WASHINGTON — After losing five straight, including last-minute defeats against Vancouver and Orlando, Toronto FC finally got some reward for its efforts Saturday.
Despite a depleted roster and steamy conditions at Audi Field, Toronto rallied twice from one-goal deficits to emerge with a 2-2 Major League Soccer draw with D.C. United.
“This team has faced a lot of adversity in this last period,” said Toronto coach Bob Bradley. “And there’s been other moments where they’ve shown resilience and stuck together but then we let it get away from us.
“And so today, I think, means a lot. It means a lot to the group that they’re fighting through this and they get a little something today. They needed that.”
A pair of Toronto substitutes completed the comeback by combining on an 89th-minute goal. D.C. ‘keeper Bill Hamid stopped substitute Jordan Perruzza’s hard shot but could not hang on and a falling Jonathan Osorio poked the rebound in.
Toronto had moved D.C. defenders around with a patient 11-pass buildup that had started with Toronto ‘keeper Alex Bono. The attack halted briefly when D.C. midfielder Drew Skundrich poked the ball away but only as far as Luca Petrasso who looped a ball to Perruzza, whose hard shot from a tight angle handcuffed Hamid.
“We need somebody to step up and make saves. Bail us out rather than giving up a rebound,” said interim D.C. coach Chad Ashton, clearly unhappy. “We’re giving up soft goals. Yeah (Hamid) should be able to push that rebound wide. Is it easy to do? No. But he’s more than capable.”
Osorio, who had missed the three previous games with a leg injury, entered the game in the 62nd minute. He was lucky to stay on the field after a poorly timed challenge 18 minutes later on Steven Birnbaum, escaping only with a yellow card.
D.C. seemed headed to victory after Ecuador forward Michael Estrada scored one goal and set up another until Osorio stepped up with his 51st career goal for TFC.
Ayo Akinola, making his first club start since last July after knee surgery, also scored for Toronto in what turned into an entertaining, end-to-end game. D.C. outshot Toronto 17-4 (7-6 in shots on target) and had six corners to Toronto’s two.
Kickoff was pushed back 2 1/2 hours to 6:30 p.m. local time, with the area facing weekend heat expected to exceed mid-July levels.
It was 33 degrees Celsius, feeling like 35, at the original kickoff time. The temperature had dropped slightly to 31 C, feeling like 32, when the game actually…