TORONTO – Lorenzo Insigne’s spectacular long-range shot in the 80th minute gave Toronto FC a 1-0 victory over Charlotte FC in their home opener on Saturday.
It was a characteristic goal for Insigne. The Italian star came out from the left wing and continued moving until he had a clear shot on goal, firing a rocket past goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
TFC (2-0-1) has scored just two goals this season, both decisive for Insigne, who received a standing ovation in the 87th minute.
Toronto, which finished last in the league last season at 4-20-10 and gave up a whopping 59 goals, has been solid defensively so far this year under coach John Herdman. Toronto has yet to concede a goal in three games this MLS season.
Backup goalkeeper Luka Gavran kept a clean sheet on Saturday.
Gavran made his fifth career start after starter Sean Johnson, coming off consecutive shutouts, was an unexpected absence. A club spokesman said Johnson had felt something after training that needed to be evaluated.
Scoring opportunities were few and far between on a humid afternoon in front of 26,345 fans at BMO Field. Charlotte (1-1-1) was well organized and Toronto was missing teeth up front. Charlotte didn’t offer much in attack either.
Jonathan Osorio started up front for Toronto, flanked by Insigne and fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi. While Toronto had 63.1 percent possession in the first half, it only managed one shot on goal before halftime.
The game came 11 years to the day the 20-year-old Osorio made his MLS debut with Toronto. Osorio led his hometown club on Saturday, marking a club-record 300th game in the MLS regular season and playoffs.
Normally a midfielder, Osorio leads the club in appearances with 344 in all competitions, while he is third in goals with 62 (behind Sebastian Giovinco’s 83 and Jozy Altidore’s 79) and second in assists with 50 ( behind Giovinco’s 52).
The match also marked Bernardeschi’s 50th milestone for TFC in all competitions. He and Insigne made their club debuts on July 23, 2022, in the club’s first meeting with Charlotte: a 4–0 Toronto victory thanks to two goals from Michael Bradley and one each from Bernardeschi and Osorio.
Aside from Johnson, Toronto’s only other change was the return of defenseman Nicksoen Gomis to the lineup at the expense of forward Prince Owusu.
Toronto was also missing injured forward Deandre Kerr and winger Richie Laryea (thigh).
Charlotte coach Dean Smith, formerly of Leicester City and Aston Villa, among other English clubs, opted for the same lineup for the third consecutive game. Former Canada captain Scott Arfield came off the Charlotte bench in the 71st minute.
It was eight degrees Celsius, it seemed like five, by the beginning of the afternoon.
The visitors came close in the sixth minute, but Junior Urso’s header from a corner went just wide.
Referee Chris Grabas, on the advice of the video assistant referee, headed to the fieldside monitor to review a play in which Charlotte forward Enzo Copetti came into contact with Gavran in the Toronto penalty area. But replay appeared to show Gavran sliding and putting his foot on the ball before making contact with Copetti and Grabas upheld his original decision.
Gavran made a good save to deny Copetti in the 39th minute after a clever turn by the Argentine designated player took defender Kevin Long out of the equation.
Toronto center back Kevin Long was replaced by Sigurd Rosted at halftime.
Kahlina saved a low shot from Bernardeschi in the 61st minute. Seconds later Matty Longstaff, a former Newcastle United midfielder making his TFC debut, and Owusu came on.
Entering play on Saturday, Charlotte’s record since entering the league in 2022 was 24-29-17. Toronto was 14-38-18 during the same period.
TFC began the season with a scoreless draw at Cincinnati and a 1-0 win at New England, matching its 2023 road point total when it went 0-13-4 on the road.
Charlotte defeated visiting New York City FC 1-0 before a crowd of 62,291 at Bank of America Stadium before drawing 1-1 last week in Vancouver.
Toronto, whose last home win was a 2-1 decision over Philadelphia on Aug. 30, came into Saturday’s game with an 8-6-3 record in its first home games, keeping a clean sheet in five of the eight victories.
TFC visits Yankee Stadium to take on NYCFC next Saturday while Charlotte visits Nashville SC.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2024.