Toronto FC (4W-4L-1T, 10 points) recorded their fourth victory of the 2024 Major League Season after beating New England Revolution (1W-6L-1T, 4 points) by a 1-0 scoreline, courtesy of Prince Owusu’s acrobatic second half-goal at BMO Field on Saturday evening.
First Half:
Toronto FC made three changes from the side that started in Charlotte last weekend with Kevin Long, Alonso Coello and Deandre Kerr making way for Kobe Franklin, Tyrese Spicer and Prince Owusu.
The two Eastern Conference clubs exchanged goalscoring opportunities through a goalless first half in Toronto. In the 15th minute of play, Prince Owusu ran onto Matty Longstaff’s long range pass before rounding off Henrich Ravas outside the box and forcing the goalkeeper into a smart save with a lobbed attempt. Down the other end, the Reds’ resilient rearguard stood strong with Sean Johnson recording three saves through the opening 45 minutes and Nicksoen Gomis making a goal-saving block from Nacho Gil in the 39th minute following a New England corner kick.
Late in the first half, former Red Mark-Anthony Kaye entered the match to replace the injured Noel Buck in the 44th minute before the sides went level into the half-time break locked at zero.
Second Half:
With both sides searching for a breakthrough, the Reds opened the deadlock through a moment of brilliance halfway into the second half. In the 66th minute of action, Matty Longstaff’s cross into the box was met by Ryan Spaulding, whose mishit clearance looped upwards before Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty’s header found Prince Owusu, with the German striker making no mistake in acrobatically finishing past Ravas in front of the south-end faithful at BMO Field.
Eight minutes later, a TFC breakaway resulted in a penalty awarded to the home side when defender Andrew Farrell was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box. From the ensuing spot kick however, the Reds were denied their second goal of the night when goalkeeper Henrich Ravas dived low to the left to save Federico Bernardeschi’s penalty kick in the 76th minute.
Owusu’s moment of magic, and his fourth goal in five MLS matches, would prove to be the difference maker on the night as the Reds held onto their fourth clean sheet of the 2024 MLS season to secure all three points and get back to winning ways at BMO Field.
Toronto FC host Simcoe County Rovers of League1 Ontario next in the 2024 TELUS Canadian Championship on Wednesday evening. The preliminary round match-up kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET at BMO Field and will be broadcast on OneSoccer across Canada.
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC – Sean Johnson; Sigurd Rosted, Nicksoen Gomis, Raoul Petretta (Aimé Mabika 62’); Kobe Franklin (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty 62’), Matty Longstaff (Kosi Thompson 71’), Deybi Flores, Jonathan Osorio (C), Tyrese Spicer; Federico Bernardeschi, Prince Owusu (Deandre Kerr 85’)
Substitutes Not Used: Luka Gavran, Cassius Mailula, Andrei Dumitru, Ayo Akinola
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION – Henrich Ravas; Nick Lima, Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler, Ryan Spaulding (Emmanuel Boateng 85’); Noel Buck (Mark-Anthony Kaye 44’), Matt Polster, Nacho Gil (Tomás Chancalay 62’), Carles Gil (C), Esmir Bajraktarević; Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 72’)
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr, Dave Romney, Ian Harkes
NOTABLES:
- Toronto FC recorded their fifth clean sheet of the 2024 Major League Soccer season.
- Prince Owusu scored his fourth goal in five MLS matches and has now scored in consecutive matches for the first time in his Toronto FC career.
