Stoppage-time goal lifts high-flying FC Cincinnati past Toronto FC 4-3 in wild game

TORONTO — Sergio Santos scored in the 93rd minute Saturday as FC Cincinnati defeated Toronto FC 4-3 in a wild affair to extend its winning streak to a club-record seven games.

Argentina playmaker Lucho Acosta helped create the goal, driving into the Toronto penalty box and chipping it in front of goal for Santos to knock home. It was a gut-wrenching loss for Toronto, which kept clawing its way back in an entertaining back-and-forth Major League Soccer affair.

Lorenzo Insigne's 85th-minute penalty had lifted Toronto into a 3-3 tie. The Italian stepped up and hammered the ball home after Miles Robinson pulled down Prince Owusu.

Insigne almost scored again in the 89th minute but his shot from distance rattled off the woodwork. He did score in the 96th minute, but the offside flag went up to the dismay of the announced crowd of 27,941.

Luca Orellano's second goal of the game in the 79th minute had seemed to have secured three points for high-flying Cincinnati at 3-2. It came from a well-worked attack that saw Orellano take a pass from Santos and find the corner of the goal.

Toronto had pulled even at 2-2 in the 63rd minute. It was credited as an Ian Murphy own goal but Insigne was the instigator. The Italian star started the play with a short corner, with captain Jonathan Osorio eventually teeing the ball up for Insigne to send it into traffic in front of goal where it bounced in off the defender, who covered his face in disbelief.

Cincinnati went ahead 2-1 on goals by Orellano and Kevin Kelsy in the 53rd and 55th minutes.

Deybi Flores opened the scoring for Toronto in the 25th minute with a fine header off an Insigne corner. The hard-nosed Honduran midfielder, known more for stopping goals than scoring them, celebrated opening his MLS account by sprinting toward the sideline to celebrate with the bench.

Insigne's delivery from corners caused Cincinnati headaches all evening.

Argentina's Orellano, capping a well-worked buildup, tied it in the 53rd minute with a low left-footed shot that beat Sean Johnson. And Kelsy put the visitors ahead two minutes later hammering home a rebound of an Orellano shot after Toronto was caught flat-footed with an errant back pass.

It was the third goal in four games for Kelsy, a 19-year-old Venezuelan.

Toronto (7-7-1) had won seven of its previous nine games (7-2-0) in all competitions and scored 13 goals in its previous two outings, including a 5-1 shellacking of Montreal last Saturday.

Cincinnati (10-2-3) went into weekend play second overall in the standings.

It arrived sporting a formidable 5-1-1 road record. Saturday marked its club-record fourth straight win away from home.

Cincinnati also boasted the league’s stingiest defence, averaging 0.79 goals against per game. It had conceded a league-low eight goals from open play and has eight wins in games decided by one goal this season.

The two teams had played to a scoreless draw in Cincinnati in their season opener Feb. 25.

John Herdman made nine changes from the team that scored a club- and tournament-record eight goals in a lopsided Canadian Championship win Tuesday over semi-pro side CS Saint-Laurent, with only Insigne and Marshall-Rutty retaining their place.

Herdman was able to start close to his best lineup with Osorio returning from a three-game injury absence.

Italian star Federico Bernardeschi was missing, serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation, with centre back Kevin Long coming off the bench in the second half after missing three games through injury and suspension. Star fullback/wingback Richie Laryea, sidelined since injuring his hamstring in the season opener, is close to returning.

Cincinnati made two changes from the team that beat St. Louis 3-1 last weekend with Miles Robinson and Kelsy slotting in. The visitors were missing the injured Corey Baird, Aaron Boupendza and Alvas Powell.

BMO Field has been a happy hunting ground for Cincinnati. Its most recent visit, last September, was a 3-2 win that clinched the Supporters’ Shield.

Cincinnati led the all-time series 6-4-1 before Saturday. It took all six points from Toronto last season and was undefeated in five games (4-0-1) against TFC since Pat Noonan took over as coach in 2022. Toronto last beat Cincinnati 3-2 at BMO Field on Sept. 29, 2021.

Saturday’s game was Toronto’s 10th since April 20, with two more to come on the road next week, at the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday and D.C. United on Saturday before a welcome two-week break.

Cincinnati, which was playing its seventh game over the same time period, hosts Nashville on Wednesday.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2024.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press