Toronto cruise to easy win over Orlando City
Sebastian Giovinco scored twice and set up Jozy Altidore’s goal to help Toronto FC beat Orlando City 3-1 on Wednesday night at Orlando City Soccer stadium.
In truth, Toronto never got out of third gear as they tore Orlando’s defence apart with some neat incisive passing that the home side didn’t know how to counter.
The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute with Altidore’s eighth goal of the season. Giovinco received the ball from Marky Delgado and curled toward goal before playing to his left where an unmarked Altidore took a touch and buried a low shot under Joe Bendik from 16 yards out.
Giovinco nearly made it two five minutes later as Jonathan Spector earned a deserved yellow card from match referee Alan Kelly when he pulled down Altidore around 35 yards out. The diminutive Italian smashed an extraordinary bending free kick off the cross bar with Bendik well beaten.
Orlando then finally started to get a grip on the game as the half wore on but the Toronto defence dealt with the threat fairly comfortably.
Half Time: Orlando 0 Toronto 1
Whatever Orlando Head Coach Jason Kreis said to his team at half time fell on deaf ears as just 30 seconds into the second half, Toronto scored again with the simplest of goals.
Just seconds had gone by when Altidore found himself all alone and in behind the Orlando defence. The United States international peeked over his shoulder and unselfishly slid the ball to Giovinco, who chipped in his eighth goal of the year.
Carlos Rivas came off the substitute’s bench to give the hosts hope when he pulled a goal back in the 63rd minute. Receiving a nicely weighted through ball from Kaká on the left side of the box, Rivas fired home from close range with the ball glancing off the right hand post and in.
Toronto always seemed at ease and Giovinco scored his second of the night with a glorious free kick into the left hand corner from 30 yards out just two minutes later after Altidore was fouled by both Aja and Spector. It was Giovinco’s nineth goal scored directly from a free kicks since he came to MLS in 2015 and tied for the most of any player in the league since 2003.
Full Time:
Orlando 1 Toronto 3
After the game Kreis took all the headlines with his outspoken criticism of the match day officiating. He said: “I’d like to just say one more thing here. It hasn’t been asked by anybody and I spent the entire season keeping my mouth closed about it but tonight I need to say that it’s beginning to feel like in this stadium, I know this from prior experience, but it’s beginning to feel like in this stadium we have referees that will not make critical calls for us for whatever reason. It appears to me that the referees are bending over backwards to show that they’re not going to show any bias. Perhaps it’s due to us having a raucous crowd or whatever it is but I’m tired of it. I’m absolutely tired of it and I have to say here tonight that I don’t think that we as a Club, as a fan group, as a coaching staff, as anybody else, that we should continue to stand for that. We go away and we feel like the away team by the referee’s decision on his 50/50 calls and we come at home and we still feel like the away team. I think it’s unacceptable.”
It was a controversial thing to say that MLS surely won’t take kindly and while Kreis has some justification for saying it in regard to other games Orlando has played in this season, it sounded a little like sour grapes after watching his team outplayed by an opponent yet again.
Orlando now goes into a two week break before they face expansion side Atlanta United FC on Friday, July 21 at Orlando City Stadium for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff. In that time, Kreis needs to think seriously about how his team is performing because they have started to ship goals like the team from last season. Midfield and attack seem to have few ideas how to score goals at the moment and the big worry is that the team will fall out of the top six and a play off spot if the current form persists.
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC – GK Joe Bendik, D Donny Toia, Jonathan Spector, José Aja, Scott Sutter (Rafael Ramos 61’), M Servando Carrasco (Carlos Rivas 46’), Antonio Nocerino (Richie Laryea 79’), ⓒ Kaká, Will Johnson, Giles Barnes, F Cyle Larin
Substitutes Not Used: GK Josh Saunders, D Léo Pereira, M Luis Gil, F Hadji Barry
Toronto FC – GK Alex Bono, D Jason Hernandez, Ashtone Morgan, Eriq Zavaleta, M Benoit Cheyrou (Drew Moor 46’), Victor Vázquez (Jay Chapman 62’), ⓒ Michael Bradley, Marco Delgado, Oyvind Alseth, F Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore (Jordan Hamilton 72’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Clint Irwin, D Chris Mavinga, F Tsubasa Endoh, Ben Spencer
Attendance: 25,029
