The Dream is at it again.
Raheem Edwards has been one of the brightest young stars in MLS this season, bursting onto the scene with his dynamic play on both sides of the ball. And while he’s made six starts already this season, perhaps his most impressive contributions have come as an off-the-bench spark plug as he did in Columbus on Wednesday night.
The Situation
The Reds were up against it and desperately needed a jolt to change the tide against Columbus Crew SC. Down 1-0 into the 80th minute, TFC were running out of time, and answers, in Ohio. But a trio of substitutes (and a certain Spaniard) stepped up to take the game by the scruff of the neck to not only save a point on the road, but help ensure all three to bring Toronto’s winning streak to five.
The Play
The ball starts near midfield with Benoit Cheyrou as he drives forward and finds Victor Vazquez in a crowd. The Barcelona product takes a beautiful first touch to spin away from danger and keep the attack alive.
Vazquez then pushes the ball wide right to Edwards as he stays in line with the defence.
Without taking a touch to settle, Edwards hit the perfect ball on the run towards the six-yard box, where Tosaint Ricketts was eagerly waiting to nod it home.
Take a look at how the width in attack creates the goal scoring opportunity. As Vazquez distributes the ball wide right, Crew defender Waylon Francis leaves Ricketts in an attempt to cut off the service centrally. He would have gotten there if Edwards took even a moment to control, but his delicately chipped cross made its way into the space vacated by Francis for Ricketts to attack in the air.
But they weren’t done there.
In the 90th minute, the same cast of characters linked up one more time with Edwards playing a key role.
Cheyrou starts things off by switching the point of attack, again looking to take advantage of the wide areas.
With head coach Greg Vanney urging him forward, Edwards pushes further into the attack before hitting a bending ball into the box that eventually falls to Ricketts to complete his brace and seal the win.
Vazquez gets the slightest of touches to keep the play alive, but the initial ball in is hit with enough pace to keep the Columbus backline on their heels.
The result?
via GIPHY
What They Said
Raheem Edwards: “I knew coming on that I had to change something up, give the team a spark. Crosses are where I make my bread. I know I have to get those crosses right since I’m out wide most of the time. Tonight, those two were dangerous.”
