Daniel Salloi found the right side of the net on a sharp dribbler to break a scoreless tie in the 86th minute, and it stood up as the game-winner as Toronto FC defeated host FC Cincinnati 1-0 on Sunday.
Toronto (1-2-0, 3 points) was held in check offensively for a majority of the match. But when it needed to, it started putting pressure on Cincinnati’s backline. It culminated in Salloi’s game-winning goal, his first goal of the season.
It was a gritty effort by Toronto FC, playing their third straight road match to start the season. Luka Gavran made two saves and got help from a strong Toronto backline, which accumulated 19 clearances.
FC Cincinnati (1-2-0, 3 points) had numerous chances to equalize but could not find the net.
Cincinnati had 15 shots, including two on goal, while winning the possession battle 55.8% to 44.2%.
Last year’s leading scorer Evander had a good look in the 92nd minute for Cincinnati, but his shot sailed high over the net and into the Cincinnati supporter’s section.
Cincinnati had just 12 clearances and allowed seven shots on goal.
Roman Celentano accumulated six saves for Cincinnati. Celentano’s biggest save of the night came in the 84th minute, when he deflected a shot from Toronto forward Deandre Kerr over the net and out of play. He went on to concede the game-winning goal just a minute later.
Sunday night’s match featured a lot of physicality, with 25 fouls in all and two yellow cards on each side.
There were multiple calls, or lack thereof, in the first half that were questionable and caused restlessness within the home Cincinnati crowd. Some caused prolonged stoppages in the action, contributing to the extra time added in the respective halves. Eleven combined minutes of stoppage time were added, four in the first half and seven in the second half.
–Field Level Media
