



After a convincing win midweek over Orlando City, Sebastian Giovinco and Toronto FC were back in action on Saturday afternoon looking to make it two wins in a row at home. Facing off against an imposing opponent in the form of Sporting Kansas City, the Reds were bolstered by the return of Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore to the starting eleven.



With veterans Benoit Cheyrou and Damien Perquis suspended, TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney called on Eriq Zavaleta to play beside Ahmed Kantari in the heart of the Toronto defense and Marky Delgado continued his run of starting assigments. Left back Ashtone Morgan also returned to the starting XI with Justin Morrow beginning this game on the subs bench.



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Toronto vs Sporting Kansas City

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Kansas City was more fluid team in terms of possession in the early going, as Toronto got off to something of a slow start.



Sporting came close to open the scoring with a remarkable goal in the 13th minute when Chance Myers hammered a volley just inches wide of the far post.



Referee Mark Geiger continued to show his incompetence in the 20th minute when he called Jackson for a foul in the TFC box that completely unwarranted. Kansas City attacking midfielder Benny Feilhaber then stepped and confidently slotted home the penalty shot to give his side lead.



However, the lead ended being very short lived with Toronto equalizing on a give and go with Michael Bradley and Giovinco, with the U.S. International scoring in his first game back from injury in the 22nd minute.



Toronto continued to be their own worst enemy defensively in the 29th minute when an out of position Joe Bendik was unable to keep out what looked like a relative harmless header by Krisztián Németh.



The Reds had a decent chance to equalize in the 35th minute when Bradley unleashed a shot at the top right corner but SKC keeper Tim Melia made a fine diving save to push the ball to safety.



The Second Half



Toronto FC continued to struggle to generate scoring chances through the hour mark, with the Reds clearly missing the passing and leadership of Benoit Cheyrou in the middle of the pitch.



The Reds came close once again in the 62nd minute on a Michael Bradley corner kick that Collen Warner powerfully headed wide of the target.



TFC missed a big opportunity for an equalizer in the 80th minute when Giovinco delivered a dangerous cross to an unmarked Jozy Altidore. However, the veteran striker muffed his header and sent it wide of the net.



Toronto would continue to push forward in vein through the remainder of regulation, with Kansas City well organized and stout in closing out their road victory.



To add further salt to the TFC wound, former Toronto FC midfielder Jacob Peterson added an insurance goal for Sporting Kansas City in the 87 minute.



Overall, Kansas City played this match to perfection, with a clear focus on closing down all passing lanes to Giovinco. The Atomic Ant did not have a terrible game. Instead, Sporting did a fine job on preventing him from getting on ball in any significant way.

What's the point in having millions and millions of talent up front if you can't get them the ball to hurt teams. #TFCLive — Darren O'Dea (@odea_darren) August 8, 2015

Man of the Match



Eriq Zavaleta

On an afternoon in which Toronto were mostly impotent offensively, 23 year old central defender Eriq Zavaleta had a fine game against a Sporting Kansas City side that had the lion’s share of the possession in the game. Zavaleta won pretty much everything in the air and was well positioned to snuff Sporting attack any time the opposition got near the Toronto FC box. #TFCLive Video: The captain is back. Bradley ties it up. pic.twitter.com/RbYrPyCsCe — Toronto FC (@torontofc) August 8, 2015

Toronto FC Line-up



12 Joe Bendik

11 Jackson

15 Eriq Zavaleta

41 Ahmed Kantari

5 Ashtone Morgan

4 Michael Bradley

21 Jonathan Osorio

26 Collen Warner

18 Marky Delgado

17 Jozy Altidore

10 Sebastian Giovinco



Substitutions: Daniel Lovitz for Ashtone Morgan (69’); Justin Morrow for Jonathan Osorio (69’). Who is your Man of the Match?

12 Joe Bendik11 Jackson15 Eriq Zavaleta41 Ahmed Kantari5 Ashtone Morgan4 Michael Bradley21 Jonathan Osorio26 Collen Warner18 Marky Delgado17 Jozy Altidore10 Sebastian GiovincoDaniel Lovitz for Ashtone Morgan (69’); Justin Morrow for Jonathan Osorio (69’).