TORONTO — After celebrating its first home win of the season Saturday, Toronto FC came back down to earth Wednesday.
Kevin Denkey's first-half goal gave Eastern Conference-leading FC Cincinnati a 1-0 win in a game that was not as close as the scoreline indicated. Cincinnati could have had five goals had it not been for Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson. But the contest did reflect the gulf between the two in the standings.
Cincinnati (9-3-1) leaves 18 points ahead of 14th-place Toronto (2-7-4) in the MLS standings and has now lost just one of its last eight league outings (6-1-1). And the visitors came as advertised — a well-drilled side rich in talent, able to move the ball around and beat defenders.
It could have been 3-0 at the break with Toronto's defence carved open several times. It didn't help that Toronto lost both Raoul Petretta and Kobe Franklin, the man who replaced him, to injury in the first half.
Toronto coach Robin Fraser looked for positives in the loss.
"It was definitely a challenging game (against) a good team," he said. "There are no moral victories. I know this and I understand this. But again I look at the effort of the group and it was fantastic.
"I think they out in a real shift Saturday and possibly we weren't quite as sharp as we needed to be tonight."
Toronto was coming off a 2-0 win over D.C. United on Saturday with Lorenzo Insigne scoring one goal and setting up another.
"Seems like we just did this and it was more fun," Fraser said as he took the podium Wednesday.
A few kilometres to the east, the Toronto Maple Leafs were thumped 6-1 by the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series while the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 at Rogers Centre.
Attendance at BMO Field was announced at a season-low 14,018 with empty seats even in the south stand that normally houses the supporters' groups, who have been at odds with the struggling club of late.
Cincinnati went ahead in the 18th minute via Denkey with its first shot on target. After Theo Corbeanu was dispossessed near the halfway line, the ball went to Denkey who danced through three defenders before curling a shot past Johnson for his seventh of the season — prompting boos to cascade from the stands.
Petretta, who had needed medical treatment after tangling with DeAndre Yedlin minutes earlier, pulled up on the play and was substituted in the 20th minute. It went from bad to worse when Franklin had to leave in the 36th minute after taking a knock in a challenge.
Toronto's first shot on target came in first-half stoppage time via Alonso Coello, whose volley from distance went straight at goalkeeper Roman Celentano.
Insigne, fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi and Norwegian forward Ola Brynhildsen had quiet evenings for Toronto, which brought on Tyrese Spicer, Derrick Etienne Jr. and Maxime Dominguez in the 69th minute in a bid to find some offence.
Cincinnati outshot Toronto 15-9 (7-3 in shots on target). The visitors' xG (expected goals) was 1.6 compared to 0.5 for Toronto.
"Pleased about the result, but certainly not our best performance," said Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan. "I don't think even close, anywhere close to the standard that we expect."
Since joining the league in 2019, Cincinnati has defeated Toronto more than any other opponent in MLS play. Cincinnati improved to 9-4-1 all-time against Toronto while Noonan is unbeaten against TFC (7-0-1), with Cincinnati's last loss to TFC a 3-2 decision in September 2021 at BMO Field.
Cincinnati has outscored Toronto 17-6 during that eight-game unbeaten run. It has five career wins at BMO Field, tying the club record for most road victories against any MLS side (it also has five away wins at Chicago).
Toronto lost 2-0 when they met at Cincinnati's TQL Stadium on March 8.
Cincinnati improved to 8-1-0 in one-goal games, compared to 1-4-0 for Toronto, and a perfect 8-0-0 when it scores the first goal.
Evander and Denkey led the way. Evander, a finalist for 2024 MLS MVP, arrived tied for third in the league with nine goal contributions (seven goals and two assists).
Both Cincinnati designated players came off in the 59th minute.
Fraser went with an unchanged lineup with TFC missing injured captain Jonathan Osorio, defenders Nicksoen Gomis, Richie Laryea and Henry Wingo and forward Deandre Kerr.
Cincinnati was without Argentine forward Luca Orellano and U.S international defender Matt Miazga, both listed as questionable due to leg injuries.
Newly signed Kei Kamara made his Cincinnati debut off the bench in the 84th minute.
The 40-year-old striker, who ranks second in the league with 147 regular-season goals and fourth in regular-season appearances at 445, signed with the club on Monday. Cincinnati is his record 12th MLS club with previous stops in Columbus (twice), Houston, San Jose, Kansas City, New England, Vancouver, Colorado, Minnesota, Montreal, Chicago and LAFC.
Up Next: On Saturday, it's Toronto at CF Montreal and Cincinnati at Columbus as part of MLS's Rivalry Week.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
