Toronto FC nearly pulled off a stirring comeback against England's Aston Villa, but the Premier League side came out on top in a 4-2 win in a friendly on Wednesday night at BMO Field.
A sellout crowd (which included many fans carrying English flags) saw an exciting battle that saw their home side put up a strong effort and rebound from a 2-0 deficit at the half, as Villa's Luke Moore scored two of his three goals on the night.
Villa opened the scoring in the 11th minute thanks to a brilliant pass by midfielder Ashley Young. Standing just past midfield, Young sent a perfectly aimed long pass that split two Toronto defenders and gave Moore a near-breakaway within the penalty area. The Englishman took advantage of his golden chance and shot the ball past TFC 'keeper David Monsalve.
Moore struck again just a few minutes later. A clearing attempt in the TFC end was fumbled by Maurice Edu and stolen by Villa's Stilian Petrov. The midfielder passed to forward Marlon Harewood, but Monsalve stopped the point-blank shot. The 'keeper couldn't control the rebound, however, and Moore was there to tap the ball into the open net.
The Reds didn't let a 2-0 deficit against a Premiership side keep them down. In fact, Toronto might have been able to tie the game were it not for a pair of questionable calls. First, it appeared as if a shot by Edu was blocked by a Villa defender's hand, but no penalty was called.
In the 25th minute, Todd Dunivant's pass just outside the penalty area found a wide-open Danny Dichio. The Toronto forward knocked the ball into the net, but the celebration was cut short due to an offside call against Dichio. TV replays showed that Dichio was not behind the last defender, which drew a chorus of boos from the BMO Field faithful.
Refereeing aside, TFC came up short on a number of chances, as they were able to muster a strong attack against the Villans. Perhaps the closest call came in the 43rd minute, when a Toronto corner kick bounced off a pair of heads in front of the net and the ball found its way to the foot of Carl Robinson. The midfielder sent a hard strike past everyone but rolled just wide of the left post.
Toronto FC finally broke through at the start of the second half. The Reds controlled the ball in the Aston Villa end and advanced on net with a number of one-touch passes. Finally, Robinson passed to Dunivant roaring up the left side and the defender pulled TFC back within a goal.
The Reds kept up the attack and scored the equalizer in the 62nd minute. Five minutes after having another "goal" disallowed due to an offside call, striker Andrea Lombardo got on the scoresheet after collecting a rebound off a Villa defender and sending it past goalkeeper Stuart Taylor. Lombardo, who played for Canada in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, came into the game at halftime for Dichio.
Perhaps in an effort to shake up the squad, Villa coach Martin O'Neill made a number of substitutions partway through the second half. Nigel Reo-Coker, one of Villa's prime offseason acquisitions, made his debut in a Villa shirt at the 70-minute mark.
Coming out of the game at the same point was Harewood, another notable new face for the Villans, replaced by forward John Carew. This was the move that proved the difference for Villa, as the Norwegian international scored the go-ahead goal in the 82nd minute. Midfielder Gabriel Agbonlahor sent a cross from the right side into the TFC goal area that found Carew's foot and went past Monsalve, though much to TFC's chagrin, the replays appeared to show Carew was in an offside position when he tapped home from close range.
Villa continued to control play into stoppage time, and the game was put on ice in extra time when Moore scored his third goal, tapping in a low cross from the goalmouth.
Toronto fielded its regular lineup for the friendly, and the TFC roster was top-to-bottom the deepest it has been in weeks with players back from injuries, international competition and suspensions. The only omission from the starting XI was starting goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic and forward Jeff Cunningham, who is still recovering a strained abdominal muscle.
Toronto FC continue their homestand when the club welcomes the Chicago Fire to BMO Field on Sunday. The Reds are looking for a repeat of their match with Chicago on May 12, when TFC defeated Chicago 3-1 to pick up the first victory in club history. Toronto picked up another point against the Fire on July 7 when the two clubs played to a 1-1 draw at Toyota Park.
As for Aston Villa, they will continue their tour of North America on Saturday night in Columbus with a friendly against the Crew. The Villans will then return to England to continue to prepare for their Premiership season opener on August 11 against Liverpool.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
