May 24, 2024
Toronto FC’s Servania forces draw against Atlanta United with goal in stoppage time | CBC Sports

Toronto FC’s Servania forces draw against Atlanta United with goal in stoppage time | CBC Sports

Brandon Servania scored in stoppage time Saturday to lift Toronto FC into a 2-2 tie with Atlanta United, TFC’s sixth tie in eight outings this season.

Substitute Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, after a fine pass from Jonathan Osorio, found Servania in the penalty box and the midfielder eluded a defender before tucking the ball home.

Substitute Machop Chol had looked to give Atlanta the win with a goal in the 76th minute. The South Sudan international headed home a Luiz Araujo cross as star winger Lorenzo Insigne waited on the sidelines to make his return for Toronto.

Insigne almost played hero in the 89th minute with a stealthy run into the Atlanta penalty box but could not get a boot to a ball from Federico Bernardeschi.

Canadian fullback Richie Laryea scored a highlight-reel goal for TFC. Giorgos Giakoumakis opened the scoring for Atlanta in an entertaining end-to-end game on a pleasant evening before an announced crowd of 27,892 at BMO Field.

Insigne came on in the 77th minute, his first action since leaving the pitch 34 minutes into Toronto’s season opener on Feb. 25 with a groin injury. The 31-year-old Italian, the highest-paid player in MLS, had missed the previous six matches.

CF Montreal defeated by D.C. United

CF Montreal’s poor start to the Major League Soccer season continues, falling 1-0 to D.C. United during their first game at Stade Saputo in Montreal on Saturday night.

Lewis O’Brien scored the lone goal for United (2-4-2), giving them their first win since opening day. Montreal (1-6-0) has now gone 270 minutes without scoring a goal.

Both teams lined up in relatively defensive formations and gave very little space in their own end to start the match. After the 20-minute mark, Montreal began asserting themselves and playing higher up the pitch.

In the 39th minute, Chinonso Offor had a golden opportunity to open the scoring, but was brought down in the box. No penalty was called as it was deemed there was not enough contact to warrant a spot kick.

However, it took only 15 seconds of second-half action for that momentum to be undone. A shot from just outside the box by Mateusz Klich bounced into the path of O’Brien who scored.

This is now the fourth consecutive game where Montreal has conceded within five minutes of the restart.

With the lead secured, D.C. dropped into a more defensive low block, stifling Montreal attacks before they could even get started.

Around the 70th minute, Montreal switched from its usual five-back formation to a more conventional four defender setup and found much more success. However, they could not convert that pressure into an equalizer, having still scored just three goals this season.

The game also saw the debuts of newly acquired players Bryce Duke and Ariel Lassiter, who were brought in during a trade with Inter Miami this week.

Montreal will now direct its attention toward the Canadian Championship as the squad will hosting Vaughan Azzurri on April 18, while United heads to Exploria Stadium to face Orlando City on April 22.

Source link