On a June night in 2022, Toronto FC finally became 2020 Canadian Championship winners after triumphing 5-4 on penalties over Canadian Premier League side Forge FC following a 1-1, 90-minute draw Saturday evening at Tim Horton's Field.
Kosi Thompson converted TFC's sixth kick of the penalty tiebreak, former Toronto academy player Kwasi Poku saw his attempt rattle off the crossbar, and the Reds captured their record eighth Canadian Championship crown in a final delayed nearly two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Voyageurs Cup stands as manager Bob Bradley's first trophy haul with the Reds.
Alejandro Pozuelo put Toronto in front with his second golazo from distance in as many competitions, this time picking out the top left corner in the 57th minute.
The advantage lasted only three minutes, though. Aboubacar Sissoko played a long early ball from the right flank, then Tristan Borges got free on the opposite flank, took it down inside the penalty area and hammered a low finish past Quentin Westberg to level affairs at 1-1.
Earlier, Borges let Toronto off the hook in the 20th minute when he drove his penalty kick off the crossbar after Lucas Petrasso took down former CF Montréal man David Choiniere in the penalty area.
Why the wait?
The teams finally met now because of competition delays that began due to travel restrictions in the early months of the pandemic.
With Canada's MLS teams stationed in the United States and CPL teams stationed in Canada, an MLS representative in Saturday's final was determined from the record of Canadian teams in games against each other. Forge FC represented the CPL in the final as the 2020 CPL Island Games winner.
There were plans to eventually contest the final in March 2021, but those got delayed. Toronto were given the accompanying Concacaf Champions League spot in exchange for Forge FC winning the right to eventually host the final when it could be contested. That tradeoff was redeemed Saturday night.
Toronto will resume their push for the 2022 Canadian Championship on June 22 with a semifinal against CF Montréal. The winner of the current edition books a 2023 CCL spot.
