Dominique Badji’s late goal broke a 1-1 deadlock as visiting D.C. United defeated host Toronto FC 3-1 on Saturday evening.
Martin Rodriguez and Gabriel Pirani also scored for D.C. (7-12-8, 29 points), which has now won three of its last four matches.
Toronto (10-15-3, 33 points) saw its brief two-match win streak come to an end.
Badji scored what turned out to be the match-winner in the 88th minute, as he found the back of the net with Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson pulled off his line. It was Badji’s first goal since signing with D.C. as a free agent on July 4.
Both teams had a couple of clear-cut chances in the first half as they sought the opening goal. Just 20 seconds in, Ted Ku-DiPietro ripped one from just outside the box for D.C., but Johnson was there for the stop.
Toronto’s best chance of the first half came in the 26th minute. Derrick Etienne Jr. had a near-post opportunity inside the scoring area, but Alex Bono made himself big enough to take away the angle.
Neither team was as active in the 2nd half until D.C. took the lead in the 67th minute on a set-piece routine.
Pedro Santos slid a free kick near the Toronto box to Jared Stroud, whose chipped pass made its way to Ku-DiPietro to the right of goal. Ku-DiPietro’s flicked header fell to Rodriguez, who powered it past Johnson for his second goal of the season to make it 1-0.
That opened things up as Toronto made it 1-1 in the 83rd minute. Richie Laryea’s cross was met by the head of Deandre Kerr, bounced off the pitch and past Bono for the equalizer. It was Kerr’s second goal of the year.
But Badji delivered in the 88th minute to give D.C. the 2-1 lead, with Pirani adding a third goal in second-half stoppage time – his third of the year – to secure the victory for the visitors.
D.C. finished with an 11-5 edge in shots, including a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Bono secured two saves in a winning effort. Johnson was credited with three saves in defeat.
–Field Level Media
