TORONTO — High-flying FC Cincinnati demonstrated why it is a contender again this season in Major League Soccer. Toronto FC showed it is headed in the right direction, but isn’t quite there yet.
Sergio Santos‘ 93rd-minute strike proved to be the difference Saturday as Cincinnati edged Toronto 4-3 in a wild affair to extend its winning streak to a club-record seven games. It was a back-and-forth thriller with both teams clawing their way back from deficits.
Cincinnati (10-2-3) also got two goals from Luca Orellano and one from Kevin Kelsy. Deybi Flores and Lorenzo Insigne, from the penalty spot replied for Toronto (7-7-1) which also benefited from an own goal.
“I felt we showed a championship ability against a team that is a championship team,” Toronto coach John Herdman said. “But there was a gap still. And the gap was the loss. We’ve got to close that gap. … We’re close.”
Cincinnati, which clinched the Supporters’ Shield with a 3-2 win in Toronto last September, went into weekend play second overall in the standings — eight points ahead of Toronto. The victory moved it temporarily into first place, until Inter Miami edged Vancouver 2-1 later in the evening.
Cincinnati arrived boasting the league’s stingiest defence, averaging 0.79 goals against per game. It had conceded a league-low eight goals from open play and now has nine wins in games decided by one goal this season.
Saturday’s win was a club-record record fourth straight away from home, raising its season road record to 6-1-1.
Cincinnati outshot Toronto 15-11 (7-4 in shots on target).
“Certainly a wild one, but pleased that the guys were able to come out on top,” said Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan. “Not what we typically see in terms of just the chaos and how back and forth that was. But I guess from an entertainment standpoint the viewers got their money worth.”
Insigne was a man on a mission for Toronto. The Italian star almost scored again in the 89th minute but his fierce shot from distance rattled off the woodwork. He did score in the 96th minute, but the offside flag went up to the dismay of the announced crowd of 27,941.
“He has so much quality,” said captain Jonathan Osorio. “He’s shown it throughout his career. He’s a champion. And today he showed it. The will that he had to win was really contagious. It spread throughout the team.
“With him on our team, you always believe that you’re in the game, that you can come back and win a game.”
Toronto had done a good job of shutting down Argentina…