Philadelphia Union rally with two late goals to defeat Toronto FC

National Post

6 days ago

TORONTO — Kai Wagner set up the tying goal and scored the winner as the Philadelphia Union rallied late to down Toronto FC 2-1 in MLS play Wednesday, extending its unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions.
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After Nathan Harriel rose high to head home a Wagner corner in the 87th minute, Wagner broke TFC fans' hearts with a 92nd-minute shot that deflected in off Toronto midfielder Matty Longstaff.
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Ola Brynhildsen had given Toronto the lead, roofing a shot in the 75th minute. It was an emphatic finish with the Norwegian forward, who had been taking a beating from Philadelphia all evening, outpacing two defenders to get to a long ball from Deybi Flores for his second goal of the season.
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It was a scrappy stop-and-start game with a lot of whistles from referee Guido Gonzales Jr. The visitors spent much of the first half in Toronto's end, on a cool, damp evening with plenty of empty seats at BMO Field.
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Attendance was announced at 14,490, only slightly higher than the season low of 14,019 for the 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati on May 14.
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The Union outshot Toronto 7-4 (3-1 in shots on target) in a first half that was as drab as the weather. Both teams had a passing completion rate in the low 70s.
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The second half wasn't much better until Brynhidsen's strike and the Union's late heroics.
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Philadelphia (10-3-3) arrived atop the Eastern Conference, 13 places and 17 points ahead of Toronto — and trailing the Vancouver Whitecaps by one point in the Supporters' Shield standings. The Union are now unbeaten in eight matches (6-0-2) in league play and 10 in all competitions (8-0-2), dating back to a 1-0 defeat April 12 at New York City FC.
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After starting the campaign at 0-4-4, Toronto (3-9-4) has gone 3-5-0 and came into the game eight points out of a playoff spot. Since posting its first victory of the season April 19 in Salt Lake, the club has lost, lost, won, lost, won, lost and lost in league play.
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The game was Toronto's 300th regular-season home game in club history with TFC 123-98-79, good for 448 points. Saturday's home game against Nashville was Toronto's 600th regular-season outing.
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With Toronto playing its sixth game in 25 days, coach Robin Fraser made seven changes to the starting lineup that lost 2-1 last weekend. Only goalkeeper Sean Johnson, winger Theo Corbeanu, Flores and Brynhildsen retained their places.
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Captain Jonathan Osorio, who came off the bench Saturday in his return from a shoulder injury, started for the first time since April 30. Defenders Henry Wingo, Raoul Petretta and Zane Monlouis also were back in the starting lineup.