Following an eventful first half, Orlando City SC grabbed a 3-2 win over Toronto FC when a late goal from Junior Urso gave the Lions a rare away victory at their own Exploria Stadium.
The game got off to an explosive start with three goals in the first 10 minutes, and Orlando took just under a minute to find the opener. Mauricio Pereyra sent a through ball down the middle for Tesho Akindele to make their Canadian tenants pay early with a shot that beat Quentin Westberg.
Westberg, who made his return as TFC's goalkeeper, then gifted Orlando a two-goal lead. He tried to dribble past Silvester van der Water, but the Dutchman easily stole the ball and passed back for Akindele. He found Nani with a cross and an easy header that gave Orlando a 2-0 advantage after only eight minutes of play.
Toronto FC managed to cut Orlando's lead to one just a few minutes later. Lions' goalkeeper Brandon Austin blocked a shot from Richie Laryea, but the ball fell straight to Ayo Akinola. The 21-year-old pounced on the opportunity to head the ball past the youngster who's on loan from Tottenham.
The Reds then brought the score back level off the foot of Jonathan Osorio shortly before halftime. Alejandro Pozuelo made his way toward the endline and found the Canadian international with a cutback pass. Osorio struck the ball from inside the six-yard box past Austin to tie matters up at the break.
Toronto thought they completed the comeback in the 56th minute off a free-kick opportunity. Laryea's shot from a tight angle deflected off of Akindele and was rolling its way into the goal, but Kyle Smith cleared the ball off the line.
After his loan spell in the English Championship at Barnsley, Daryl Dike made his Orlando City return. The US men's national team striker came off the bench in the 64th minute to replace Akindele.
Orlando regained their lead late in the 84th minute after Auro Jr. gave the ball away with a pass directly to Junior Urso. The Brazilian midfielder completed a give-and-go with Chris Mueller before beating Westberg to seal the 3-2 result.
Dom Dwyer had his foot on Toronto's second equalizer of the game in second-half stoppage time. However, the TFC newcomer skied his effort and determined the home side's fate.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: After Toronto mounted an impressive comeback, Orlando City took advantage of TFC's mistakes to grab all three points. Oscar Pareja's squad bounced back from their first defeat of the season before the international break to continue their strong start to 2021. Toronto FC hoped to shake their rocky early start under Chris Armas, but were left ruing errors from Quentin Westberg and Auro Jr.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Auro Jr. gifted Orlando a late away win in their own stadium. Junior Urso pounced on the opportunity and took the game-winning goal.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Silvester van der Water was impressive along the flank for Orlando City. He took advantage of Quentin Westberg's carelessness to intercept the ball in the lead-up to Orlando's second goal of the game.
Up Next
- TOR: Wednesday, June 23 at Nashville SC | 8:30 pm ET | TSN 1, TSN 3, TSN 4, MLS LIVE on ESPN+ | MLS Regular Season
- ORL: Tuesday, June 22 vs. San Jose Earthquakes | 7:30 pm ET | UniMas, TUDN, Twitter | MLS Regular Season
