TORONTO—The return of Gilberto to his old stomping grounds nearly proved decisive, but Sebastian Giovinco assisted Toronto FC in weathering a one-man outburst on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field as TFC beat Chicago Fire 3-2.
Chicago entered the match dominating the clubs' recent history: unbeaten in their last 12 encounters (6-0-6) with Toronto, stretching back to 2010.
But they've spent the season at the foot of the East, recently on the verge of elimination, so it came as a shock when Chicago took the lead just 40 seconds in.
A midfield turnover allowed Michael Stephens to find Patrick Nyarko streaking towards goal from the right, where he laid a ball behind the TFC defenders for Gilberto – a former TFC designated player – who broke in to fire past Chris Konopka.
Staggered by the early goal, Toronto struggled to gain a foothold until Giovinco once more took the control.
Come the 29th minute, Giovinco worked hard to win a corner, his set-piece cross returning to him low on the right-side of the Chicago box. Lifting his head, Giovinco clipped a ball towards the back post, where Jonathan Osorio nodded the faintest of touches, guiding the shot off the inside of the upright and leveling the match.
But Gilberto would not easily cede a spoiling role, scoring again seven minutes into the second half, capping a well-worked Chicago move.
Nyarko spun away from Michael Bradley in the midfield, moving in-field to find Mike Magee, who quickly slotted his strike partner down the right. Gilberto's low right-footer banked in off the near post, reinstating Chicago's supremacy.
Three minutes later, Gilberto nearly completed his hat-trick, denied only when Marky Delgado cleared an on-target header off the line.
But Toronto would not concede, re-equalizing in the 59th minute. Michael Bradley strode up the pitch as Chicago backed off, calmly waiting for the defenders to commit. He cut square across the box before unleashing a right-footer that took a kind deflection off the trailing leg of a lunging Daniel Cyrus, handcuffing Jon Busch as it looped into the net.
Continuing to pressure Chicago, the Reds finally scored a go-ahead goal in the 79th minute. Giovinco's corner kick fell in the area for Jozy Altidore, who hooked the bouncing ball into the roof of the net from close range.
With the defeat, Chicago becomes the first team to be eliminated from contention for the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Both clubs return to the pitch next weekend with home matches against Eastern Conference opposition on Saturday, October 3. Toronto plays Philadelphia Union in the third of five-straight home games, while Chicago challenge conference power New England Revolution.
