By Canadian Press

Jozy Altidore to the rescue as Toronto FC edges New England in home opener

Mar 17, 2019 | 7:59 PM

TORONTO — Star striker Jozy Altidore came off the bench to score the winner in the 80th minute as Toronto defeated the New England Revolution 3-2 in its home opener Sunday.

Spanish playmaker Carles Gil had scored twice to lift the Revolution (0-2-1) into a 2-2 tie.

Altidore, shut down in the final days of the 2018 season to have ankle surgery, came on in the 68th minute for his season debut. And he quickly made a mark, tapping in a perfectly weighted Justin Morrow cross for the winner. Captain Michael Bradley did his part with a fine ball to find Morrow. 

Ayo Akinola, with his first MLS goal, and Jordan Hamilton, on his 23th birthday, also scored for Toronto (2-0-0) before 23,271 at BMO Field.

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Toronto raised its record in home openers to 7-5-1.

In 2018, it took Toronto seven games — essentially one fifth of the season — to record two league wins. TFC improved to 2-4-1 when it beat visiting Philadelphia 3-0 on May 4, 2018.

It was one degree Celsius at kickoff, feeling like minus-4. But the pitch, which played like it was a Velcro surface during the Feb. 26 CONCACAF Champions League game against Panama’s Club Independiente because of the quantity of sand on top, actually looked like grass. 

Toronto coach Greg Vanney made two changes to the starting lineup that beat Philadelphia two weeks ago with Jay Chapman and Akinola coming in. Defender Laurent Ciman moved to the bench and midfielder Marky Delgado — after feeling something in his hamstring in training — wasn’t in the matchday 23.

Toronto started in a 4-4-2 formation with Hamilton and Akinola up front.

A bright start for Toronto disappeared when Chris Mavinga scythed down Teal Bunbury after the Hamilton-born U.S. international used a deft touch to get round him in the box. Gil (pronounced Heel), a Spanish playmaker signed from Deportivo La Coruna, stepped up and hammered the penalty past Alex Bono in the ninth minute.

Akinola, making his first MLS start. tied it five minutes later with a beauty. The 19-year-old U.S. youth international cut through three defenders, evaded a sliding would-be tackler and bent a right-footed shot into the corner while goalkeeper Brad Knighton stood rooted to the spot.

Toronto went ahead controversially in the 45th minute. Akinola fed Chapman, who was in an offside position but the ball deflected off New England defender Antonio Mlinar Delamea before it got to the TFC midfielder. On the other side of the field, the assistant referee’s flag went up and then quickly down.

Chapman sent a perfect low cross across the goal and Hamilton tapped it in. Referee Ted Unkel listened to his VAR colleague and allowed the goal.

On the sideline, irate New England coach Brad Friedel was apoplectic.

“The guy’s standing offside … It’s one of the most ridiculous things that you can see. There’s no way that that should be allowed a goal,” Fridel said in a halftime interview.

Vanney disagreed, saying Chapman was OK because the defender played the ball.

New England got its break in the 52nd minute when Gil’s somewhat innocent-looking shot deflected off Brazilian defender Auro’s leg past Bono to tie it up at 2-2. The ball may also have touched Drew Moor after it hit Auro.

Toronto switched to a back three, bringing on Ciman in the 58th minute.

New England narrowly escaped giving up a penalty in the 73rd minute but Unkel ruled Akinola had been brought down by Wilfried Zahibo just outside the penalty box. Instead of shooting at goal, Ciman fed an unmarked Jonathan Osorio only to have a sliding Scott Caldwell got a leg to the shot.

Toronto, which had a bye last week, was coming off a season-opening 3-1 win in Philadelphia. New England, which finished five points ahead of TFC in last season’s final standings, opened with a 0-0 draw at FC Dallas before losing 2-0 at home to the Columbus Crew.

The home side has now won the past seven meetings between the two dating back to 2016, a stretch that includes three wins for the Revs at Gillette Stadium and four for Toronto at BMO Field.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press