“I think any time you have a goal scorer [like Altidore], it’s good to get that sensation of hitting the back of the net”, Vanney said.
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Down a man after a Rafael Ramos red card in the 36th minute, Orlando City was on its heels after the break.
“We want to get him in front of the goal and in the box so that he can be the goal scorer that he’s capable of being”.
The victory ended Toronto’s two-game winless skid and created more space between the Eastern Conference clubs in the standings.
Orlando City used a hail-mary pass offensive strategy at times. “We put in a lot of work in the first half to create what happened in the second half”.
Giovinco, meanwhile, moved just one goal behind Columbus forward Kei Kamara for the Major League Soccer scoring lead.
MLS match between Toronto FC and Orlando City at the BMO Field.
The win was TFC’s third of the season over the expansion Lions, who will return home to lick their wounds in anticipation of a better result next weekend on Saturday against the Chicago Fire (7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE). The Crew were in action later against Sporting KC.
Kaka has struggled of late with the expansion side and this game was no different.
Midfielder Kaka was out due to an ankle injury when the teams last met August. 5 in a 4-1 Toronto win.
Altidore had drawn some criticism for his play since he returned from the Gold Cup.
They were hamstrung early on and the visitors didn’t manage a decent opportunity until the 42nd minute when Luke Boden’s free kick curled just over the bar. Bradley finished the game with three assists and goalkeeper Chris Konopka earned the shutout.
It left the Lions short-handed on the road for a second consecutive week, and for the second consecutive week Orlando City was punished mightily.
Toronto took over the game in the second half and didn’t let up in completing a sweep of the three-game season series.
However, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half, Ramos was controversially sent off while making a strong challenge, reducing the Lions to 10 men with over 50 minutes left in the game.
Orlando City was able to find its shape again after the goal and looked like it might be able to withstand some pressure and limit the damage, but in the 56th minute, Giovinco drew a foul when he tried to split Winter and Collin near the top of the box.
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Cristian Higuita conceded a couple of free kicks after committing fouls following giveaways in the middle of the park, and Servando Carrasco and Kaká were each booked for yellow card offenses in the first half. Next up is a game against Montreal next Saturday at BMO Field before a September 5 game at Seattle.
