TORONTO — Toronto FC head coach Robin Fraser saw red after his Reds were defeated 4-2 by Inter Miami on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.
Fraser was incensed over a pair of non-calls by referee Victor Rivas in the second half of a hotly-contested match that featured Miami superstar Lionel Messi, who scored a goal for The Herons and assisted on two others.
The first non-call occurred when Toronto defender Raheem Edwards was taken down hard in the Miami end. The visitors took advantage of Edwards lying prone on the field by scoring their second goal of the game.
And then in added time, Toronto forward Derrick Etienne Jr. appeared to be fouled in the Miami box but no penalty kick was called.
“I feel really hard done because Raheem was clearly fouled outside our box, a yellow-card foul at that (and the referee) lets it go,” said Fraser. “And then the player who is now hurt, is the player who keeps them on-side for the second goal. And then Raheem has to come off five minutes later. So, I feel really hard done by some of the calls. But I do admit that we made mistakes that led to our own undoing — turnovers for the most part. But the thing that’s really going to stick in my craw is those two calls. It’s mind-blowing to me.”
When asked if Inter Miami may have received the benefit of some non-calls because they are the defending MLS Cup champion featuring a roster full of stars, Fraser replied: “The rules are the rules. I don’t know if people are afraid to upset superstars by making calls against their team, but the rules are the rules.”
Messi started for Miami and electrified the BMO crowd with his on-field wizardry. The loss extended TFC’s winless streak in MLS matches at home to six games.
TFC forward Emilio Aristizabal, who came into the game as a substitute in the 65th minute, gave the TFC fans something to cheer about in the final minutes when he netted two goals — one via a right-footed shot and the second on a header. To their credit, the Reds fought hard right to the end and put some considerable pressure on the Miami defence.
As for Messi, the only downside for the eight-time FIFA player of the year was when some deranged fans ran onto the field in an attempt to get at the Inter Miami star. Fortunately, security managed to get the situation under control quickly.
For the first time, the temporary stands at BMO Field — constructed for this summer’s World Cup — were put in use. A record 44,828 fans jammed into the lakeside stadium, though the TFC faithful left the stadium feeling let down.
The Reds controlled the match early, but Miami led 1-0 by the 44th minute when central midfielder Rodrigo De Paul picked up a rebound off his own free kick — which bounced off the TFC wall — and right-footed a high shot from the right half-space outside of the box into the goal.
The Red almost tied it just before the halftime whistle, but Miami goalkeeper Dayne St Clair, who is fighting for a spot on Canada’s World Cup team, made a tremendous diving save off Toronto’s Daniel Salloi from a dangerous spot.
In the 56th minute, Messi spun some of his patented magic when he fed Suarez a sweet pass into the box. Suarez scored via a left-footed shot into the corner of the goal as Edwards lay flat on the field in apparent agony — soliciting jeers from the Toronto faithful who thought Rivas should have blown his whistle.
After the second goal, the Reds fought to get back into the game. The home side almost connected when Zane Monlouis’s header was saved by St. Clair.
However, the flood games opened after that, starting with Sergio Reguilon scoring in the 73rd minute, with an assist going to Messi.
Messi then scored his ninth goal of the MLS season in the 75th minute when he left-footed a shot from the centre of the box, with an assist going to De Paul.
Late in the game, a great save by TFC goalkeeper Luka Gavran prevented Messi from scoring his second of the match.
Miami improved to 6-2-4 with the victory. Toronto dropped to 3-4-5.
Miami led 60 per cent to 40 per cent in possession and fired six shots on target to five by Toronto.
“The first half was fantastic,” said Fraser, when asked to break down the game. “The things where we fell short … we probably had four or five transition moments that could have been really dangerous and I felt like our decisions there let us down a bit.”
TFC was still missing a slew of starters due to injury, including midfielder Djordje Milhailovic (pelvis), forward Josh Sargent, midfielder Richie Laryea (thigh) and defender Matheus Pereira (groin). Nicksoen Gomis was dressed after missing games with an Achilles injury.
Saturday’s match was the last home game for TFC after a run of 10 straight at BMO Field. The next home match will be against the New England Revolution on Aug. 15 after the World Cup.
