Toronto FC were victorious in their match against the Montreal Impact, winning a 2-1 game in what is known as the 401 Derby.
The match at BMO Field started like many expected, with designated player Jozy Altidore on the bench, where he started the last match against Orlando. Many were expecting a similar style of play from the Montreal Impact as the one Orlando employed; a counter-attacking team who’d be happy to soak the pressure up. The Impact fought from the first whistle and made the game a tight affair.
The Impact had the stiff task without their talismanic attacker and leader, Ignacio Piatti. Piatti was ruled out for four-to-six weeks after picking up an injury. The Impact were further stretched out when Didier Drogba was ruled out with a toe injury.
The game started a tight affair, with both teams pressuring each other from the first whistle. Toronto started the game very much like they did against Orlando City but matters were made worse when holding midfielder Benoit Cheyrou went down with the leg injury. Cheyrou was substituted for star striker Jozy Altidore. The move did pay dividends as it added an extra spark in attack for Toronto.
The Impact did not roll over, they had the bulk of the chances in the first half. Dominic Oduro will be replaying a miss in his dreams for the night. Oduro was played in all alone after a Josh Williams turn over. He rounded the keeper, but missed the open net. Soon after, Max Tissot had the chance to score a volley from 12 yards but shot too high. On another day, if the Impact had finished their early chances, the result may have been different.
Toronto broke the deadlock in the 35th minute. Sebastian Giovinco played a ball out to the left flank for Jonathan Osorio. Osorio crossed in for Bradley to apply a sweet touch into the bottom right corner.
The Impact were not able to finish their chances, and late in the game, a Jonathan Osorio volley hit the upright and rebounded to Jozy Altidore. Altidore volleyed the ball into the bottom corner to put Toronto up 2-0. Toronto controlled the play for much of the 2nd half. After missing on another breakaway, Oduro finally brought the Impact back into the game when he scored in the 70th minute. Toronto slumped to the end of the game and were unable to kill the game.
Much of the talk post-game surrounded the injuries to key midfielder Cheyrou and MLS star Giovinco. Giovinco was taken off the field of play early in the 2nd half with the score still at 1-0. Head coach Greg Vanney updated the status of the players post-game: Cheyrou picked up an ankle injury that is not too serious. Sebastian Giovinco left the game with soreness in his left groin- an ongoing issue that was being treated over the weekend. Even with the injury, the recently called up international will travel to the Italy camp and be re-assessed there. Daniel Lovitz also left the game with an injury and has a heel issue.
Toronto play the Seattle Sounders next weekend away before returning back for a five game homestand.
