TORONTO — It was good, but in the end, it wasn’t good enough for Toronto FC.
Sebastian Giovinco scored one goal and set up another as TFC beat the Chicago Fire 3-2 on Sunday before 25,235 fans at BMO Field in the club’s Major League Soccer regular season finale.
The win, however, was not enough to propel Toronto past New York City FC into second place in the Eastern Conference, thus ensuring a first-round bye in the playoffs. NYCFC beat the Columbus Crew 4-1 at home on Sunday, which means Toronto finished third in the East and will host the Philadelphia Union in the single-elimination, conference quarter-finals on Wednesday night.
Justin Morrow and Jonathan Osorio also scored for the Reds, who ended a five-game winless skid on Sunday, and secured their first win at BMO Field since Aug. 6 and first win overall since Sept. 10. Although Toronto fell short of finishing in the top two in the East, Sunday’s victory did give the club a much-needed boost of confidence and a bit of momentum ahead of its post-season showdown with the Union.
“We wanted to go into the playoffs with a win, go into the playoffs scoring some goals,” coach Greg Vanney said. “Winning is always a positive thing; it gives you a good feeling as you make your way into the playoffs. … It’s good to have [this] little bit of confidence, and feel that winning sensation again.”
It was sentiment echoed by captain Michael Bradley.
“Momentum counts for a lot this time of year. We wanted to finish in a positive way in front of our fans, and getting ourselves ready for a big week [with a win] is the best possible way,” Bradley offered.
He added later: “We feel good about where we are, we feel good about the group we have. It’s been a very, very positive season.”
Still, you can’t help but look back at TFC’s previous five games—four of which were at home—and think that if they had won just once that they would have finished second and claimed the bye. It was a sobering fact not lost on TFC’s coach, although he didn’t dwell on it too much.
“There’s no question in that stretch of home games that we know we lost the bye. We had some very solid performances, but we did not turn them into wins,” Vanney admitted.
On paper, Toronto matches up well with Philadelphia, having defeated the Union on the road and tying them at home this season. TFC dominated both games, but Bradley warned that that means very little in the post-season.
“Look, we know that in the playoffs and in these big games that form goes out the window, previous results go out the window,” Bradley stated.
“We have a good feel for [Philadelphia], we know what they’re all about. On the night, it’s just going to be about making sure that we have such a strong way, and a will and a determination about us that just says no matter how the game goes, we’re going to take care of things.”
Vanney made one lineup change from last week, replacing Marky Delgado with Nick Hagglund. Vanney also switched to a 3-5-2 setup, instead of deploying his usual diamond-shaped formation. Canadian midfielder Will Johnson was on the bench after missing the last two games through injury.
Toronto started strong, turning the screw on Chicago and dominating the early going. Giovinco was in fine form, as he came close to scoring on three separate occasions in the opening 13 minutes, including a free kick from 30 yards out that whispered past the far post.
But it was Chicago that opened the scoring with its first scoring chance in the 18th minute, as a giveaway by Steven Beitashour in midfield resulted in a Fire counterattack. After the TFC defence kept backing off, Michael de Leeuw slipped in behind and beat Clint Irwin from a bad angle on a shot the goalkeeper would want back.
Toronto pressed for the equalizer for the remainder of the half, and were rewarded just before the break when Giovinco converted from the penalty spot after being brought down by Fire defender Joao Meira. Giovinco ended up finishing tied for fourth in league scoring with 16 goals this season.
The Italian turned playmaker in the 54th minute, latching on to a pass played by Bradley over top of the Fire’s back line, and then peeling away from his defensive mark on the end line before cutting a ball back to the near post for Morrow to nod home with a powerful header.
Osorio made it 3-1 Toronto in the 62nd minute, taking a pass from Armando Cooper and weaving his way around several Chicago players before beating goalkeeper Patrick McLain with a powerful shot. John Goossens scored an 83rd minute goal for the visitors to make it a one-goal game.
NOTES: Toronto won the previous two contests against Chicago this season: 1-0 at home on July 9, and 2-1 in Chicago on Sept. 10… The Fire leads the all-time MLS series, with nine wins and eight draws in 24 meetings… Kickoff for Wednesday’s match is 7:30 p.m. ET. It will mark the first TFC home playoff game in franchise history… If TFC beats the Union, it will face NYCFC in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Toronto would host the first leg on Oct. 30, with the return match slated for Yankee Stadium on Nov. 6.