Toronto FC’s unbeaten streak reached five games on Saturday evening, drawing 1-1 at BMO Field against New York City FC.

The Theo Corbeanu and Daniel Salloi linked up for a Toronto FC goal for the second home game in a row, doing so almost exactly the same way as they did last Wednesday against Charlotte FC Corbeanu charged down the right flank and played a low pass across the face of the goal, where Salloi was there to tuck it in.

Those shots are almost impossible to defend when you let a player — especially one of Salloi’s quality — get to that position in front of goal, and the Hungarian winger made no mistake.

Salloi had started 20 of the prior 21 matches for TFC entering Saturday, and was one of three players with Luka Gavran and Alonso Coello to play all 21 games this season — so it was a bit of a surprise to see him dropped to the bench in favour of Corbeanu.

Head coach Robin Fraser said after the match that Salloi was dealing with a personal matter this week and was not ready to start. No specifics were given, but Fraser said that Salloi is fine.

Derrick Etienne Jr deserved another chance to start after scoring the winning goal in Miami last weekend, but this time it was the man who replaced him off the bench that got the important goal for TFC.

Nicolás Fernández put the visitors in front just before the half-hour mark, scoring his 14th goal of the season in impressive fashion. Toronto FC gave the Argentinian forward an inch and he took a mile, cutting to his left after receiving the ball on the right side of the pitch before taking a step forward and firing a shot into the bottom-right corner, past the diving Luka Gavran.

The goal was well-taken, but it was against the run of play in a first half that the hosts spent most of on the front foot. In fact, it was NYCFC’s only shot of the first 45, and their only attempt on target until the seventh minute of second half stoppage time. They never really looked like winning the game after Toronto FC equalized, successfully opting to try and snatch a point on the road by focusing on killing the clock and keeping TFC out of their net.

Toronto FC will likely regret the chances they missed in the first half to open the scoring, but after the break they gave themselves a chance to win the game.

“The second half was really good. The first half wasn’t bad but we didn’t sort out how to get pressure to them quickly enough and well enough,” Fraser said to reporters including Waking The Red. “When we had the ball, we had some good moments.

“Unfortunate that we allowed that shot. [Fernández] is a very, very good player, and left-footed, so I would love if we would have not let him come onto his left foot, but these things happen, and then I thought second half we really responded.”

After the fans at BMO Field booed the United States anthem before the game — a response to the never-ending disrespect toward Canada from President Donald Trump and recent tariffs placed on their northern neighbours — Coello stung the hands of the American World Cup goalkeeper Matt Freese with the first big chance of the game, a powerful strike from outside the penalty area.

Fraser, a USMNT international during his own playing career, declined to comment on the booking.

“I wondered if someone was going to ask me about that,” he said. “I’m a soccer coach. I’m not a politician, so I’m just going to completely stay out of that.”

TFC kept knocking on the door early. Theo Corbeanu made a run to the byline and centred the ball for Derrick Etienne Jr, who was left wide open in front of the New York goal but couldn’t reach the ball when he lunged to try and poke it on target. Walker Zimmerman, back in the starting lineup after serving a one-game red card suspension against Miami last weekend, and Benjamin Kuscevic both got their heads onto the end of corner kicks in the first half, but neither could steer their attempts on target.

The game was a chippy one at times. Kuscevic picked up a yellow card in the first half for a heavy challenge on Andrés Perea, which the NYC midfielder took exception to by going nose-to-nose with the TFC man. Fernández was also booked in the first half for fouling Richie Laryea — who he tussled with from the very first whistle, before Laryea and Bénie Traoré got into it a few times in the second half when Laryea moved to right-back.

Djordje Mihailovic also tested Freese with a shot from the edge of the box in first half stoppage time.

Related Reading: Walker Zimmerman-Benjamin Kuscevic connection makes Toronto FC better when in-sync: Fraser

TFC needed a big response in the second half to keep the good times rolling on against a New York City FC side that came in winless in their last four league matches.

That streak is now five, while the Reds’ unbeaten streak is up to five. TFC came into the game in better form after last week’s seven-point gauntlet where they beat the New England Revolution and Inter Miami, with a comeback draw against Charlotte FC — down two goals and down to 10 men — in between.

TFC are still within touching distance of the playoff spots, even if they couldn’t use the home crowd to their advantage, with the Canadian National Exhibition taking place around the stadium for a bright and colourful backdrop.

“Definitely a valuable point,” said Theo Corbeanu. “Especially the way the game went, I thought as a collective we fought really well, and we battled it out until the end.

“Obviously, it’s not the best when we go 1-0 down. You don’t want to start off games like that, we want to be on the front foot and be the first ones that score, but the way it went it’s just that last bit that we need to work on and I feel like we were attacking very well. We were very dangerous in the second half and everyone had so much energy.

“I’m very proud of the group even though it’s not three points. It’s a point but a valuable point.”

Related Reading: 7-point week could be season-defining for Toronto FC: ‘We have to build on this’

Toronto FC are back at home for their next two matches, welcoming Robert Lewandowski’s Chicago Fire and Supporters Shield leaders Nashville SC to town for a Saturday-Wednesday doubleheader. NYCFC host Nashville at Yankee Stadium on Friday.