TORONTO – It was the Sebastian Giovinco show at BMO Field as Toronto FC picked up their first home victory of the season, a 1-0 result painted by the brushstroke foot of the Atomic Ant.
A goal scored by Giovinco in the fifth minute separated the two sides, with the Italian forward consistently zipping around the front line, always threatening with an ankle-breaking flick or a ferocious shot on goal. It didn’t take him very long to find the back of the net, with Toronto’s midfield clicking in tandem before Luke Moore found Giovinco in the center of the forward line.
Giovinco struck with an outside-the-foot strike that curved and dipped perfectly, past the outstretched fingers of Adam Kwarasey, giving Toronto a lead early in the half. After the goal, Giovinco continued to torment the Portland back line, nearly scoring on two occasions, one blocked by his own teammate, Jonathan Osorio.
INTERVIEWS: Greg Vanney | Michael Bradley | Justin Morrow | Sebastian Giovinco | Warren Creavalle
Moore also had a half-volley chance that threatened, and while Portland did manage to get the ball into the box a couple of times, the Timbers rarely threatened in the first 45 minutes. It didn’t help that Diego Valeri went down with injury in the 25th minute, and had to be replaced by Gaston Fernandez.
The two teams went into the locker rooms with Toronto holding a slight edge and looking hungry for more, but Portland began attacking down the middle before swapping out wide in the second half. Toronto made a change in personnel, with Jackson coming in for Moore to provide more width.
HIGHLIGHTS: Match Highlights | Sebastian Giovinco Strike | Giovinco Highlights | Chris Konopka Save
It was Toronto’s other substitute that nearly found the back of the net, though. Warren Creavalle ran down the left wing on the 80-minute mark and forced a big save out of Kwarasey.
Seconds later, TFC goalkeeper Chris Konopka made an error in judgement coming out, bringing down Maximiliano Urruti in the box, but no penalty was called. A few minutes later, Urruti nearly bounced on a rebound from a long-distance drive by Dairon Asprilla.
TFC head coach then Greg Vanney made his final change, putting Nick Hagglund in for Osorio in an effort to see out the game with roughly 10 minutes to go. But despite Portland pressing and creating dangerous opportunities around the box, Toronto held on and was firm defensively.
Toronto FC next play host to Premiership outfit Manchester City for a midseason friendly on May 27 at BMO Field before welcoming the San Jose Earthquakes in a league game three days later. Meanwhile, Portland take on D.C. United in their next game on May 27.
