Toronto FC shakes off misses, takes 2-0 lead into MLS playoff second leg at NYC

With 90 minutes between it and a spot in MLS’s final four, Toronto FC is in as good a position as it could be.

Playing its third game in a week, it took all kinds of resiliency for TFC to shake off a number of missed opportunities and convert twice right at the end Sunday night to grab a 2-0 lead heading into the second leg of the MLS Eastern Conference semifinal next Sunday in New York.

“At halftime, the message was to keep playing, to keep going,” said Jozy Altidore, whose 84^th-minute goal prompted an eruption from Toronto FC faithful the likes of which have never before been previously seen.

“We knew the chances would come, it was just a matter of putting them away and they fell for us with two great chances and we scored two goals.”

There were those two late converted chances by Altidore and Canadian Tosaint Ricketts but there was a sense that earlier missed chances could come back to cost Toronto. Sebastian Giovinco had a chance saved by Eirik Johansen in the first half, Drew Moor had a close-range header go off the bar in the second and Toronto simply dominated possession in the second half but left it very late before getting two well-deserved goals.

On a night where New York did a pretty effective job of nullifying a lot of Giovinco’s skill by bringing a strong physical presence all over the field that resulted in five yellow cards, Toronto proved that it’s so much more than a one-player team.

There was no small amount of controversy as David Villa perhaps could have seen red for apparently kicking out at Armando Cooper in a play that deserves a second look from the MLS disciplinary committee. Another incident came in the 58th minute when Mikey Lopez was given a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Steven Beitashour that also could have resulted in an ejection.

“I have a ton of respect for David Villa’s game. He’s a phenomenal player and one of the best players in this league far and away,” said TFC head coach Greg Vanney. “I think on any other day in any other league, I think that player sees a suspension. It would be up to our review panel to make a decision. That’s not my call.”

Toronto had captain Michael Bradley and Altidore on a yellow coming into this game and another would have seen them miss the second leg, but they stayed focused on the game and avoided reacting to what was a testy encounter.

Bradley, in particular, may have played his best ever game in a TFC shirt. He didn’t score but he disrupted the play on a number of occasions and only committed one foul in a game where he stuck in many good, hard challenges.

It concluded a good day for Canadian MLS teams against the representatives from the states of New York and New Jersey.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Montreal Impact were 1-0 winners over the Red Bulls and now both Canadian teams head south for respective second legs, with a possible 401 Derby for the Eastern Conference Championship on the horizon.

It won’t be easy as Montreal’s one-goal lead is precarious heading on the road and Toronto will head to Yankee Stadium where goals can come in a hurry (see last season’s 4-4 draw as evidence) but it’s finally an exciting time to be a fan of Canada’s last two MLS franchises still drawing breath this season.