ST. LOUIS — Toronto FC’s playoff push suffered another setback Saturday night as the Reds were beaten 3–1 by St. Louis City SC at Energizer Park.
Toronto has now lost consecutive matches after going unbeaten for seven straight MLS games.
First Half
St. Louis controlled much of the opening half and broke through in the 41st minute.
Carlo Holse finished a pass from Alexandru Mățan to put the home side ahead 1–0. Toronto struggled to create clear chances and went into halftime trailing.
Second Half
St. Louis doubled its advantage in the 54th minute.
Tomas Totland collected Mățan’s pass and fired a powerful shot into the bottom corner beyond Toronto goalkeeper Luka Gavran.
The hosts made it 3–0 in the 68th minute through Simon Becher, who continued his outstanding recent scoring run. It was his seventh goal in his last nine games in all competitions.
Toronto finally found the net deep into stoppage time. Theo Corbeanu headed home from a free kick in the 97th minute, but the goal arrived too late to change the result.
Key Toronto Storylines
Jonathan Osorio returned to the squad after missing seven matches with a knee injury. The Toronto captain entered in the 62nd minute, but could not spark a comeback.
Josh Sargent’s homecoming was a difficult one. The St. Louis-area native started for Toronto but was substituted in the 73rd minute after managing only one blocked attempt.
Toronto also lost Walker Zimmerman to yellow-card accumulation. His 23rd-minute booking means he will miss next week’s match against Nashville.
Richie Laryea is also unavailable for that game while away on international duty with Canada.
Turning Point
Totland’s second goal in the 54th minute effectively shifted the match away from Toronto.
The Reds needed a response immediately after halftime but instead conceded again and found themselves three goals down before Corbeanu’s late consolation.
What’s Next
Toronto now turns its attention to Nashville SC on September 26, another important Eastern Conference matchup. The Reds entered this weekend with a 6-8-11 record and 29 points.
