Robert Earnshaw scored twice and Toronto FC snapped a 15-game MLS winless streak with a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
Kansas City finished 40 points ahead of Toronto last season but came out sluggish, just as it had done the previous week before rallying to defeat Philadelphia 3-1.
The second half was a different story but Toronto weathered the storm until the 77th minute, when Argentine striker Claudio Bieler, taking to a flick-on header from C.J. Sapong, fired a right-footed shot past Joe Bendik to cut the lead to 2-1.
It was a nail-biting finish as Kansas City stormed the Toronto end and Bendik made a fine reflex save off Bieler in the dying minutes to preserve the victory. They then had to endure five minutes of stoppage time during which Graham Zusi fired a shot over the Toronto crossbar.
Bendik also had to parry a Zusi free kick with time running down. Zusi had one more dead ball chance but KC couldn't capitalize.
