Akinola's hat-trick guides Toronto FC past Montreal in 7-goal thriller

A star is born, and his name is Ayo Akinola.

The Toronto FC striker continued his torrid start to the MLS is Back Tournament on Thursday, scoring three goals as Toronto snatched bragging rights against rivals Montreal Impact in a 4-3 victory.

Akinola is making the most of an opportunity to start in place of injured star Jozy Altidore. The 20-year-old boasts a tournament-best five goals after bagging a brace versus D.C. United on Monday

Alejandro Pozuelo, who assisted on Toronto's first three goals on Thursday, leads the tournament in the assists category with five.

The 45th installment of the Canadian Classique featured an action-packed opening half. The two sides exchanged goals inside of 15 minutes as Toronto displayed recurring tendencies for both probing attacks and relinquishing leads.

Richie Laryea handed Toronto the lead in the eighth minute courtesy of a slick solo run, but Romell Quioto canceled it out minutes later. The Honduran met a probing long ball from Emanuel Maciel, then surged behind Omar Gonzalez before beating Quinten Westberg.

Akinola scored his third of the tournament in the 25th minute when Pozuelo rewarded the Detroit-born forward's adroit movements off the ball with an incisive pass across the penalty area.

Again, Toronto FC seized a lead, and again, they swiftly surrendered it: Chris Mavinga daftly hauled down Quioto in the area, leading to Saphir Taider’s goal from the spot.

The 2-2 scoreline was short-lived as Akindola outpaced Impact defender Jukka Raitala to receive Pozuelo's pass before sliding it past a helpless Clement Diop.

The second half was never going to be as enthralling as the opening frame, but Akinola took advantage of Montreal's push for the equalizer to complete his hat-trick in the 83rd minute.

Montreal made matters more dramatic in the closing seconds after Laurent Ciman handled in the area, leading to Taider's second from the spot in added time.

Toronto, who relinquished a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 draw against D.C. United, now sit atop Group F on four points, with Montreal languishing in last after two successive defeats.