Toronto FC beat Atlanta 2-0 but victory could be costly with Insigne injured

TORONTO — Rookie Tyrese Spicer scored in his first MLS start and substitute Prince Owusu added his first MLS goal to help Toronto FC beat Atlanta United 2-0 in a cold match between exhausted teams on Saturday.

Both teams were missing players. Toronto (3-1-1) due to injury and Atlanta (2-2-0) due to international duty.

And Toronto’s lineup woes grew as forward Lorenzo Insigne and defenseman Shane O’Neill didn’t finish the first half.

A groggy-looking O’Neill, who had concussion problems last season, had to be rescued in the 27th minute after suffering a blow to the head. And a distraught Insigne limped into first-half stoppage time, trying not to put weight on his right leg, after stopping in the Atlanta penalty area on what appeared to be a play harmless.

At $15.4 million, Insigne’s salary was just behind Lionel Messi’s $20.4 million in MLS last season. And after an injury-interrupted 2023 campaign, the Italian star is off to a strong start this season with his two game-winning goals earning MLS Goal of the Week honors.

Toronto, with Luka Gavran continuing to fill in for injured goaltender Sean Johnson, earned its fourth shutout in five starts this season. TFC now have 10 points, after collecting just 22 in 34 games last year when they finished last in the league with a 4-20-10 record.

It was -1°C at kickoff at BMO Field, feeling like minus-8 with a biting wind. On the positive side, the snow that fell Friday had largely disappeared.

The two teams virtually canceled each other out until the 35th minute when Spicer, a 23-year-old winger from Trinidad who was the first overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, opened his account.

After a good preparation, Insigne fed Deandre Kerr who handed the ball to Spicer on the edge of the penalty area. Spicer sped up and found space between defenders before firing a low shot that beat a diving Brad Guzan.

Spicer ran toward the Toronto bench, sliding on his knees along the way before celebrating with coach John Herdman and the TFC substitutes.

Spicer made his debut last week, playing 15 minutes off the bench in a 2-1 loss to New York City FC. And although his time on the pitch was short – not helped by a toe injury in pre-season – he showed signs of good things to come with his pace and trickery.

In pink boots, he’s hard to miss.

He becomes the sixth overall MLS draft pick to score in his first career start. Canadian Cyle Larin also did it in 2015 with Orlando.

Owusu, a 27-year-old German striker making his fifth MLS appearance, scored a rebound in the 71st minute after Guzan couldn’t keep out a shot from Alonso Coello. The goal came minutes after substitute Jonathon Osorio fired a shot off the goal post.

Guzan made several saves late in the match to keep the score low.

Toronto’s injury list included Johnson (thigh), defenders Nickseon Gomis (wrist), Richie Laryea (thigh) and Raoul Petretta (thigh) and midfielder Brandon Servania (knee).

Deybi Flores was absent for Honduras while Osorio, forced to miss Canada’s Copa America qualifier on Saturday against Trinidad and Tobago, came on in the 61st minute – proving to Herdman that his injury had indeed responded to treatment.

Insigne was Toronto’s captain with Osorio starting on the bench. Matty Longstaff, formerly of Newcastle, replaced Flores in the midfield role.

Atlanta was missing six players on international duty, including Thiago Almada (Argentina Under-23) and Giorgos Giakoumakis (Greece), both designated players. The other national teams were Luis Abram (Peru), Ajani Fortune (Trinidad and Tobago), Bartosz Slisz (Poland) and Caleb Wiley (United States). Stian Gregersen was injured.

Veteran midfielder Dax McCarty started for Atlanta, making his 498th MLS appearance counting the regular season and playoffs. Guzan, meanwhile, made his 250th MLS regular season appearance.

Herdman made two changes with Spicer and Kerr replacing Flores and Owusu. It was the first start this season for Kerr, who had only played one minute of action due to a calf injury.

Atlanta had won back-to-back, beating Orlando 2-0 and New England 4-1 after losing the season opener 1-0 in Columbus.

Toronto will host Sporting Kansas City next Saturday.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Match 23, 2024.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press