Fans cheer on Messi at BMO Field as Toronto FC concedes late goal to Miami, misses playoffs
CBC
Leo Campana's stoppage-time goal gave Inter Miami a 1-0 win and left Toronto FC's playoff hopes hanging by a thread Saturday.
D.C. United's 2-1 victory at New England later in the day sealed Toronto's fate, eliminating TFC from post-season contention.
Toronto needed a win over Miami in its regular-season finale and help from others to stay alive in the playoff race. And despite Miami holding stars like Lionel Messi in reserve until the hour-mark, TFC could not take advantage.
Toronto (11-19-4, 37 points) entered weekend play in ninth place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference. The eighth- and ninth-place clubs meet in a wild-card playoff with the winner advancing to face the conference's top seed — Miami in the East — in a best-of-three first-round matchup.
The win in New England moved D.C. United (10-13-10, 40 points) past Toronto, which with an Oct. 19 bye will have to watch the league's final regular-season slate of games from the sidelines. And while the 2024 season represents a step forward from the 4-2-10 debacle last year, TFC will rue missed opportunities.
While other teams picked up the pace in the home stretch, Toronto collected one point out of a possible 15 in its last five games (0-4-1), including three at home.
And while Toronto led the dance for much of Saturday's game, it lacked a cutting edge — as it has all season, Messi and Luis Suarez arrived with 35 league goals between them, just five fewer than Toronto's entire total for the season.
"We are not as ruthless or as clinical as other teams," said Toronto coach John Herdman. "We see Miami get that one big opportunity, and it's taken."
And how.
Campana started the play, dispossessing Toronto midfielder Alonso Coello. Luis Suarez sent in a well-flighted ball that Campana, finding space between defenders in the Toronto penalty box, controlled with his leg before turning and hammering a shot past goalkeeper Sean Johnson for a highlight-reel winner in the 93rd minute — his eighth goal of the season.
Despite Federico Bernardeschi out through suspension and an ailing Lorenzo Insigne restricted to an 11-minute cameo, Toronto outshot Miami 15-4 (7-2 in shots on target).
"I thought our lads did everything but score. ... Same old story," lamented Herdman.
Messi was the main attraction, prompting chants of "Messi, Messi" and turning up the volume when he finally came on in the 61st minute. The 37-year-old Argentine captain drew cheers when he paused to allow a young pitch invader to take a selfie with him in the 86th minute. An older fan did not get the same welcome seconds later when he ran on the pitch.
"It was a wild night. ... It felt like a circus," was Herdman's blunt assessment.
