After an impressive start to the 2024 MLS season, Toronto FC now find themselves in the midst of an early setback as Sporting KC sealed a 3-1 win at BMO Field to secure three points on the road.
Toronto head coach John Herdman was forced to get creative with his lineup as winger Lorenzo Insigne was officially ruled out for six weeks due to the hamstring injury he sustained in last week’s win over Atlanta United.
In addition to Insigne’s absence, goalkeeper Sean Johnson is also out of action, and so Luka Gavran was called upon to step in for another start at home. He has been a bright spot for the club as he has showcased what he is capable of and has earned praise from both his teammates and Herdman. Although he conceded three goals tonight, he made crucial saves to ensure that the first half remained scoreless and that his side had an opportunity to win.
During his post-match press conference, Herdman shared his thoughts on the goals and complimented Gavran for his saves in the first half. He mentioned that the goalkeeper kept Toronto in the match in the first half, but the club was vulnerable on the defensive end, which ended up costing them. He said:
“Luka [Gavran] made some big saves. I think we missed some chances in the first half, as well. I think they [Sporting KC] were certainly in defensive transitions in their attack in transition, they were pretty clinical. When you look at KC and their style of play, they like to dominate the ball but again we forced them into direct play…So that’s big learning for us. At home we always want to win at ten. We want to dominate the ball. I think we dominated the ball. I think at times we had big moments and some exciting moments playing a good style of football but with that comes the risk and that risk I thought was exploited in big moments.”
Toronto FC head coach John Herdman post-match thoughts on loss to Sporting KC
The goals all came in the second half for both sides as Remi Walter and Jake Davis scored in the 57th and 64th minute respectively, before Alenis Vargas sealed the win with his goal in the 83rd minute.
TFC captain Jonathan Osorio scored what ended up being a consolation goal in stoppage time. It turned out to be a milestone goal for the Canadian as it was his first official MLS goal as TFC captain and his twelfth consecutive season with a goal for the club.
Toronto is back in action next Saturday as they travel to Vancouver to play the Whitecaps, so it will be interesting to see whether they can bounce back.
Check out full match highlights below:
Image credit: @TorontoFC – X
