



After arguably their most unconvincing performance of the season, Toronto FC were back at home on Saturday for a crucial fixture against Orlando City SC. With the Reds already having defeated Adrian Heath’s side twice this campaign, TFC supporters were likely hoping that the visiting men in purple would be just the tonic needed to get the beloved Reds back into the win column.



Considering Toronto’s disappointing and lackluster performance last weekend, TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney elected to make three changes to his starting eleven, with Jackson replacing Ashtone Morgan on the back line and Chris Konopka getting the start between the sticks in place of Joe Bendik.



Struggling Designated Player Jozy Altidore also took a seat on the bench with Canadian International Jonathan Osorio returning to the starting XI.



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Toronto out of the gate looking very different from the one that stumbled so badly last weekend, with the Reds controlling the play and keeper Chris Konopka rarely involved in the match.



The first scoring chance of the match came in the 18th minute when Jackson unleashed a shot from 30 yards out that required a diving save by Orlando keeper Tally Hall.



The Reds should have opened the scoring one minute later when a deflected ball fell fortuitously right to Marky Delgado in the Orlando box. However, the young midfielder was unable to keep his shot down and he skied it over the crossbar.



Toronto gained a man advantage in the 36th minute when Orlando defender Rafael Ramos was sent off via a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on Justin Morrow.



Despite all of their possession and solid buildup play Toronto ultimately struggled to generate genuine scoring chances.



The Reds had another glorious chance in first half injury time when Morrow delivered a dangerous cross that Michael Bradley was ultimately unable to control.



The Second Half



Toronto FC took the lead almost immediately after the second half whistle, with Michael Bradley making a fine run and dishing off to a trailing Marky Delgado, who made no mistake in burying his shot past a helpless Tally Hall.



The Reds doubled their lead ten minutes later on a truly stunning free kick in which Giovinco curled a world class shot just inside the right post past the outstretched arms of a helpless Tally Hall.



Toronto put the match out of reach in the 71st minute when some fantastic passing between Jonathan Osorio, Michael Bradley and Giovinco ended with Bradley earning second assist of the match while setting up Justin Morrow for a tap in into the Orlando net.



The match took a turn for the disastrous for Orlando in the 82nd minute when Adrian Winter fouled Robbie Findley in the box and was sent off for his second yellow of the game. Jozy Altidore then stepped up and confidently slotted home the resulting free kick.



With Orlando down to nine men, Toronto added a 5th goal in the 85th minute when Bradley delivered a well-placed free kick that Findley tapped across the box and Altidore put into the back of the net past a shell shocked Tally Hall.



With the victory, Toronto have now alleviated the pressure that had been heaped upon the team following sound beatings at the hands of Sporting Kansas City and the New York Red Bulls. While Toronto were undoubtedly very good in the second half of this game, it is hard to qualify how much the final score line was due to TFC’s play versus a shockingly bad performance from Orlando.

In case you missed #Giovinco's freekick, here it is! #TFCLive pic.twitter.com/ljh8GIZbBw — In2Sports (@In2SportsInc) August 22, 2015

Man of the Match



Sebastian Giovinco

You have to figure that Orlando keeper Tally Hally does not sleep well at night while dealing with recurrent nightmares of a 5’4 Italian man. The Atomic Ant once again dominated Orlando and gave the team’s back line fits. He set the tone for this win and his free kick past Hall on Toronto’s second goal was a dead ball delivery of the highest quality.



Team captain Michael Bradley also bounced back with an exceptionally strong performance after a lackluster match against the Reds Bulls last weekend. He dominated the majority of his midfield battles and showed real quality while engineering several goals.



20 year old midfielder Marky Delgado had another strong game for Toronto, with his opening goal punctuating another solid two-way performance by former Chivas USA player. Giovinco receives standing ovation from BMO Field as he's subbed off with #TFCLive up 3-0. pic.twitter.com/arTEPeXDBu — Dan Riccio (@DanRiccio590) August 22, 2015

Toronto FC Line-up



1 Chris Konopka

2 Justin Morrow

23 Josh Williams

41 Ahmed Kantari

11 Jackson

4 Michael Bradley

21 Benoit Cheyrou

26 Collen Warner

18 Marky Delgado

17 Jozy Altidore

10 Sebastian Giovinco



Substitutions: Daniel Lovitz for Jackson (46’); Jozy Altidore for Jonathan Osorio (72’); Robbie Findley for Sebastian Giovinco (77’). Who is your Man of the Match?

1 Chris Konopka2 Justin Morrow23 Josh Williams41 Ahmed Kantari11 Jackson4 Michael Bradley21 Benoit Cheyrou26 Collen Warner18 Marky Delgado17 Jozy Altidore10 Sebastian GiovincoDaniel Lovitz for Jackson (46’); Jozy Altidore for Jonathan Osorio (72’); Robbie Findley for Sebastian Giovinco (77’).