Toronto FC (3W-10L-4T, 13 points) came up short in a 2-0 loss against Charlotte FC (8W-8L-1T, 25 points) on Saturday evening at BMO Field.
TFC Head Coach Robin Fraser made four changes to the lineup that started Wednesday’s match against the Philadelphia Union with Henry Wingo, Derrick Etienne Jr., Alonso Coello and Theo Corbeanu making way for Kosi Thompson, Lazar Stefanovic, Maxime Dominguez and Lorenzo Insigne.
The visitors started brightly by forcing goalkeeper Sean Johnson into a pair of important saves through the opening half. Charlotte FC’s Patrick Agyemang came closest to breaking the deadlock with a close-range effort in the 18th minute, only to be denied by a vital goal-line clearance from Raoul Petretta.
Charlotte FC opened the scoring shortly after the restart, as Wilfried Zaha and Liel Abada combined to set up Spanish midfielder Pep Biel who slotted home in the 56th minute.
Looking to get on the board, TFC created goalscoring opportunities of their own through Ola Brynhildsen, Jonathan Osorio, Maxime Dominguez and Lorenzo Insigne, but none were able to find the back of the net.
Canadian international Richie Laryea made a long-awaited return from injury in the 77th minute, coming on for Lazar Stefanovic to mark his first club appearance since March 1 against Orlando City SC.
The Crown sealed a 2-0 road win in the final minute of regulation, as American forward Patrick Agyemang found the net to double their advantage at BMO Field.
Next up, Toronto FC resume their MLS campaign with a showdown against Los Angeles FC on Friday, June 13. Kick-off from BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California is set for 10:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC – Sean Johnson; Kosi Thompson, Zane Monlouis (Sigurd Rosted 46’), Lazar Stefanovic (Richie Laryea 77’), Raoul Petretta; Deybi Flores (Alonso Coello 84’), Jonathan Osorio (C), Lorenzo Insigne; Maxime Dominguez (Theo Corbeanu 67’), Tyrese Spicer (Derrick Etienne Jr. 46’), Ola Brynhildsen
Substitutes Not Used: Luka Gavran, Kevin Long, Matty Longstaff, Charlie Sharp
CHARLOTTE FC – David Bingham; Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Andrew Privett, Adilson Malanda, Souleyman Doumbia (Tim Ream 66’); Ashley Westwood (C), Brandt Bronico, Pep Biel (Eryk Williamson 75’); Liel Abada (Kerwin Vargas 86’), Wilfried Zaha, Patrick Agyemang
Substitutes Not Used: Kristijan Kahlina, Bill Tuiloma, Nick Scardina, Djibril Diani, Tyger Smalls, Iuri Tavares
