Barco, Atlanta United beat Toronto 1-0 for 3rd straight win

ATLANTA (AP) — Ezequiel Barco scored in the 20th minute to help Atlanta United beat Toronto FC 1-0 on Wednesday night. 

Atlanta (5-6-9) has won three in a row following a 12-game winless streak and is unbeaten in its last four. 

Brooks Lennon played an arcing ball from well beyond midfield to Barco near the top of the box, where he beat a defender before bending an arcing shot inside the far post.

Toronto ‘keeper Quentin Westberg said the ball deflected off defender Eriq Zavaleta, changed the trajectory of the shot and cost his side the game. 

“I think we were focused but not taking the game to them,” Westberg said.

“They started the game really strong. They were finding good pockets. Creating a bit of chaos, coming our way, but I think once more, once we actually took more responsibility of building out of the back a little bit and frustrating them defensively, we were able to find the corridors and then take the game to them.”

Toronto (3-11-6) is winless, with three losses, in its last five games and has an MLS-low 15 points.

Despite the result, TFC head coach Javier Perez felt his team was solid in Wednesday’s game. 

“I’m happy with the performance of the team, the performance of the players,” he said. “They came out, they executed the plan that we had, which it was just stay compact, working together defensively and then we will have the ball, start moving, get the ball.”

TFC are set to visit Inter Miami CF on Saturday.

The Associated Press