TORONTO – Toronto FC surged past rivals Columbus Crew with a furious late comeback to claim the 2014 Trillium Cup on Saturday, courtesy of a pair of goals from Jermain Defoe and a late, late Doneil Henry header.
INTERVIEWS: Doneil Henry | Jermain Defoe | Dwayne De Rosario | Nick Hagglund | Jackson | Mark Bloom | Daniel Lovitz
Despite Columbus going ahead twice, TFC battled back and eventually claimed the winner off an injury-time free kick won by Dwayne De Rosario. With the match tied 2-2, Dan Lovitz swung the ball into the box and Henry – who was culpable on the Crew's second strike – headed past goalkeeper Steve Clark, giving Toronto a 3-2 win and all three points at BMO Field.
HIGHLIGHTS: Henry's Extra-Time Winner | Defoe's Clutch Equalizer | Defoe Clinical From The Spot | Degree #DoMoreMoment: Hagglund's Sliding Interception
The first chance of the game came courtesy of a Justin Meram shot that hit the post and rebounded out, giving Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik a bit of an early scare.
Meram wouldn’t miss his next chance, though. In the 18th minute, Meram picked up a pass at the edge of the box on a quick Crew counterattack and curled a shot past Bendik into the top corner for a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Toronto head coach Ryan Nelsen was forced to make a substitution, Lovitz coming in for Bradley Orr, who'd pulled up lame just before Meram's goal.
Toronto FC quickly turned on the pressure, and it paid off two minutes later when Jackson found Defoe in the box. Defoe controlled the ball but was pulled down by Tyson Wahl, and referee Sorin Stoica awarded a penalty kick.
Defoe stepped up to the spot and struck his finish into the bottom left corner past Clark, who got a touch on the ball but couldn’t make the save.
A pair of free kicks won by TFC and a yellow card issued to Michael Parkhurst would be the only other moments of action in the first half as the two teams went into the locker rooms deadlocked at 1-1, Toronto holding a 3-1 advantage on aggregate for the Trillium Cup.
The second half started out slower than the end of the first, with Toronto pushing forward and Columbus content to sit back. On the hour mark, the match picked up as Stoica doled out a yellow card to Agustin Viana, the first of six second-half cautions. In the 65th minute, Columbus won a corner kick which was swung in and met by Viana, who outjumped Henry and headed home.
Columbus, leading 2-1, then found themselves battling off heavy pressure from Toronto FC. The home side continued to create chances and it finally paid off in the 81st minute, when substitute Gilberto slipped a through ball in for Defoe. He let the ball bounce twice after Gilberto’s pass and hit it first time with his left foot, beating Clark in the top corner.
After that, it was all Toronto FC in the dying minutes, until Henry's late heroics secured a gutsy victory for the home side.
Toronto travel to Montreal on Wednesday for the final leg of the Amway Canadian Championship, tied at 1-1 with the Montreal Impact. Meanwhile, the Columbus Crew head to FedEx Field to take on D.C. United on Saturday, the second half of a doubleheader with a Spain vs. El Salvador “Road to Brazil” match.
Scoring Summary
CLB – Justin Meram (Ethan Finaly) 18’
TFC – Jermain Defoe PK 21’
CLB – Agustin Viana (Ben Speas) 65’
TFC – Jermain Defoe (Gilberto) 81’
TFC – Doneil Henry (Daniel Lovitz) 90’+2
Misconduct Summary
CLB – Michael Parkhurst 39’ (caution)
CLB – Agustin Viana 60’ (caution)
TFC – Joe Bendik 66’ (caution)
TFC – Gilberto 77’ (caution)
TFC – Kyle Bekker 80’ (caution)
CLB – Tyson Wahl 83’ (caution)
TFC – Doneil Henry 90’+4 (caution)
Records:
Toronto FC: 5-4-1 16pts.
Columbus Crew: 4-5-4 16pts.
Lineups
Toronto FC – Joe Bendik ©, Mark Bloom, Nick Hagglund, Doneil Henry, Justin Morrow; Jackson (Gilberto 66’), Bradley Orr (Daniel Lovitz 18’), Kyle Bekker, Jonathan Osorio (Dwayne De Rosario 71’); Jermain Defoe, Luke Moore
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Konopka, Álvaro Rey, Jeremy Hall, Andrew Wiedeman
Columbus Crew – Steve Clark; Josh Williams, Michael Parkhurst ©, Tyson Wahl, Chad Barson; Ethan Finaly (Bernardo Anor 90’), Tony Tchani, Agustin Viana (Fifi Baiden 73’), Justin Meram; Dan Paladini (Ben Speas 61’), Jairo Arrieta
Substitutes Not Used: Matt Lampson, Hector Jimenez, Dominic Oduro, Eric Gehrig
