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Match report: Toronto FC 2-6 Union

With Houston yet to play today, Philadelphia Union suddenly have the second most prolific offense in the East (tied for second most in all of MLS).

The Union scored six goals against a hapless Toronto FC defense, with Justin Mapp and Danny Mwanga both netting braces. Gabe Farfan opened his account in the 2nd minute and nine minutes later Mapp doubled the lead. Kyle Nakazawa added another before the half was out, but Toronto cut the lead to one early after the break.

It was Mapp again to make it 4-2, then a pair of Mwanga goals helped the Union pull away late.

There was constant confusion in the Toronto back line, and when Dan Gargan misjudged a Jordan Harvey cross it was a simple task for Gabe Farfan to gather the ball at the penalty spot and finish low to the left of Stefan Frei.

The Union were pushing hard for a second when Frei cut out a Sheanon Williams cross. The Toronto goalie was soon stranded again when Justin Mapp intercepted a poor clearance up the middle and, after receiving a return pass from Kyle Nakazawa, had free reign to fire on net from 22 yards out. The well-laced goal spun into Frei’s right corner.

The middle of the Toronto defense was nearly panoramic, and Garfan looked over the top for a sprinting Mwanga. The ball ran long, but it taught Toronto nothing. Moments later, Nakazawa was pushing through the center when he was fouled hard. Sebastien Le Toux wasted the free kick.

In the later stages of the first half, the Canadians came to life. Joao Plata was the focal point as he went pushed up the left wing to challenge Williams and Valdes.

But BMC Field was quickly deflated when, on the stroke of halftime, Kyle Nakazawa finally earned his first Union goal. A combination play led to Le Toux looking for Mwanga in the box. The young striker used a deft flick to put Nakazawa in alone and he passed it into the net.

Philadelphia has never lost when scoring three, but Toronto was not prepared to go away so easily. The second half began with an extended period of awful defense from the Union, and Maicon Santos was in alone on Mondragon after only five minutes. He easily rounded the stranded goalie and tapped into an empty net.

Incredibly, it would not be Santos’ easiest goal of the game. Nine minutes later, Sebastien Le Toux fumbled the ball to halftime substitute Danleigh Borman. Sheanon Williams had already taken off on a run, and Borman had acres of space to lay a low cross onto the foot of Santos in front of net.

The Union needed their most dynamic offensive threat to come through again, and Justin Mapp answered the call. The only way to describe Toronto’s clearance in the 62nd minute is atrocious, but Mapp cared not as he collected the loose ball and attacked open space before blasting a left-footed scorcher into the far post netting.

From there Toronto’s collapse reached epic proportions. Danny Mwanga had already spurned two chances in on goal when he snuck around to the back post and met a Le Toux corner kick. The ball flew into the top corner, over an embarrassingly scared Plata.

It was Mapp’s night though, and in the 89th he turned provider. He strode down the right before tapping into Mwanga’s path. The big striker finished the rout with a left-footed finish over Frei.

It was a dominant performance, but the fifteen minutes of guileless defending to start the second half will worry Nowak and Hackworth.

The Union play this Tuesday against Reading FC at Don Thomas Stadium before traveling to Colorado for a 9pm showdown with the Rapids on June 4th.

10 Comments

  1. This was awesome. You had to see that Toronto looked about as organized as my desk though, with most of the goals featuring poor marking, and failed clearances. The only real exception was the Nak goal, which was Barca-esque in the build up. Anyway, it helped our goal differential a lot.

    • Dan Walsh says:

      Yeah, definitely a weak defense, and I think you give them credit for owning at least two of the goals (Garfan & Mwanga’s gimme) and taking partial ownership over Mwanga’s goal off the corner (might want to mark him next time). But the rest? I think the Union can rightly claim credit for creating those, and the Nakazawa goal was a thing of beauty. Been too long since we’ve seen Le Toux and Mwanga pass like that.

  2. virgoboy says:

    As always, Thank You for posting the highlights here! I had such a hard time concentrating on the Champions League Final because i was still reeling from this crazy-incredible match, trying to recall who scored what, when, how, etc. Just awesome, awesome, awesome!!

  3. Mapps pass in the buildup to the third and his assist to Mwanga, both right footed passes. One hell of a match from Lefty!!!

  4. PhillyHotspur says:

    what a lovely day in toronto…………

    The squad looked like them old selves from last year…….No Fat Chooch. Any correlation ?

    And J mapp………..lovely cross on Farfan’s first……..great finish on his first……..and a devastating cracker when things were looking a little bit nervy at 3-2……….easily the best played game by a U this year………hats off.

    The only thing missing from that one was a letoux goal……….and the man had his chances………..Wish Danny Boy gave him that last one, but the boy is an assassin……

    Top of the table………life is goooooooood. GS

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