On Tuesday, Lorenzo Insigne fell short of winning his first cup as a Toronto FC Player. The Reds lost the final of the Canadian Championship to the Vancouver Whitecaps in a penalty shootout.
Insigne’s performance was underwhelming compared to his MLS debut three days prior. The Whitecaps, who currently rank 10th in the MLS table, proved to be a more difficult opponent than Charlotte FC was on Saturday.
Early in the match, both Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi struggled with the pace of the AstroTurf at BC Place in Vancouver. Vancouver opened the scoring in the 19th minute, after Insigne was slow to close down Ryan Gould. He crossed to Brian White at the second post, who head past Alex Bono to give the Whitecaps the early lead.
Insigne tried his best to level the score. In the 30th minute he attempted his famous tiraggiro from outside the area, but Whitecaps goalkeeper Cody Cropper was well-positioned to make the save.
In the 37th minute, Insigne went for goal with a direct free kick from about 30 yards out, but the shot was always rising and finished well over the bar.
Insigne’s best chance came around the hour mark. He attempted another tiraggiro, this time from inside the area, but Cropper made an excellent save to protect the 1-0 lead.
Toronto continued to push for the equalizer and found it in the 75th minute from a corner kick. After the corner was taken short, Bernardeschi played a perfect ball into the area with the outside of his preferred left boot. Centre back Lukas MacNaughton was waiting on the doorstep to head home his first ever goal for Toronto FC.
With the clocking winding down and a penalty shootout looming, Toronto coach Bob Bradley made a seemingly controversial decision to remove Insigne from the match. Insigne was the designated penalty kick taker during his time at Napoli. However, the winger, who recently recovered from a calf injury, might have requested the substitution.
Midfielder Jonathan Osorio hit the upright with Toronto’s third shot, while Vancouver converted all five attempts to win the shootout 5-3. With the loss, Insigne missed out on his first opportunity to win a cup with his new club, as well as the opportunity to play in the CONCACAF Champions League next season.
