Toronto FC gets 1 point but surely they deserved more, against the New England Revolution following 2-2 draw at BMO Field
On this day Bob Bradley made just one change to the Starting 11’ with Ayo Akinola replacing Jesús Jiménez
Omar Gonzalez returned to Toronto for the first time since leaving the club at the end of the 2021 season.
Toronto FC had a key contributors for the first 10 minutes ( Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio and Jayden Nelson )
Federico Bernardeschi produced the game’s first significant chance of the night, forcing Djordje Petrovic into action.
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In the 29th minute, Toronto was awarded a penalty after Akinola was hauled down in the area by Christian Makoun. Bernardeschi, who scored the Reds’ spot-kick against Nashville, was yet again tasked with dispatching the penalty, and the Italian did just that. In doing so, he became the first Toronto FC player in history to score in their first three home games for the club.
Yet, TFC’s lead did not last long, as Thomas McNamara bagged the equalizer for New England six minutes later. Alex Bono was called into action to deny the visitor’s first two attempts at goal, but the former New York City FC midfielder was in the right place at the right time to pounce on the rebound and draw his side level.
Moments later, Insigne had a chance from distance in a bid to re-establish Toronto’s lead, but Petrovic was able to read it all the way as he punched the ball behind for a corner.
Toronto Fc continued to press for the all-important opener, this time through Akinola, whose header from a Bernardeschi cross floated just over the bar. There is no doubt that the Detroit-born forward would have been the hungriest of the bunch to grab the game’s first goal.
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The former Genoa defender Criscinto hit the ball with a lot of power and the precision of this shot simply was not matched for Petrovic.
After the game, Bob Bradley lamented his side’s failure to grab a deserved winner:
“At 2-2, there was real momentum to finish the game and get a third, but we weren’t able to do that.”
Akinola also spoke on how he believed he and his teammates should have recorded all three points:
“We definitely should have got three points today. Those were two points that we missed out on. We had chances on chances on chances.”
Despite dropping two points on the night, captain Michael Bradley remained confident that the fight is still well and truly on to fight for the Playsoffs. “We have not let anything faze us this year. That part has been really, really good. The mentality and the resolve of the group has been incredible
