Toronto FC completed an impressive comeback for a crucial point at BMO Field on Wednesday night, scoring twice late while down to 10 men to draw 3-3 with Charlotte FC in a midweek Eastern Conference clash.
Niklas Dorsch scored a decisive long-range goal for the second time in as many home matches, floating the ball into the box and watching it skip by everyone and into the back of the net in the 90th minute to complete the comeback. Dorsch needed treatment moments later after going to ground following a collision with a Charlotte player, but was able to walk off on his own power.
Daniel Salloi scored in the 77th minute to pull the Reds back within one, steering home a low cross from Theo Corbeanu to get the comeback underway following a Walker Zimmerman red card.
Despite pushing hard in a lengthy period of stoppage time, the Reds could not find a winner. Corbeanu came closest with one of the last kicks of the game, driving a low shot at the goalkeeper on a clinical counter-attack, but Kristijan Kahlina stood his ground in the Charlotte net.
The Reds will feel as though they could have had more from the game despite the comeback, punished for three defensive mistakes of their own making.
Zimmerman’s red card only made their uphill battle steeper, given a straight sending off after a sliding tackle on Idan Toklomati ten minutes after halftime, but none of the Toronto FC protesting persuaded Canadian referee Gérard-Kader Lebuis to overturn his decision.
Charlotte scored seconds later from the ensuing free kick for their third goal, and the eventual game-winner, headed into the bottom corner by Henry Kessler.
It was the third goal TFC conceded on the night that they will probably look back on as preventable.
TFC knocked on the door a couple of times in the first few minutes of the match, with Daniel Salloi and Josh Sargent both missing from close range and Markus Cimermancic — making his second start in a row — forcing a save out of Kristijan Kahlina with a low shot.
They came to regret those misses when, in the eighth minute, Ashley Westwood picked off stray pass in midfield and set up teenager Rodolfo Aloko to power the opening goal past Luka Gavran from just inside the 18-yard-box.
The Reds responded well, with Cimermancic picking out the bottom right corner from the edge of the box just six minutes later for his first MLS goal for TFC, but six minutes after that another sloppy moment defensively from the hosts was punished.
Benjamin Kuscevic whiffed on an attempt to slide tackle away a long through ball along the ground, giving Charlotte a 2-on-0 breakaway in front of the TFC net. Gavran did well to stay with the ball as Aloko passed it across goal for Liel Abada to tap in at the back post, but after a big save from the TFC goalkeeper, Toklomati thumped home the rebound to take back the lead.
Both sides had scoring chances as the clock ticked toward halftime, each taking seven shots but Charlotte leading 5-2 in attempts on target.
Even after conceding a third goal Toronto FC didn’t slow down their attempts to get back into the game, showing the character that Robin Fraser has been glowing about all season long despite the club’s hardships. That proved to be the difference again for the Reds, who clawed back a fully-deserved point when the game seemed well out of reach.
Left-back Matheus Pereira came on in the aftermath of Charlotte’s third goal, making his first appearance in months, a welcome development at a crucial point in the season, with a trip to Miami on Saturday needing as many fresh legs as possible as well.
Toronto FC finally got back in the win column on Saturday with a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday, and came into this match confident that they could get another big result against an Eastern Conference opponent. While not the three points they wanted, one big one and the morale that comes from a result like that is better than the alternative — a defeat that almost seemed inevitable when they went down a man and down two goals.
TFC does not have much time to dwell on the point, needing to turn the page quickly to Saturday’s game in Miami.
More to come.