in the space of eight second-half minutes. Milo Garvanian restored the lead for the visitors with a left-footed strike in the 62nd minute. Four minutes later, Markus Naglestad’s cross into the penalty area was slotted home by Taylor Gray before captain Alex McGrath struck a half-volley to make it 4-1 in the 70th minute.
The visitors added their fifth and final goal of the afternoon through Taylor Gray in the 80th minute to secure the 5-1 road result and all three points from York Lions Stadium.
TFC II conclude their 2024 campaign with a road match on MLS NEXT Pro Decision Day against Crown Legacy FC on Sunday, October 6. Kick-off from Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina is set for 1:00 p.m. ET and will be available to watch globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
SCORING SUMMARY
CFC – Jesus Ibarra 35’ (Mehdi Ouamri)
TOR – Markus Cimermancic 60’ (Andrei Dumitru)
CFC – Milo Garvanian 62’ (Jesus Ibarra)
CFC – Taylor Gray 66’ (Markus Naglestad)
CFC – Alex McGrath 70’ (Luis Garcia Sosa)
CFC – Taylor Gray 80’ (Milo Garvanian)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CFC – Andrés Jiménez 8’ (caution)
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC II – Shafique Wilson; Marko Stojadinovic (Matthew Catavolo 83’), Ythallo, Richard Chukwu (Stefan Kapor 75’); Mark Fisher (C), Charlie Staniland (Tyler Londono 81’), Lucas Olguin, Jesús Batiz; Hassan Ayari, Markus Cimermancic, Andrei Dumitru (Joses Chukwu 81’)
Substitutes Not Used: Nathaniel Abraham, Kundai Mawoko, Costa Iliadis
CHATTANOOGA FC – Jonathan Burke; Jesse Williams (Joseph Perez 70’), Logan Brown, Farid Sar-Sar, Milo Garvanian; Callum Watson (Luis Garcia Sosa 70’), Andres Jimenez (Robert Screen 83’), Alex McGrath (C); Taylor Gray, Jesus Ibarra (Minjae Kwak 75’), Mehdi Ouamri (Markus Naglestad 46’)
Substitutes Not Used: Michael Barrueta, Ethan Koren
MEDIA NOTES
- Shafique Wilson and Tyler Londono made their Toronto FC II debuts this afternoon, becoming the eighteenth and nineteenth players respectively to make their Young Reds debut during the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season.
- Lucas Olguin made his 50th appearance for Toronto FC II, becoming the fourth active TFC II player (Markus Cimermancic, Julian Altobelli and Adam Pearlman) to reach the milestone.
