TORONTO - Toronto FC's top talent delivered Saturday in a critical win that provided some needed breathing room ahead of the teams sitting below them on the playoff bubble.
Michael Bradley pulled the strings and Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore showed their scoring prowess in a 5-0 rout of Orlando City SC at BMO Field. Marky Delgado and Justin Morrow also tallied as the host side erupted for five goals in the second half to end a two-game losing skid.
"We looked forward all week to getting back out on this field and this stadium in front of our fans and having the opportunity to set a few things straight," Bradley said. "I think everybody can walk away feeling good about the performance today."
Toronto unleashed its full repertoire and showed what its powerful offence can do. A plodding opening 45 minutes was replaced by an energetic second half that left the expansion side flustered.
Down a man after a Rafael Ramos red card in the 36th minute, Orlando City was on its heels after the break. In the 46th minute, Bradley drew three defenders with a strong run down the left side before sliding a pass across to Delgado, who buried his third goal of the season.
Giovinco scored his team-leading 17th goal with a highlight-reel free kick from just outside the box in the 57th minute. The shot bent in Beckham-like fashion into the top corner, kickstarting chants of "M-V-P" from many of the 26,397 in attendance on a glorious summer afternoon.
In the 71st minute, slick passing between Giovinco and Bradley created space for Morrow, who tapped in a pass from the American midfielder for his second goal of the year.
Altidore, a second-half substitute, scored on a penalty kick in the 83rd and added another goal two minutes later. That gave him nine goals on the campaign.
Toronto (10-10-4) moved into a tie with the idle New England Revolution for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 34 points. The five-goal output set franchise records for most goals in a league game and a half.
Toronto outshot Orlando City 18-4 and had possession 65 per cent of the time.
"I'll take it," said Toronto head coach Greg Vanney. "We put in a lot of work in the first half to create what happened in the second half."
Orlando City (7-12-7) remained in a sixth-place tie with Montreal and idle New York City FC with 28 points. The Impact were home to the Philadelphia Union later Saturday.
Giovinco, meanwhile, moved one goal behind Columbus forward Kei Kamara for the Major League Soccer scoring lead. The Crew were in action later against Sporting KC.
Midfielder Kaka was out due to an ankle injury when the teams last met Aug. 5 in a 4-1 Toronto win. The Brazilian star returned Saturday but was essentially a non-factor.
Kaka has struggled of late with the expansion side and this game was no different. At times he was visibly frustrated with some of his teammates' decisions.
Orlando City used long passes to try to spring him and rookie forward Cyle Larin of Brampton, Ont., who would often hover as deep as they could in the Toronto zone.
The visitors managed a decent chance in the 42nd minute, but Luke Boden's free kick curled just over the bar. Aside from that, Toronto goalkeeper Chris Konopka was rarely challenged.
Adrian Winter was given a red card in the 82nd minute after taking Altidore down in the box. Orlando City has recorded just one point in its last four games.
Notes: Toronto scored four goals in a game on five different occasions in league play. The previous franchise best for goals in a half was three (set 10 times). ... There were six yellow cards issued on the day. ... Toronto has 10 games remaining in the regular season, seven of them at home. Next up is a game against Montreal next Saturday at BMO Field before a Sept. 5 game at Seattle.
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