Javier Perez praises Toronto FC 'warriors' after long-awaited home win

Toronto FC beat Nashville 2-1 on Saturday to pick up their first win at BMO Field since 21 August, 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic forced TFC to spend much of their time over the past year-and-a-half playing outside of Canada to avoid travel restrictions.

Normally such a reliable force in the league, having reached three MLS Cup finals in the last five years, Toronto have struggled in 2021 and currently sit bottom of the overall standings.

Prior to Saturday night, TFC had taken just four points from five games since returning to their home stadium on 18 July. But goals from Jacob Shaffelburg and Omar Gonzalez - either side of a CJ Sapong strike - were enough to finally end the long wait for Toronto supporters.

Speaking to reporters after the match, TFC head coach Javier Perez praised the "warrior-like" effort of his players to grab all three points from a tough Nashville side.

"I think what I mentioned in the locker room, I think it's been a very, very tough year for us," said Perez. "I think at the end, we can see how the team can click and the team is making a huge effort. I'm very, very happy for them. We have a lot of players injured; we didn't have any DP to start the game tonight.

"But the players we put on the field, we have 11 warriors and everybody, we were behind them, supporting them in whatever way they could, and they had a terrific performance against one of the hottest teams in the league, second place; they only lost one game in the last 10, and I think it was a really good performance.

"I think it's the first game we win here in BMO Field this year and it's an important milestone for us."

Centre-back Gonzalez, who scored the winning goal from a 79th-minute Yeferson Soteldo free-kick, revealed that the win was the result of sheer hard work.

"I can't stress enough how big this win was for us because you know, we've been losing and it may seem like everything's going wrong but man, I tell you what, day-in and day-out, guys are putting in the work," said Gonzalez.

"Guys are coming into the training ground and have been pushing this whole year, and of course things haven't gone our way, but we still show up every single day to work hard, to push for those three points, to bring the energy, and so to finally get a win at home here at BMO [Field], it's beyond words. I mean, it's been a really, really crazy year.

"And so we get these three points and now we savour it, we live in it for tonight, for tomorrow even, and then it's time for all of us to focus on the next three points and the next win and how we're going to do that. It's something that we just need to build off of."

Toronto face York United in the Canadian Championship quarter-finals on Wednesday, before travelling to Western Conference high-flyers Colorado Rapids on Saturday.