• Chicago Fire 2 (Sapong 45’+1’, Nikolic 62’), Toronto FC 2 (Altidore 31’, Osorio 76’)
• Toronto settles for hard-fought draw vs. Chicago
• TFC unbeaten through 1st four games of MLS season
TORONTO – What started out as a one-sided affair turned into a back-and-forth thriller at BMO Field on Saturday afternoon.
After playing the Chicago Fire off the pitch for the majority of the first half, Toronto FC had to come from behind to earn a hard-fought 2-2 draw before an announced crowd of 26,256 fans.
Jozy Altidore and Canadian Jonathan Osorio scored for the Reds, while Spaniard Alejandro Pozuelo – fresh off a magnificent MLS debut last week – collected an assist.
It was the first time TFC (3-0-1) dropped points in 2019 after opening the MLS campaign with a trio of victories. The Reds are now undefeated in 10 games (with eight wins) against Chicago, a streak that dates back to Sept. 26, 2015.
The home side dominated the first half, dictating the pace of the game and putting the visitors on the back foot from the opening kickoff. Toronto enjoyed 75.8 per cent possession and out-passed Chicago by a 428-133 margin through the opening 45 minutes. Still, TFC had difficulty breaking down a Chicago side that defended with 10 players behind the ball and hit out on the counter attack.
Chicago’s tactics didn’t catch Toronto coach Greg Vanney off-guard.
“I thought they would try to protect the space between their lines, protect their centre backs, crowd [the middle], try to hit us on the counter. By and large it looked as I expected,” Vanney said.
Pozuelo called out Chicago for its defensive and physical playing style on the day.
“They only came here to defend and kick [us], not football. This is not football,” Pozuelo opined.
Defender Drew Moor added: “[Chicago] sat in very deep, and wanted to absorb pressure and protect their goal. … We can’t give away points like that right now.”
Captain Michael Bradley was more philosophical about his team dropping two points, and felt TFC had a lot of positive moments against Chicago.
“It’s still early, and you’re going to have days like this over the course of a season. A positive was that when we went down we had strong push in the second half to [make it] 2-2, and then potentially get the winner,” Bradley explained.
Vanney made one lineup change from last week’s win over NYCFC, as Canadian Richie Laryea started in place of injured right fullback Auro Jr. (hamstring). Laryea, a 24-year-old native of Toronto, put in a solid shift in his debut for the MLS club with family and friends in attendance.
Bradley was impressed with Laryea, a midfielder by trade who is still learning to play as a right fullback.
“Athletically, he has such an easy way of moving around the field. He’s [good] on the ball, so I’m very happy for him, to get him going with the group. I thought it was a good day for him,” Bradley offered.
Chicago was missing three starters in midfielder Przemyslaw Frankowski, forward Fabian Herbers and defender Jorge Corrales (all groin injuries). The Fire were also without former TFC winger Raheem Edwards (knee).
The breakthrough in the game came just after the half-hour mark. Pozuelo played a perfect cross to the back post, and Altidore dashed between two Fire defenders to nod it home. The goal was Altidore’s team-leading third of the campaign.
Tensions boiled over moments later following a multi-player skirmish that resulted in Laryea and Chicago’s Aleksandar Katai being yellow carded.
“It’s a dream for me right now,” Laryea said of his debut for the Reds in his hometown.
The Fire delivered a sucker punch by equalizing against the run of play just before halftime. C.J. Sapong latched onto a ball played over the top and scored after TFC goalkeeper Alex Bono rushed out and then never fully recovered as he scrambled back into position, instead of letting teammate Chris Mavinga deal with it.
“The goal at the end of the half was a killer just because they had nothing going for them. … To give up a goal, a ridiculous goal, at the end of the half was not where we wanted to be going into halftime,” Vanney admitted.
Altidore nearly restored Toronto’s advantage following the re-start with another header at the far post, this time off a cross from Nick De Leon, only to see Chicago goalkeeper David Ousted make an outstanding goal-line save.
A defensive breakdown by Toronto deep inside its penalty area saw Chicago take the lead when Nemanja Nikolic poked his shot past Bono from the edge of the six-yard box.
The last 30 minutes of regulation time was sensational, played at a breakneck pace by a pair of clubs who let it all loose in search of goals.
TFC drew level when Altidore turned playmaker by getting to the end-line and cutting a high ball back into the box for Osorio to powerfully head past Ousted. It’s the seventh straight season in which Osorio has scored at least one goal for Toronto, extending his hold on the club record.
NOTES: Toronto leads the all-time regular-season series against Chicago with 11 wins and 10 draws in 30 meetings… These teams will meet one more time in 2019, during the second-last week of the season in Chicago… TFC’s next match is on the road vs. the Seattle Sounders on April 13.
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