Game Thread: Toronto FC 1-2 Philadelphia Union (FT)

FT — It’s all over here in Toronto. A bit of magic from Alejandro Pozuelo isn’t enough to earn Toronto FC a point, as the Union come into Toronto and leave with a 2-1 victory.

90’ — There will be six minutes of added time.

90’ — A Union player goes down to try and waste time, but it has the opposite effect, as he’s told to get off the pitch. He has an absolute meltdown, gets subbed off, tries to re-enter the pitch, gets sent back to his team’s bench, and receives a yellow card. Maybe he didn’t know he was subbed off, but I have no idea what just happened.

82’ — Jozy Altidore gets a yellow card for kicking the ball into the supporter’s section after a call he didn’t like.

80’ — Jay Chapman and Alejandro Pozuelo both hesitated to shoot, and a chance to equalize is cleared away due to a lack of communication.

78’ — Laurent Ciman was helped off the pitch by trainers and is now getting treatment on the side of the pitch. Jay Chapman comes on to replace him.

75’ — Laurent Ciman is down and appears to be in a lot of pain. Looked like a muscle in his leg gave way after making a challenge on an attacker, as he was starting to run away with the ball.

72’ — Jozy Altidore comes on for Jordan Hamilton. Last time this happened, Altidore scored the winner against the Revolution on March 17th...

69’ — Auro is replaced by Nick DeLeon.

68’ — Toronto FC 1-2 Philadelphia Union — Philly re-take the lead. Jamiro Monteiro receives a pass and tucks the ball into the bottom right corner.

64’ — Jonathan Osorio is alone in the box but can’t get his head on the cross from Auro.

51’ — Toronto FC 1-1 Philadelphia Union — Alejandro Pozuelo scores an excellent free kick and we’re all tied up!

48’ — Jordan Hamilton has his shot blocked from a few yards out.

46’ — The second half is underway.

HT — A frustrating first half for TFC comes to a close. Despite dominating possession of the ball and coming close to scoring on a number of occasions, they go into the break down by one.

25’ — Toronto FC 0-1 Philadelphia Union — The visitors get the opening goal. After a low cross came in from the left side, Fabrice-Jean Picault slid in, got a foot on the ball and redirected it into the net.

14’ — Alejandro Pozuelo finds Jonathan Osorio in the box, but his shot is blocked and the ball goes out for a corner.

14’ — Chris Mavinga went down for a few moments, but he’s now back on the pitch.

11’ — Quentin Westberg makes a big save to keep it scoreless.

1’ — The game is underway here in Toronto!

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Lineups

Toronto FC:

Looks like a 3-5-2 for the Reds. Quentin Westberg gets the start in goal, and Eriq Zavaleta returns to the starting lineup. Both Jozy Altidore and Drew Moor return to the squad, and will start on the bench.

Philadelphia Union:

Preview

Toronto FC are back at BMO Field on Saturday afternoon to take on the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Union.

Just four points back of the Union with two games in hand, this is a great opportunity for TFC to get within one point of first place. The Reds also host second-place D.C. United on Wednesday, so picking up a pair of wins would see them jump a couple places in the standings.

On March 2nd, Toronto FC opened their season in Philadelphia, picking up a 3-1 victory thanks in large part to Michael Bradley’s two-goal effort. Since then, Toronto FC have of course signed Alejandro Pozuelo, so Philadelphia will have to set up their gameplan differently than they did just over two months ago.

Luckily for TFC, it looks like both Jozy Altidore and Drew Moor are available to play in this one, but whether or not they play, or perhaps even start, remains to be seen.

For today’s game thread song, I’ve gone with one of my favourite songs ever, and one that is somewhat applicable, Our House by Madness. Think of “our house” as BMO Field: “Our house, it has a crowd, There’s always something happening, And it’s usually quite loud”

Takes a stretch of the imagination, but at least I spared you from another Old Town Road cover, like I had planned originally.

Team news: Injuries & suspensions

Toronto FC:

• Probable: F - Jozy Altidore (hamstring)
• Probable: D - Drew Moor (calf tightness)

Philadelphia Union:

• Out: GK - Andre Blake (right adductor strain)
• Out: D - Mark McKenzie (appendectomy recovery)
• Out: GK - Matt Freese (oblique strain)
• Questionable: M - Brenden Aaronson (left hip flexor strain)
• Questionable: F - Fafa Picault (right hamstring tightness)

How to watch

Match date/time: Saturday, May 11th. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. ET

TV channel: TSN 4, CTV

Radio: TSN 1050

Live stream: TSN GO, CTV GO, ESPN+