Philadelphia Union 2, Toronto FC 2 | MLS Match Recap

Benjamin Baer

It was an eventful night at Talen Energy Stadium as Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union played to a 2-2 draw despite both losing their starting striker because of injury.

Jay Simpson scored the first goal of the match, a stooping header past Clint Irwin, but was forced to leave after suffering a rib injury and was replaced by C.J. Sapong. Sebastian Giovinco was next to exit the match after suffering a leg contusion in a collision with Oguchi Onyewu.

Alejandro Bedoya banged a penalty kick off the crossbar then Jozy Altidore finished his own spot kick to draw Toronto level. Two goals in quick succession from Justin Morrow and C.J. Sapong in the second half saw both teams take a point.

Goals

11' - PHI - Jay Simpson Watch
45+2' - TOR - Jozy Altidore (PK) Watch
71 - TOR - Justin Morrow Watch
73 - PHI - C.J. Sapong Watch

Three Things

MVP DOWN: Sebastian Giovinco did not have the greatest start to the 2017 season, seeing his penalty kick saved by Nick Rimando last week, and this week his woes were even worse as he was forced to leave the match at the end of the first half with a leg contusion. If he is forced to miss any significant amount of time, it could put a dent in Toronto's Supporters' Shield chances.
STRIKER CONUNDRUM: After a less than stellar first game, Jay Simpson came out and showed why the Union invested in him in the offseason. The Englishman showed some quality hold-up play and scored his first MLS goal, but was forced to leave the game in the first half. C.J. Sapong came on and finally broke his duck, scoring the equalizer in the 73rd minute. It was his first goal since August 13 of last year.
GOOCH-JOZY BATTLE: We didn't know exactly what the Union would be getting when they brought Oguchi Onyewu, but so far, the returns have been good. He has been a calm presence along the backline for the Union and his physicality is unmistakable. He got into more than a few tussles with US international striker Jozy Altidore over the course of the game and more than held his own.