Toronto FC stole an away point via a late goal by Jordan Perruzza, the first of his MLS career, as they battled Atlanta United to a 1-1 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday evening.
Atlanta held a 1-0 lead through the 88th minute but failed to put away Toronto, who have long been eliminated from Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs contention. Instead, a draw means that the Five Stripes' hold on an Eastern Conference postseason spot is far from guaranteed despite sitting in sixth place at the final whistle.
Things started well enough for Atlanta, who benefited from a massive mistake by Quentin Westberg at the quarter-hour mark to take the lead. The Toronto goalkeeper mishandled a ball in front of his own net and was dispossessed by Luiz Araujo, who cashed a simple open-net finish for a 1-0 lead.
The hosts looked to extend their advantage but couldn't add the finishing touch they needed in the final third. They appeared to grab a second goal in the 55th minute when Ezequiel Barco curled a gorgeous finish past Westberg that was ultimately disallowed on an offside call.
Those missed opportunities came back to bite Atlanta. On a late cross, Dom Dwyer’s header inside the box made its way to Perruzza, who delivered the equalizer past Brad Guzan to silence the Atlanta fans.
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: This is the epitome of a draw feeling like a loss for Atlanta. However, Gonzalo Pineda’s side has only themselves to blame as poor finishing by their attacking corps left the door open for Toronto to take home a smash-and-grab point. For the Reds, they had their sights on playing spoiler against a playoff hopeful with an eye toward Wednesday’s Canadian Championship semifinal against Pacific FC at BMO Field. They did just that, a bright moment in an otherwise challenging season.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It was a moment to remember for Jordan Perruzza. The Toronto native and Canadian youth international knocked home Dom Dwyer’s header to equalize in the closing stages.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: It’s undoubtedly Perruzza after his late equalizer. TFC fans will hope that the homegrown forward can provide plenty more first-team goals in 2022.
Next Up
- ATL: Wednesday, Nov. 3 at New York Red Bulls | 7:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- TOR: Wednesday, Nov. 3 vs. Pacific FC | 7:30 pm ET | Canadian Championship
