Playing a game in front of the home crowd for the first time since March, Toronto FC got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over New England Revolution on Saturday night.
Prince Owusu scored the lone goal of the match in the 66th minute, a stunning backheel shot off a header from Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty.
Federico Bernardechi had a chance to double the lead in the 76th minute with a penalty shot, but the strike was stopped by Revolution goalkeeper Henrich Ravas.
Despite the cool temperature outside and the Toronto Maple Leafs playing in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a crowd of 24,108 showed up for the Reds at BMO Field.
Toronto FC started out strong with chances in the first half, as a shot from Jonathan Osorio was deflected off a defender in the 24th minute, but the Reds could not find the back of the net before halftime.
Goalkeeper Sean Johnson earned his third shutout of the season with some massive saves for Toronto, including denying Giacomo Vrioni in the 51st minute.
After dropping three-straight games coming into the match, Toronto FC move to 4-4-1 on the season.
“It was that mentality of being back at home and creating that fortress. It was three points or bust. We had to come out with three points. It was critical to just turn that wheel towards a positive trajectory in the league and get closer to that top four,” said head coach John Herdman after the victory.
