Some Sunday night soccer saw a big improvement for Toronto FC.

After losing both of their first two games, a better performance was needed against a tough opponent in FC Cincinnati.

That was just what Robin Fraser's men delivered. A much more organized defensive game mixed with some more firepower in the attack saw the Reds rewarded with their first win of the season.

Toronto lined up in a new-look 3-5-2 with Luka Gavran in goal, Zane Monlouis, Walker Zimmerman and new man Benjamín Kuscevic as the back three, Richie Laryea the right wing back with Raheem Edwards on the left, José Cifuentes, Jonathan Osorio and Djordje Mihailović making up the midfield with Dániel Sallói and Emilio Aristizábal up top.

The first half was a huge improvement for Toronto in comparison to last week's outing in Vancouver, where they found themselves down 3-0 at halftime.

The 3-5-2 shape, which mirrored Cincinnati's usual look quite well, caused problems for the hosts. TFC was winning second balls, getting into the final third and causing some danger, though not an enormous amount of shots.

As the sides settled into the half, Cincinnati started to garner a couple of chances of their own, but for the most part, Toronto defended well, holding FCC to just five shots for 0.27 xG at the break.

The biggest chance of the first half fell to Richie Laryea in stoppage time. After a very nice move for Toronto, Mihailović played Aristizábal through, who played a quick backheel to Laryea. The right back's first touch was a bit loose, and his shot was stopped by Roman Celentano.

But, signs of progress were shown for Toronto on both sides of the ball. They looked much more solid off the ball and had more zip on it. There were more polished patterns of play to progress up the pitch, and while the final third wasn't perfectly sharp, there were definite moments of danger created.

The second half saw a similarly tight affair, with neither side really able to create many big chances. The first good look of the half came in the 67th minute, as FCC midfielder Pavel Bucha stepped past Osorio before firing a curling shot earmarked for the top corner from about 25 yards, which Gavran stopped at full stretch.

A few substitutions were made on each side, including Zimmerman taking himself off the pitch with a suspected head injury, as well as Cincinnati star attacker Evander, to try to change the game for the hosts.

But it would be TFC who would find the breakthrough. Laryea collected the ball in his own half, turned past some light pressure from Kévin Denkey, dribbled to the halfway line and played a beautiful ball behind the back line to find Sallói in space.

The Hungarian would make no mistake with the finish, placing the ball into the bottom right corner past an outstretched Roman Celentano to give TFC the lead in the 86th minute.

LET'S GOOOOOO!!!!! 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/4kSo7gxWGi

— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) March 9, 2026

A few nervy moments in stoppage time followed, including an Evander free kick from about 20 yards that just kissed the top of the net, but Toronto's back line held strong as they picked up their first win over Cincinnati since 2021.

New man Kuscevic had a strong performance, stabilizing what was a leaky back line, while the presence of both Aristizábal and DeAndre Kerr as proper centre forwards helped give the team a focal point to build off of.

Next Saturday will mark TFC's home opener, starting a homestand of nine consecutive games at BMO Field. DP striker Josh Sargent did not make the bench today, but will give the Reds another boost in the coming weeks as they build momentum in the 2026 season.