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Dichio's late strike ensures tie for Toronto

Oct 20, 2007 - 7:33 PM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Danny Dichio grabbed a last-gasp equalizer as Toronto FC held the playoff-bound New England Revolution to a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

The Revolution looked set to go into their Eastern Conference semifinal with New York on the back of a victory until Dichio fired home after a late scramble in the 90th minute.

Toronto had recovered from a 2-0 deficit early in the second half to claim a share of the spoils.

New England (14-8-8) took the lead with a stunning goal from defender Michael Parkhurst, who spotted goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos well off his line and launched a lobbed shot from midfield which found the net.

Taylor Twellman scored in the second two minutes of the second half, his 16th goal of the season, and the Revolution seemed to be cruising.

But Colin Samuel got one back in the 59th minute before Dichio came off the bench to grab the late strike.

"I wasn't happy with (Jeff) Cunningham's play so I put in Dichio, simple as that," Mo Johnston said of the change. "I think that Colin Samuel really stepped up today, scoring a goal and putting a lot of pressure on New Englands defense."

The result means Toronto manages to avoid defeat in the final game of a tough first season in the league. Canada's team finishes with a 6-17-7 mark, and there is much work to do this offseason.

"Overall I'm pretty disappointed," Johnston said. "I wanted to see our guys get back into the season. Just in a couple months in the summer we gained 20 points and I wanted to see them keep it up. We should've showed our fans something other than what we did."

The Scotsman will now spend this winter on the road, scouting for new players.

"I'm looking for two backs, two midfielders and two strikers," Johnston said. "The reason being I'm looking for players that can excite the fans, and strikers that can score 15 goals a season. We don't have that yet."