Toronto FC (7W-13L-3T, 24 points) faced a challenging evening as they were defeated 4-0 by the defending MLS Cup champions, Columbus Crew (11W-3L-3T, 39 points), at Lower.com Field on Saturday.
Toronto FC's Head Coach, John Herdman, made three changes to the lineup from their midweek match against Orlando City. Shane O'Neill, Kevin Long, and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty were introduced in place of Aimé Mabika, Deybi Flores, and Lorenzo Insigne.
The match began with both Eastern Conference teams creating early goal-scoring opportunities. Toronto's Kevin Long appeared to score from a Federico Bernardeschi corner in the 12th minute, but the goal was disallowed as the ball was deemed to have gone out of play.
Columbus Crew capitalized on their first corner of the evening in the 15th minute when Cucho Hernández headed in Diego Rossi's cross to open the scoring. The duo seemed to repeat the feat in the 29th minute, but the goal was disallowed after a video review showed a foul in the buildup.
Despite creating a few half-chances towards the end of the first half, Toronto FC went into the break trailing by one goal.
Columbus Crew extended their lead early in the second half. Hernández provided a low cross that Christian Ramirez controlled and finished in the 52nd minute. Toronto responded by bringing on Lorenzo Insigne at the hour mark, which sparked an increase in their offensive momentum.
Federico Bernardeschi forced Columbus's goalkeeper, Patrick Schulte, into a crucial save with a powerful long-range effort in the 65th minute. Toronto continued to press, with Kobe Franklin and Insigne coming close to scoring, but both attempts narrowly missed the target.
Columbus secured the win with two late goals in the final ten minutes. Mohamed Farsi scored in the 80th minute, and Diego Rossi added the fourth in the 89th minute, sealing a comprehensive victory for the home team.
Toronto FC will next face Forge FC in the 2024 TELUS Canadian Championship semi-final. The first leg of the match will take place at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, on Wednesday evening, kicking off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on OneSoccer across Canada.
Columbus Crew: Patrick Schulte; Steven Moreira (Derrick Jones 82’), Rudy Camacho, Yevhen Cheberko; Mohamed Farsi (Yaw Yeboah 88’), Alexandru Mățan (Taha Habroune 88’), Darlington Nagbe (C), Maximilian Arfsten; Christian Ramírez (Sean Zawadzki 82’), Diego Rossi (Marino Hinestroza 88’), Cucho Hernández
Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Hagen, Will Sands, Malte Amundsen
Toronto FC: Sean Johnson; Shane O’Neill (Lorenzo Insigne 60’), Kevin Long (Aimé Mabika 83’), Nicksoen Gomis; Federico Bernardeschi (C), Matty Longstaff, Raoul Petretta (Sigurd Rosted 82’), Kosi Thompson, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (Kobe Franklin 71’); Derrick Etienne Jr. (Deandre Kerr 83’), Prince Owusu
Substitutes Not Used: Luka Gavran, Markus Cimermancic, Nathaniel Edwards, Cassius Mailula
Toronto FC will aim to bounce back in their upcoming fixture and regain momentum in the Canadian Championship.
