HARRISON, NJ – The second edition of the Leagues Cup is upon us, and once again, the New York Red Bulls are the tournament’s participants. Toronto FC arrived in Red Bull Arena looking to put their dismal season on the good foot after winning only two of their last eight matches.
The Red Bulls were riding high with an eight-match unbeaten streak going into this match, including being unbeaten in 12 home games. To add insult to injury for the visitors, the Red Bulls haven’t lost to Toronto FC in their last ten meetings, with seven wins and two draws.
Some of the home supporters have opted out of this match due to MLS’ insistence on placing this tournament over the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and they have shown their indifference to the event, leaving scores of empty seats in the South Ward. Nevertheless, there was a match to be played and an opponent to defeat, so the match and the competition continued.
The match began pedestrianly as both teams were looking to put the match on their terms early. Toronto was the first to get a scoring chance in the 13th minute as Derrick Etienne delivered a nice cross over to Prince Osei Owusu in the middle of the box, but his header sailed high and over the net, much to the chagrin of his teammates.
Toronto had another opportunity to break the deadlock in the 41st minute when Johnathan Orsorio’s shot took a wicked bounce and was headed toward the back of the net if not for the outstretched hand of Ryan Meara, making the timely save to keep the match scoreless.
Despite minimal action in the first half, Toronto had the majority of possession, and the Red Bulls didn’t even manage to make a single shot on goal. Sandro Schwarz and his team will be looking to rectify this issue in the second half.
If the first 45 minutes tried to put everyone in the building asleep, the second half brought some semblance of life back into the match. In the 50th minute, off a corner, Dylan Nealis tried to connect with his brother Sean in the center of the box, but his header went wide to his left.
Ten minutes later, Federico Bernadeschi’s shot was saved by Ryan Meara, who did well in getting in position just in time. Three minutes later, the New York defense denied former Red Bull Derrick Etienne’s bid after taking a direct pass from Matty Longstaff.
Red Bulls made one more attempt to get on the scoreboard in the 84th minute as Dante Vanzeir, who has been struggling to score as of late, took a cross in the middle of the box, but Sean Johnson made the save with relative ease.
As the match crawled into the 90th minute, both teams struggled to find an opening to make a dent on the scoreboard. With neither team doing so, penalty kicks would settle the match as regular time expired.
Starting Lineups:
Toronto FC: Sean Johnson, Nickseon Gomis (Sigurd Rosted 75′), Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta (Shane O’Neill 59′), Federico Bernardeschi (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty 75′), Johnathan Osorio, Debyi Flores (Matthew Longstaff 62′), Richie Laryea, Derrick Etienne Jr., Lorenzo Insigne, Prince Osei Owusu (Kosi Thompson 62′)
New York Red Bulls: Ryan Meara, Kyle Duncan, Noah Eile (Andres Reyes 89′), Sean Nealis, Dylan Nealis, Wiki Carmona, Daniel Edelman, Ronald Donkor (Cory Burke 89′), Dennis Gjengaar (Dante Vanzier 62′), Lewis Morgan, Julian Hall (Elias Manoel 62′)
Scoring Summary:
None.
Disciplinary Summary:
25′ – Toronto FC – Nickseon Gomis – Yellow Card
Penalty Kick Summary:
TOR – Lorenzo Insigne – Missed (off the bar)
RBNY – Lewis Morgan – Scored
TOR – Matthew Longstaff – Scored
RBNY – Dante Vanzeir – Scored
TOR – Kosi Thompson – Scored
RBNY – Wiki Carmona – Scored
TOR – Derrick Etienne Jr. – Scored
RBNY – Elias Manoel – Scored
TOR – Johnathan Orsorio – Scored
RBNY – Cory Burke – Missed – (shot saved)
TOR – Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty – Missed – (shot saved)
RBNY – Daniel Edelman – Missed – (shot went over the net)
TOR – Shane O’Neill – Scored
RBNY – Andres Reyes – Missed – (shot saved)
Toronto wins in penalties, 5-4
Final Thoughts:
All things considered, this was not the match Sandro Swartz was looking for from his team. Credit to Toronto FC and goalkeeper Sean Johnson, in particular, for keeping the Red Bulls offense very quiet in a place that was very hard to do so. Toronto FC Head Coach John Herdman praised his team for “pulling in a full shift” to get the result. For the Red Bulls, the focus is now on Pachuca, a team loaded with weapons that can put teams away with relative ease. It will be a match where one team will be moving on, and one team possibly heading off for a long mid-summer break.