Music: {allcanada} Giovinco helps Toronto FC beat Earthquakes

Saturday, May 30, 2015

{allcanada} Giovinco helps Toronto FC beat Earthquakes

TORONTO - The San Jose Earthquakes are the latest team undone by Sebastian Giovinco.

The Italian dynamo set up two goals and played a key part in the other as Toronto FC downed San Jose 3-1 Saturday to end the Quakes' unbeaten streak at five games. Giovinco also hit the post twice himself.

Justin Morrow, Warren Creavalle and Luke Moore scored for Toronto (5-5-1) in a game with no shortage of scoring chances — many created by Giovinco. It was the first goal of the season for all three Toronto players.

Giovinco has had a hand in 11 of Toronto's 17 goals, scoring five and assisting on six others. The diminutive former Juventus star has a goal or an assist in nine of Toronto's 11 games and was a one-man wrecking crew Saturday.

Chris Wondolowski, with his eighth goal of the campaign and the 101st of his career, replied for San Jose (5-5-3).

Thunderstorms made for a soggy leadup to the game, with fans confined under the BMO Field stands for a while and the 5 p.m. ET kickoff delayed 23 minutes due to the threat of lightning. Attendance was announced at 17,711.

The video screen in the north end was a temporary casualty of the inclement conditions. It kicked in by the 10-minute mark, but was not 100 per cent.

As he has done all season, Giovinco tormented defenders and hit the crossbar in the 16th minute after dancing his way past the San Jose defence.

Giovinco was the playmaker for the opening goal in the 22nd minute, beating a defender in the box after some slick Toronto passing before sending a cross for a diving Morrow to head it in.

The lead was short-lived. Two minutes later, San Jose equalized via a Wondolowski penalty after Ashtone Morgan was called for a handball. The Toronto fullback had his arm up but had little choice in the matter as his it was hit by Wondolowski header from close range.

It was the San Jose sniper's eighth goal against Toronto. Wondolowski reached the 100-goal career milestone last weekend, converting another penalty kick. He is the ninth player to score an MLS century.

Creavalle put Toronto ahead in the 33rd minute with a low shot from just outside the penalty box that was teed up by Moore. San Jose can feel hard done by, with the goal coming on a turnover by Sanna Nyassi who was taken down by Giovinco. But Nyassi made the most of the contact.

The sun came out soon after the goal.

The five-foot-four Giovinco was in the thick of it again early in the second half, bundled down in the box with no call. His pace prompted a crude tackle from Nyassi, who was yellow-carded on the play, in the 55th minute and seconds later the Italian raked a shot across the goal.

Nyassi was soon withdrawn, ending a miserable afternoon.

Giovinco was pounding his fist in the turf in the 67th minute after being knocked off his feet again with no call. He bounced back up and set up the third goal in the 71st, sending in a clinical cross that was tapped in by Moore.

Giovinco set Michael Bradley on his way in the 76th minute, but his close-range shot was pushed wide by sliding defender Jordan Stewart. Then the Italian unlocked the San Jose defence with a seeing-eye pass to Jonathan Osorio in the box only to have the Canadian international sent the ball wide.

Giovinco tried to beat goalie David Bingham from 40-yards-plus as the game went into stoppage time. He finished off by hitting the goalpost on a curling free kick.

The game was the third in a week for Toronto, which defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 last Saturday and lost 1-0 midweek to Manchester City in a friendly.

San Jose arrived on a five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3), yielding just four goals on the way.