In the quarterfinals at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, defender Peter Schaale's own goal four minutes from time helped Toronto to book a last-four spot.
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Toronto FC were the first club to secure a place in the 2022 Canadian Championship semifinals after edging past hosts HFX Wanderers 2-1 thanks to a late own goal. In the quarterfinals at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, defender Peter Schaale’s own goal four minutes from time helped Toronto to book a last-four spot. They will next face the winner of another quarterfinal clash between CF Montréal and Forge FC. Toronto FC, who have won the most number of Canadian Championship titles, seven times, will be eager to win their first title since 2018.
The first half was a tightly fought affair with both teams canceling each other out. It was a tactical battle and there was very little to separate them. The first proper chance came in the 20th minute when Wanderers’ Samuel Salter struck a left-footed shot from outside the box which went close to the goal. A few minutes later Aidan Daniels tried a left-footed shot from outside the box for the hosts but the attempt also went wide. Wanderers had another chance when Mour Samb tested his luck from the left side of the box but he missed it to the right side of the post. With nothing to separate either side, the half finished goalless.
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Toronto head coach Bob Bradley was clearly not pleased with the way how things turned out in the opening 45 minutes. Hence, he brought in three substitutes at the start of the second half. Jonathan Osorio, Jesus Jimenez and Ayo Akinola came off the bench to make a difference to the scorecard. The changes seemed to have worked, as the Reds started to impose themselves more on the game. Toronto’s Jordan Perruzza’s left-footed effort from the left side of the six-yard box was well saved in the centre of the goal after being assisted by Jesús Jiménez’s cross.
Their reward for the positive approach was the opening goal. It was Perruzza who broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when he guided home Luca Petrasso’s corner kick, which deflected off Michael Bradley’s head. That goal seemed to have given the necessary momentum to the visiting side as they had two attempts through Jesús Jiménez but both went wide as they looked keen to seal the match by scoring a second. However, against the run of play, the home side found a way in.
Sam Salter struck a low left-footed shot past Quentin Westberg and inside the far post. The goal was assisted by Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé. The momentum swung again, this time in the favour of the home side. Salter himself came close to scoring a second when a shot and header by him from inside the box went away from the goal. He would end up regretting those misses when Osorio latched on to a pass from Jacob Shaffelburg and blasted a shot that deflected off the crossbar and in off Schaale. This goal was enough for Toronto to seal a semifinal spot.
