Toronto FC trails New York City FC 1-0 after 45 at BMO Field.<\/p>\n
Nicol\u00e1s Fern\u00e1ndez has the visitors in front, 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. <\/p>\n
The goal was impressive, but it was against the run of play in a first half that Toronto FC spent most of on the front foot. In fact, it was NYCFC\u2019s only shot of the first 45.<\/p>\n
After the fans at BMO Field booed the United States anthem before the patch \u2014 a response to the never-ending disrespect toward Canada from President Donald Trump and recent tariffs placed on their northern neighbours \u2014 Alonso Coello stung the hands of the American World Cup goalkeeper Matt Freese with the first attempt on target, a powerful strike from outside the penalty area. <\/p>\n
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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
The game was a chippy one at times. Kuscevic picked up a yellow card in the first half for a heavy challenge on Andr\u00e9s Perea, which the NYC midfielder took exception to by going nose-to-nose with the TFC man. Fern\u00e1ndez was also booked in the first half for fouling Richie Laryea \u2014 who he tussled with from the very first whistle. <\/p>\n
Related Reading: Walker Zimmerman-Benjamin Kuscevic connection makes Toronto FC better when in-sync: Fraser<\/a><\/p>\n