Toronto FC's quest to defend their Canadian Championship title remains alive, after defeating USL side Ottawa Fury FC 3-0 at BMO Field on Wednesday, to win the semifinal series by a 4-0 aggregate scoreline.
Toronto took the lead in the match in the 36th minute, as Homegrown forward Ayo Akinola buried a rebound to score his first goal for the first team.
A free kick attempt from Fury playmaker Kevin Oliveira in the 70th minute sailed just over the goal. Six minutes later, TFC substitute Jordan Hamilton turned in Ashtone Morgan's low cross to double the home side's lead on the night.
Jonathan Osorio added a final capper in the final 10 minutes, with a blast to beat Maxime Crepeau and make it a 3-0 scoreline on the night.
TFC will play the winner of the Vancouver Whitecaps-Montreal Impact semifinal series in the 2018 Canadian Championship final.
Goals
- 36' – TOR – Ayo Akinola
- 76' – TOR – Jordan Hamilton
- 84' – TOR – Marky Delgado
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: It's the third win in a row across all competitions for TFC, who are still looking to claw their way back into the playoff picture in league play. Many of their young products got playing time, as did Jozy Altidore, working up to fitness after a long injury layoff. Ottawa will be disappointed they could not spring an upset as they were second-best in this game.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The first half was rather sleepy, but Akinola's goal helped put TFC firmly in the driver's seat in the two-legged series.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: The 18-year-old Akinola helped break open the game with his first-half goal. On a team looking for scoring options, a performance like this could get him more playing time for the first team moving forward.
Next Up
- TOR: Saturday, July 28 vs. Chicago Fire (7 pm ET | TSN4 - Full TV & Streaming Info)
