Toronto FC comeback falls short as Earthquakes score late for a 2-2 tie

But after a unproductive opening 45 minutes, Toronto came out with more purpose in the second half and finally beat ‘Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski in the 71st minute on a rapid-fire counterattack.

Osorio sent the ball ahead to Kerr and, with the defence backing away, the 19-year-old homegrown product curled a low shot from just outside the penalty box past Marcinkowski into the corner for his third of the season.

Four minutes later Kerr played provider, sending a ball into the box that hit a defender and found Osorio on a late run. The Canadian midfielder made no mistake from point-blank range to notch his fifth of the campaign

Toronto (5-10-4) was coming off back-to-back home loses to Seattle and Columbus and had managed just two wins in its last 11 league outings (2-8-1).

And with four of its next five games on the road, TFC was looking to pick up points against a San Jose team that arrived having yet to win on the road (0-6-2) this season. But the ‘Quakes (4-7-7) were unbeaten in their previous three meetings (1-0-2), winning 2-1 in their last visit to BMO Field in May 2019.

Saturday’s contest was a matchup of the league’s two worst defences, with Toronto 27th (conceding 1.89 goals a game on average) and San Jose 28th (2.06 goals per game).

The game followed a week of wheeling and dealing that saw Toronto ship Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo to Inter Miami for a modest return and acquire Canadian midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye from the Colorado Rapids for a hefty price. The future of star centre back Carlos Salcedo, like Pozuelo a designated player, remains up in the air with the expectation he is headed back to Mexico for family reasons.

Salcedo was not in the matchday squad, but posted the latest in a string of cryptic tweets. The post showed a play button next to “Mx …” suggesting the move to Mexico’s Liga MX is a done deal.

Kaye has yet to arrive in the city,

With the MLS secondary transfer window opening Thursday, fans had hoped to see Italian star Lorenzo Insigne on the field. But the former Napoli captain, whose move to Toronto following the end of the Italian season was announced six months ago, has had his TFC debut pushed back to later this month because of a calf injury sustained in Europe.

The 31-year-old Insigne watched from the stands, signing autographs before the game. Former Toronto midfielder Ralph Priso, who is headed to Colorado in the Kaye trade, was also in attendance.

Fellow Italian Domenico Criscito, a former Genoa captain, made his first start. The 35-year-old left back took corners, looked composed on the ball and showed a deft passing touch. He came off in the 80th minute to applause from the announced crowd of 27,149.

Toronto had more of the ball early but failed to do anything with it.

San Jose scored on its first shot on target, taking advantage of a Toronto giveaway in its own end. Benji Kikanovic threaded a ball between Michael Bradley and Shane O’Neill and Ebobisse slid a right-footed shot past Quentin Westberg into the corner of goal.

The giveaway came after Toronto defender Chris Mavinga, from the corner, sent a dangerous ball back into the middle of the field in the direction of Jayden Nelson.

TFC has not posted a shutout in league play since Sept. 25, 2021, in a 0-0 draw at Colorado with the run of MLS games without a clean sheet now at 27 games.

San Jose came close with a pair of headers just off-target in the first half.

Toronto had its best chances of the half in the 45th minute. Marcinkowski made a fine one-handed save to deny Kerr with Osorio’s shot off the rebound hitting a defender and flashing wide. Kerr’s header off the ensuing Criscito corner hit the crossbar.

Marcinkowski made a fine stop on Osorio in the 55th.

The visitors were without Dutch-born Cape Verde international midfielder Jamiro Monteiro, one of the ‘Quakes’ designated player, whose absence was attributed to “personal” reasons.

San Jose parted ways with coach Matias Almeyda after going winless in its first seven games (0-4-3). Alex Covelo, who was head coach of the Earthquakes II in MLS Next Pro, came into Saturday’s contest 4-3-3 as interim manager.

Toronto FC comeback falls short as Earthquakes score late for a 2-2 tie

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