Toronto FC and visiting Orlando City will continue their arduous playoff pursuits when they meet on Wednesday night.
Both teams escaped with a vital three points by the skin of their teeth on Saturday. Trailing 1-0 to archrivals CF Montreal with mere minutes remaining, Lewis Morgan and Djordje Mihailovic scored for Toronto (7-10-11, 32 points) in second-half stoppage time, keeping their postseason hopes plausible.
The 2026 Reds have earned something of a reputation for clawing their way back into games late in the second half.
“I feel like I talk so much about the resilience of the group, and once again we see it. The effort down the stretch, I actually thought for most of the game we played quite well. … Really proud of the group, it was a great win. But we know we have more to do,” head coach Robin Fraser said.
Unfortunately for TFC, prospective playoff teams FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls each won their Saturday fixtures convincingly. Toronto sits two spots and four points behind Cincinnati for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with one additional game played.
For the Lions (11-13-4, 37 points), Ivan Angulo scored the winner in the 89th minute after Orlando weathered sustained pressure from Columbus. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made a club-record 12 saves, and Angulo scored in his fifth consecutive match to secure a 3-2 victory.
The result left Orlando seventh in the East, one point ahead of the Red Bulls in the first wild-card spot.
“There’s so much on the line right now, you know, it’s a marathon in the season and the marathon is gone. Now is the final sprint,” Crepeau said.
Orlando blanked visiting Toronto 3-0 on Sept. 12, when Antoine Griezmann scored the opening goal. Griezmann has recorded a goal contribution in eight consecutive league matches with eight goals and four assists. Toronto has not lost at home in the league (3-0-3) since May.
Goalkeeper Luka Gavran will be available between the posts for Toronto after subbing off injured against Montreal. Center back Walker Zimmerman (ankle) will miss his third straight match and captain Jonathan Osorio will be suspended. Orlando defender Griffin Dorsey could return after four games out.
–Field Level Media
