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Photo Credit: John Jacques
Inter Toronto 3-1 Vancouver FC: Eagles’ Road Struggles Continue
By In a match with huge Canadian Premier League playoff implications, it is Inter Toronto that came out on top.
The Nine Stripes defeated Vancouver FC 3-1 at home to put pressure on the Eagles and increase their hopes of making the postseason for the fourth year running.
It was the second match of the week for Mauro Eustaquio’s Inter Toronto, having also played to a 3-3 draw against Pacific on Wednesday. There were two changes to that team despite the quick turnaround.
For Vancouver, they edged Supra 3-2 at home last weekend, which put distance between themselves and the rest of the league. Martin Nash opted for the exact same eleven that began the victory on the west coast.
Inter looked the more energized team in the opening exchanges, and could have went in front via Tomasz Skublak. Picked out from an inch-perfect Oswaldo Leon cross, the attacker could not direct his header on target, which was disappointing given the service.
Vancouver got into the game a bit more, and had their best opportunity of the half at around the half hour mark. That was where Mohamed Amissi slipped in Lys Mousset. Left one-on-one with the Toronto keeper, the Frenchman could only hit the side netting with his shot from a difficult angle.
Skublak was back at it again moments later. Receiving a cross from the opposite wing this time, the former HFX Wanderer put an effort on target, forcing a diving stop from Callum Irving.
The breakthrough came in the 39th minute from the home side. Luca Accettola, one of the two players brought into the starting 11, beat his man before firing from distance. The ball hit the crossbar and found the inside of the post in what was a cracking hit. Irving had no chance.
Mousset had a decent chance to level the score before the break. He was found by Kian Proctor, but the striker’s header just missed the corner.
Vancouver made a halftime change, bringing on Paris Gee for Proctor, with the latter having suffered a head injury early in the match. That change nearly resulted in the equalizer as Gee, formerly of Inter, had a go which forced a save from Antonio Campos and hit the bar before going out.
Despite failing to convert his opportunities in the first half, Skublak ultimately got his goal a few minutes after the restart. Receiving the ball with some work to do, the Toronto number 77 turned Gee, allowing him to create some space and convert at the near post past Irving.
Things got even better for the Nine Stripes a few moments later. It was Skublak again, as his cross took a nick off Gee, which confused Irving. The Vancouver keeper could not react in time as the ball cannoned off his leg and into the net for an own goal.
The Eagles made changes after the third goal in an attempt to find their way back into the contest. They would get one back in the final 20 minutes, when Thierno Bah’s strike found its way past Campos despite the latter getting a touch on it.
There was no stopping Toronto on the day though, and they almost made it four when Carlos Guzman’s first-time curling effort was tipped aside by Irving.
Inter’s win put them into sixth spot, jumping ahead of Supra. More importantly, it closes the gap to just seven points of Vancouver with two games in hand. Next for the Torontonians will be a trip to the east coast to take on fellow playoff hopefuls HFX Wanderers.
The loss was the Eagles’ fourth in their last five, but they remain in fourth spot on 30 points. Their next game will be next Saturday as they meet Pacific as they look to officially eliminate their BC rivals from playoff contention.
Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques
1 Comment
A much better performance from ITO compared to the Pacific match. Eustaquio must be feeling some heat. Ownership has been willing to let him learn but I don’t think they will tolerate going backwards and missing playoffs. Fair or not with Jose Cruz already in house I don’t think they will hesitate if things aren’t going well.