Sign up for the northeastNOW newsletter

Jonathan Osorio breaks tie, Toronto FC beats Fire 2-1

Jul 21, 2018 | 9:30 PM

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Jonathan Osorio was the difference maker, again, for Toronto FC.

Osorio broke a tie in the 65th minute and Toronto held on to beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 on Saturday night to halt a six-match MLS winless streak.

The Canadian midfielder also scored the only goal Wednesday in the Reds’ 1-0 road win over the Ottawa Fury in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal.

“He has played virtually minute. He keeps finding the back of the net but as much as finding the back of the net, he’s doing an immense amount of work on both sides of the ball, defensively, attacking, covering tons of ground, helping us in possession. He’s been excellent,” said TFC head coach Greg Vanney.

Osorio helped Toronto FC (5-11-4) regain the lead it gave away three minutes earlier, easily tucking it home after goalkeeper Richard Sanchez misplayed Marco Delgado’s through ball.

“Right now with the confidence he has, he has a good feel for getting in good spots and finishing off goals,” added Vanney. “There’s not much more you can say, he’s having a huge season and we want him just to keep going.”

Toronto, which has dealt with injuries for much of what’s turned into a disappointing season, last scored an MLS victory back on June 8, a 2-0 win over Philadelphia.

Both Jozy Altidore, who last played in April, and Victor Vazquez returned from injury on Saturday.

“We are kicking on, man. We have a lot of injuries but we are having guys get back now to help out the team,” said Altidore. 

“A lot of these guys have played a lot of minutes and we were able to get a result tonight with guys coming back to get some minutes and now we’re looking ahead.”

Nemanja Nikolic tied it 1-1 for the Fire (6-11-5) in the 62nd minute. Raheem Edwards flicked Aleksandar Katai’s free kick back across goal and Nikolic headed it home from close range.

Sebastian Giovinco settled Michael Bradley’s long ball and dribbled to the centre of the area where he powered home a right-footed finish in the 47th minute for the game’s opening goal.

TFC began the evening 11 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

“We are starting to look a little more in general like ourselves, as a team. Good organization. It was good. They’re all good wins, they all feel important and we’ll take it,” said Vanney.

 

— With files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press