Johnson contributes to Toronto’s scoreless opening-round draw with Cincinnati.
To preserve the clean sheet for Toronto, which has started a season away from home in six of the last seven seasons and 16 of the 17 seasons since joining the league, Johnson turned away four shots in the second half. Cincinnati had been without a win in four games until Toronto won.
During the season, Cincinnati won the Supporters’ Shield, and Roman Celentano made one save in each half of his shutout performance.
The two clubs had never tied in their previous eleven encounters. After shifting to TQL Stadium, Cincinnati has a 6-4-1 series advantage and a 3-0-1 record. While Cincinnati has scored several goals in its previous three shutout victories, Toronto has never scored at the location.
For a second time, Cincinnati began a season at home. Since April 2022, this was TQL’s first afternoon match. On their way to a league-high 69 points (20-5-9), Cincinnati defeated the Houston Dynamo to start the previous season. After a league-low 22 games played, Toronto finished 4-20-10 in the previous season.
Toronto last triumphed over the Philadelphia Union in a road game, winning 3-1 in 2019. With its February openers, Toronto is 0-1-3. A season starts with the club 5-9-4 at all times.
Toronto’s first full season under head coach John Herdman is off to a strong start. Last season, with eight games left, Herdman quit the Canadian national team to take the helm of the club.
To secure the point, Herdman and his team kept league MVP Luciano Acosta in check. The Chicago Fire will host Cincinnati on Saturday. To play the New England Revolution on March 3, Toronto will continue its tour.