Toronto FC dominated most of the action and it all translated into a big 2-1 win over Pachuca at BMO Field to secure East 6, as they now prepare to face Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup Round of 32, while Los Tuzos finished second of the group and will now go against Tigres.
Toronto dominated the first half as they created chances early and often. The Italian connection of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi combined to create chaos for the Pachuca line of defense, as in the 8th minute consecutive shots from both were saved by the Tuzos goalkeeper Carlos Moreno.
TFC did not stop, primarily attacking from the left-wing position as the Mexican squad did not seem to have an answer for the Canadians and it finally paid off. In the 44th minute, it was Insigne who delivered a timely ball between two defenders to Derrick Etienne Jr. who finished the play by securing the shot, beating Moreno as he tried to prevent damage and the scoring had started.
For the second half, Pachuca looked different and started to generate more offensively, however their game-tying goal came off a counter attack. Toronto had the ball looking to put it inside the opposing team’s box, when a steal came and in transition Oussama Idrissi took advantage of a two-versus-one play to serve to Salomon Rondon who’s shot was saved by Sean Johnson, but the ball was left near Idrissi who delivered it to the back of the net to tie it all up at the 59th minute.
This gave confidence to Club Pachuca as they controlled the game in the following minutes. But just when the Liga MX team was looking better, a pair of substitute players made the difference in the game. Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty delivered a long cross from the left side and Kobe Franklin had a classy touch with his left foot to beat the goalkeeper and score the goal that ultimately proved to be the winner at the 79th minute mark.
This was Franklin’s first goal with TFC and he was named Man of the Match, as his goal gave his team the top spot in East 6 and now, they will face Inter Miami at Chase Stadium. Pachuca will square off against Tigres in the knockout stage at Q2 Stadium with both games being played August 8.
