TORONTO (AP) — Kenji Mboma Dem scored a short-handed goal two minutes into second-half stoppage time and FC Cincinnati earned a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday.
Mboma Dem subbed in for Bryan Ramírez in the 88th minute before using assists from Ayoub Jabbari and Samuel Gidi to score his first goal in his eighth career appearance — all coming off the bench.
It was Jabbari’s first assist in his 12th career match. Gidi has made 11 career appearances with all three of his assists coming this season.
Kévin Denkey left Cincinnati short-handed in the 71st minute when he was tagged with yellow cards one minute apart. It was the fourth straight match a Cincinnati player was sent off with a red card.
Things looked bleak after Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the 83rd minute on an own goal by defender Gilberto Flores.
Luka Gavran saved three shots for Toronto (3-2-2) in his 23rd career start. Gavran punched away a header by Matt Miazga off a short free kick in the final minute of stoppage time to keep it scoreless at halftime.
Roman Celantano totaled four saves for Cincinnati (2-4-1). Both keepers had two saves at the break.
Toronto is 4-0-7 in its last 11 home matches and won for the first time in Cincinnati earlier this season — a 1-0 victory that ended a 7-0-1 overall run by Cincinnati in a series it leads 9-5-2. Toronto has gone 2-0-3 since that road win.
Toronto hasn’t beaten Cincinnati at home since Sept. 29, 2021 — a come-from-behind 3-2 victory.
Up next
Cincinnati: Hosts the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
Toronto: Hosts Austin FC on Saturday.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
