Federico Bernardeschi scores first goals of Terry Dunfield era, but Toronto FC suffer 401 Derby loss to CF Montréal
For the first time in seven games, Toronto FC fans had a goal to cheer about.
TFC Designated Player Federico Bernardeschi got the TFC faithful off their feet Sunday night at BMO Field with not one, but two goals! Unfortunately, the solo efforts from the Italian attacker were not enough as the Reds were defeated 3-2 by 401 Derby rivals, CF Montréal.
“If we’re able to cut out some of the errors, there was some really nice football at times,” head coach Terry Dunfield said post-match. “I’m gutted for our fans, that we weren’t able to chase it with 11 men. I don’t think it deterred us, we kept going and it would’ve been nice if we had another five minutes, even with 10 men,”
Two of those errors that Dunfield eluded to occurred within less than 10 minutes of each other, about midway through the first half. Montréal opened the scoring in the 18th minute through Canadian midfielder Mathieu Choinière. TFC goalkeeper Tomás Romero — starting in place of the injured Sean Johnson — partially saved Montréal’s initial shot, but Choinière reacted quickly to pounce on the loose ball and slot it into the net.
The men from Montréal doubled their lead in the 25th minute thanks to an own goal from TFC centre-back Aimé Mabika. The Zambian international battled with opposition attacker Kwadwo Opoku in hopes of clearing the ball, but it ended up trickling into his own net.
The first 45 minutes concluded and the hosts found themselves with more possession, (55.8 percent to 44.2 percent) but only produced two shots and neither of them found the target. On the flip side, the side from Québec amassed eight attempts with three of them hitting the target, and the back of the net.
Dunfield walked media members through his half-time message in the dressing room.
“We had a choice. We could’ve said let’s stop the bleeding and continue with the back five, or trust in our work over the last three weeks and come back out on the front foot. We went back to the structure that we started the game with and it worked well.
“I thought Kobe [Franklin] came on and gave us a little bit of a lift. Brandon [Servania] had a nice relationship in midfield with Alonso [Coello] which allowed Oso[rio] to step out and press. I was happy with the response after halftime.”
New summer signing Prince Owusu made his TFC debut. The German striker had one effort on goal which came in the 48th minute. Owusu admitted after the match that he was not feeling 100 percent and is currently dealing with some illness issues.
“The day didn’t start well for me. I got a little bit sick during the night, so I had to take some medications. We tried everything to get me as fit as possible but I felt it in the game, I had less power. It was hard for me because I couldn’t play like I wanted. I knew that I couldn’t play the whole game,” Owusu explained.
Owusu’s night ended at the hour mark when he was replaced by C.J. Sapong. Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty was substituted at the same interval, exiting for Lorenzo Insigne, who was doubtful for Sunday night but started the match on the bench.
Just six minutes later, the unthinkable happened: Toronto FC scored a goal.
Bernardeschi unleashed a shot with his left peg that left Montréal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois rooted to his spot as he watched the ball hit the far corner of the net. It was Toronto FC’s first goal since Deandre Kerr’s headed finish against the New England Revolution on Saturday, June 24.
But, in typical TFC fashion, disaster struck 11 minutes later. Left-back Raoul Petretta barged into Finnish winger Lassi Lappalainen in the box, and the CFMTL man won his side a penalty. Petretta was shown a straight red card for his actions.
Choinière stepped up and made no mistake, adding to his goal tally on the night and his breakout MLS All-Star season.
Bernardeschi would also record a brace, netting a consolation goal deep into second-half stoppage time.
“It was a tough game,” Bernardeschi said post-match. “The first 20 minutes were good, we were aggressive, pressing. Mentally it was tough because the moment is tough. When another team scores, you’re thinking and this is normal in a tough moment. Unfortunately, tonight was a derby and we needed a victory but we lost again and we are frustrated right now.
“We worked very hard in the last two, three weeks, the team doesn’t deserve this. This is football, this is normal. Sometimes you go up, sometimes you go down — this is life. When you lose the game, every time, the confidence is low.”
Even though making the playoffs is a near-impossible feat, a derby win would have definitely helped the morale of the squad after a lengthy period without a competitive match.
“I’m happy about my two goals, but if I didn’t help the team to win, it means nothing,” Bernardeschi said.
Toronto FC hit the road and are back in action next Saturday, August 26 against the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Good comments from Fede after a strong performance. Finally showing some real leadership. He really came alive with some space to work once Insigne checked in.
Bradley showed that the leg surgery didn’t make him any faster. Probably time to hang ’em up after this season if he can’t do any better in the last 9 games.
Nothing interesting out of our new Prince. Looking forward to seeing Mailula on the pitch to see if he can provide anything.
Indeed, Prince was underwhelming.
Sapongs long lost brother, hopefully it was only first game jitters, but his first touch tells me otherwise.
Bernardeschi was much better in the 2nd half, invisible in the first half but clearly energized once Insigne made his way into the match.
I still did not love Insigne’s body language whenever he lost the ball or got a poor or non-existent return ball when he wanted one, but let’s see if they can build on it.
CLEARLY THEY HAVE THE ABILITY, THAT HAS NEVER BEEN QUESTIONED.
What will set them up for next year is for these DP’s being the best on the Park in the remainder of the season, driving play to the extent that they can, scoring goals whenever the opportunities present themselves as they did last night, being available for selection, picking up team-mates that are not as talented but are willing and eager (I liked Insigne’s trying to pick up Romero before the PK)….there is only one way currently, and that is up..
You need to stop expecting Messi numbers from two guys who are not Messi. The fact they have scored any goals at all is a miracle. Look at the team, look at the coaches, look at the state of the club.
The club brings in retired CFL guys from 30 years ago to give the team a pep talk. They bring in the same type of signings that have previously not worked out. They have retired former players from ten years, who may not even have their coaching license, to conduct practices. The bench good young players like Coello to play over the hill guys like Michael Bradley.
The team is in the gutter dude. Insigne & Bernardeschi should not have to score two or three goals every game just for TFC to win a game in the MLS.
Spot on
Very hard to care about this team anymore. I have had enough !
Signing out….. ‘see’ you all next year. Maybe.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !!
It feels like the club went back to 12 months ago – we need 2 or 3 wonder goals from the Italians because we’re sure to let in a handful of goals.
Except the difference this time around is we lost a few young prospects, added more pressure on our salary cap with expensive/deadweight signings, and traded/sold/released some of the better players (Hedges, Laryea).
Very tough to watch. You can clearly see the missing parts. Goalkeeper issues. Like the last few season. Not very good and do not see a play off run. Bradley showed his age. Time for a change. TFC should still see if the Atomic Ant can do something. This is a season for testing now. Let’s end the guess work and have the three play together.
Back end needs a lot of work. Playing with 10 and 24 you need to be quick on the first touches.
For the goalkeeper, give the new kid a try. Yesterday was just proof on how weak our backup goal is.
Season of testing, so TFC start testing. Playoffs are gone or not worth making at this point.
Let’s test and see what happens. The fall will not be that high as we are very close to the bottom so it “will not hurt”
Well said, I’m all for giving Gavran a shot in goal and stefanovic over any center back we have let’s give these kids a shot. What’s the point of playing o neill at cb or romero or ranjitsingh in goal, total waste.