Toronto FC vaulted back above the red line on Saturday, after defeating the Chicago Fire 1-0 at BMO Field.
TFC went ahead in the 9th minute, as Sebastian Giovinco sent a nice through ball into the box, with Jordan Hamilton and Justin Morrow converging on the same spot to latch onto the pass. Hamilton made way for the defender, who scored his second goal of the season with a one-time finish.
Both sides had subsequent close chances, including shots off the post on both ends, but TFC managed to ride out the narrow lead for the victory.
Box Score
- 9' - TOR - Justin Morrow (Sebastian Giovinco, Jonathan Osorio)
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Three Things
- YOUNGSTERS HOLDING THEIR OWN IN TORONTO: You can't discount the terrific performances from Giovinco and Benoit Cheyrou, but this game gave a group of younger players – Jordan Hamilton, Tsubasa Endoh, Marky Delgado and Jonathan Osorio – a chance to continue building chemistry together in competitive action. And while another veteran, Morrow, had the goal on the night, the interplay between the youngsters – including the inexperienced Alex Bono in goal – will likely give them experience and confidence with the likes of Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and Will Johnson sidelined.
- NO END IN SIGHT FOR FIRE ROAD WOES: It was another tough night at the office for Chicago, who extended their league-record road winless streak to 33 games with the loss. While the defense had a solid performance, with the exception of the game's goal, the attack was toothless for most of the game and only a couple of close calls from Kennedy Igboananike and Arturo Alvarez late on. The Fire have some good things to build on, but the winless streak appears to be a millstone around their collective necks at this point.
- GIO-HULK: Giovinco played a big role in the game's goal and was this close a couple times to grabbing a goal himself, but he couldn't get on the scoresheet in this one. That led to a pretty interesting moment of frustration for the MLS All-Star:
