Toronto FC fights back from two goals and a man down to draw Charlotte FC
Toronto FC staged a remarkable comeback at BMO Field, drawing 3-3 against Charlotte FC despite playing with ten men after a red card. After trailing 3-1, goals from Dániel Sallói and Niklas Dorsch equalized in the final moments, showcasing the team’s resilience. TFC now holds 21 points, while Charlotte has 29.
Photo: Toronto FC
Toronto FC turned what appeared to be a difficult night at BMO Field into one of its most dramatic results of the season, scoring twice while playing with 10 men to earn a 3-3 draw against Charlotte FC.
The Reds trailed 3-1 after Walker Zimmerman was sent off early in the second half, but goals from Dániel Sallói and Niklas Dorsch completed the comeback, with Dorsch finding the equalizer in the 90th minute.
In the eighth minute, Charlotte FC opened the scoring at BMO Field. The visitors pressed high from the opening minutes, which forced an early mistake from Luka Gavran. With Charlotte’s forwards closing down the passing lanes, the Toronto FC goalkeeper tried to play the ball centrally to left-back Jackson Gilman, but possession was lost and the ball eventually fell to Charlotte captain Ashley Westwood outside the box.
Westwood played a perfect first-time pass to Rodolfo Aloko, who controlled the ball before driving into the box and firing a powerful shot toward Gavran’s right post to score the first goal of his career.
TFC’s response came just minutes later, with Josh Sargent playing an important role in the build-up. In the 14th minute, the 26-year-old striker collected the ball near midfield and drove forward into the final third. Sargent found himself outside the box under pressure from two Charlotte defenders, but he was still able to pick out Markus Cimermancic.
The Kitchener, Ontario, native didn’t think twice, hitting a first-time shot into a difficult spot for Kristijan Kahlina to bring Toronto level.
For Cimermancic, who joined the TFC Academy at 11 years old, it was his first goal for the club.
“Probably a generic answer but a dream come true,” Cimermancic said after the match. “It just, honestly, was a big weight off my shoulders because I wanted to score before, but yeah, it’s just a dream come true.”
Toronto appeared to be settling into the match after finding the equalizer, but the visitors soon found the net again to regain the lead.
In the 20th minute, Henry Kessler played a through ball between the lines to Aloko, who then found Liel Abada in front of goal. The Charlotte winger couldn’t finish the opportunity, allowing Gavran to recover and make the initial stop. Unfortunately for the home side, the rebound fell to Idan Toklomati, who made no mistake from close range to put Charlotte 2-1 up.
Toronto FC goes down to 10 men
The situation became even more difficult for the Reds after halftime.
Zimmerman was shown a red card in the 56th minute, leaving Toronto to play the remainder of the match with 10 men. Two minutes later, Charlotte took advantage.
Westwood delivered the ball for Kessler, who made it 3-1 in the 58th minute and seemingly put the visitors in control.
Instead of collapsing, Toronto began to work its way back into the match.
Fraser introduced Matheus Pereira in the 60th minute, marking his return to action after a lengthy absence, while Gavran made several important stops at the other end to keep Charlotte from extending its lead. The TFC goalkeeper finished with seven saves, matching his MLS career high.
With 13 minutes remaining, Toronto finally found the breakthrough it needed.
Theo Corbeanu combined with Cimermancic in the build-up before Sallói finished the move in the 77th minute. It was Sallói’s team-leading fifth MLS goal of the season and reduced the deficit to 3-2.
Dorsch completes the comeback
Toronto continued pushing even while playing a man down, and its persistence was rewarded in the final minute of regulation.
Gilman and substitute Derrick Etienne Jr. were involved in the move that eventually reached Dorsch, who scored in the 90th minute to make it 3-3. The German midfielder has now found the net in consecutive MLS matches for the first time since joining TFC.
The comeback nearly went one step further, with Toronto creating an opportunity to take all three points late in the match, but the score remained level.
For Fraser, the response from his players was another demonstration of the character within the group, even if he acknowledged that Toronto made its task considerably harder through its own mistakes.
“You could easily quit, and this is a group that fought back and fought back,” Fraser said. “Luka [Gavran] made some great saves, and if Theo [Corbeanu] converts a chance at the end, we come out of here with three points.”
The result leaves Toronto FC at 4-7-9 with 21 points, while Charlotte moves to 8-7-5 and 29 points.
Toronto will now have a short turnaround before facing Inter Miami, but it does so after salvaging a point from a match in which it trailed by two goals and played more than half an hour with 10 men.
