The former Sunderland striker made it three goals in as many playoff matches as TFC thumped Patrick Vieira’s men 5-0 at Yankee Stadium to secure a 7-0 aggregate victory in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Jozy Altidore celebrated his birthday in style on Sunday night, scoring the pick of the goals for Toronto FC as they thrashed New York City FC 5-0 at Yankee Stadium to reach the Eastern Conference finals in the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 7-0 aggregate win.
After beating Patrick Vieira’s men 2-0 at BMO Field the previous weekend, Toronto took just six minutes to add to their advantage as Sebastian Giovinco received a pass from Altidore on the left-hand side of the area before spinning past a defender and firing a low shot into the back of the net.
The Italian forward then grabbed his second goal from the penalty spot 13 minutes later after being tripped in the box by Frederic Brillant, before Altidore made it 3-0 on the half-hour mark in spectacular fashion.
Having beaten Maxime Chanot to a high ball from Eriq Zavaleta at the right corner of the area, the 27-year-old US national team striker took just one touch before smashing a stunning volley past NYCFC’s stranded goalkeeper Eirik Johansen to kill any hope the hosts had of mounting an unlikely comeback.
Toronto were not done there, though, as they added another goal five minutes after the break when Giovinco and Will Johnson combined to set up Jonathan Osorio to make it 6-0 on aggregate.
Giovinco eventually rounded off the scoring one minute into stoppage-time, completing his hat-trick with a well-placed finish to send TFC into the final four of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
“We were pushing to get the goal,” Toronto head coach Greg Vanney told the club’s official website following the final whistle. “Two-zero is a dangerous lead and the first team to get the goal tilts the bar in your favour. We came out aggressive and we wanted to get the first goal. We were fortunate that it came pretty early and we were able to get the momentum and add to that.”
Giovinco was unsurprisingly named Toronto’s man of the match on the night for his three-goal display, but plenty of plaudits were also reserved for Altidore’s performance.
The former Sunderland man received a fair share of criticism over the first half of the season, having failed to score in his opening eight games before spending two months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, but he has been in fine form since returning to full fitness towards the end of July.
As well as netting 10 times in 15 appearances to help TFC finish the regular season in third place in the East, the 97-times capped American has also scored three goals in as many playoff matches and recorded two assists in the process, leaving his manager full of praise for his impact.
“He doesn’t deserve scrutiny,” Vanney told torontofc.ca when asked about Altidore’s resurgence. “He was a player who had some issues in terms of injury, sometimes those aren’t the player’s fault.
“He’s worked to get healthy and find his form, and you can see what he is capable of doing… having him out there has been huge, and, hopefully, he can keep building on the momentum.”
Toronto’s comprehensive victory over NYCFC means they will now go head-to-head with the Montreal Impact in the first-ever all-Canadian MLS conference final, with the first leg taking place at the Olympic Stadium on 22 November.
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