Now, that’s more like it.
After a painfully humiliating 5-1 loss to their local rivals, New York City Football Club, the Red Bulls sought redemption as they traveled north of the border. They aim to restore pride and honor in the eyes of their head coach, supporters, and the organization by achieving something they haven’t done since July – winning a match. While it may put them back in fourth place in the jammed-packed Eastern Conference with two games remaining of the regular season, it would go a long way to erasing the memory of their disappointing performance at Red Bull Arena four days ago.
In the 25th minute, New York earned an opportunity to take the lead as Shane O’Neil fouled Lewis Morgan in the box, which was ruled a penalty via VAR. Emil Forsberg calmly converted the penalty kick shortly after that.
The match was as choppy as the field conditions, as both teams struggled to complete passes. Thirty-five minutes in, Ronald Donkor fouled Richie Laryea outside the box, setting up a free kick, but the New York defense did well to block the shot. Bernadeschi kept the ball in play and let loose a blistering shot that didn’t miss the net very much.
Toronto thought they had leveled the match four minutes later, as Kevin Long headed the ball into the net from close range to level the match from a corner kick. But, VAR was on the visitors’ side again, revealing that Derrick Etienne was offside, interfering with Coronel as the shot came in.
Red Bulls nearly doubled their slim lead eight minutes into stoppage time as Dante Vanzeir took a pass from Dylan Nealis and was able to get free at the right side of the box, but Sean Johnson was there with the save as a very contentious first half came to a close.
The second half saw the Red Bulls coming out firing on all cylinders. They would be duly rewarded three minutes later as Lewis Morgan spotted John Tolkin with a pass, and he took advantage of all the space the Toronto defense gave him. Despite Sean Johnson getting his hand on the shot, he did not miss, scoring his second goal of the season to double the advantage.
With the home side sensing desperation to get on the scoreboard at this point of the match, Toronto midfielder Federico Bernardeschi decided to take matters into his own hands as he somehow got around John Tolkin, and just like his shot in the first half, this one didn’t miss by much once again, drawing the ire of Carlos Coronel who wondered incredulously why his teammate didn’t step up to slow him down.
In the 64th minute, the Red Bulls had issues getting the ball out from their defensive end. Federico Bernardeschi, hungry for a goal and looking very dangerous throughout it all, got off a shot, but Coronel managed to save it. However, Peter Stroud fouled Richie Laryea in the box, thus giving Toronto the precious lifeline they desperately needed. Prince Osei Owusu cooly slotted home the penalty kick to cut the lead in half.
But just as the pendulum swung towards the home side, it turned right back against them as Shane O’Neill, who clumsily fouled Lewis Morgan in the first half, did it again in the 68th minute, this time fouling Cameron Harper, who stood his ground as O’Neill slammed into him from the back. Lewis Morgan quickly converted the penalty kick to restore the two-goal cushion.
As the action began to heat up, the frustration that Federico Bernardeschi reached a boiling point, taking it out by badly fouling Dylan Nealis, which earned him a second yellow card in the 74th minute, and just like that, his night was done as the official sent him off.
Elias Manoel was subbed in for Dante Vanzier in the 81st minute, and he wasted no time getting on the scoresheet just seven minutes later as Lewis Morgan quickly spotted him on a break and, with zero hesitation, slammed the ball past Sean Johnson to ice the game, sealing the Red Bulls fourth win on the road. One that was very much needed to get their confidence back on track.
Starting Lineups:
Toronto FC: Sean Johnson, Raoul Petretta (Kosi Thompson 66′), Kevin Long, Shane O’Neill, Tyrese Spicer (Matthew Longstaff 46′), Deybi Flores (Alonso Coello 46′), Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Derrick Etienne, Federico Bernardeschi, Deandre Kerr (Prince Osei Owusu 58′(66′))
New York Red Bulls: Carlos Coronel, Dylan Nealis, Andres Reyes (Sean Nealis 57′), Noah Eile, John Tolkin (48′), Peter Stroud (Dennis Gjengaar 81′), Ronald Donkor (Felipe Carballo 62′), Daniel Edelman, Emil Forsberg (27′)(Cameron Harper 63′), Dante Vanzeir (Elias Manoel 81′(88′)), Lewis Morgan (69′)
Scoring Summary:
27′ – New York Red Bulls – Emil Forsberg – Converted penalty kick
48′ – New York Red Bulls – John Tolkin, assisted by Lewis Morgan
66′ – Toronto FC – Prince Osei Owusu – Converted penalty kick
69′ – New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan – Converted penalty kick
88′ – New York Red Bulls – Elias Manoel, assisted by Lewis Morgan
Disciplinary Summary:
23′ – New York Red Bulls – Ryan Meara – Yellow card
30′ – Toronto FC – Jonathan Osorio – Yellow card
38′ – New York Red Bulls – Andres Reyes – Yellow card
41′ – Toronto FC – Federico Bernardeschi – Yellow card
74′ – Toronto FC – Ferderico Bernardeschi – Second Yellow card/Red card
Final Thoughts:
They say, “Winning is the best disinfectant”. And after their odious performance on Saturday, this was precisely the result the supporters wanted to see against a desperate, shorthanded, but poor team in Toronto FC. Midfielder Lewis Morgan had a stellar evening, scoring another goal and assist in the match. And while they’ll happily take the win back with them as they travel back to the United States, they won’t have much time to celebrate as they have to grab another three points on the road against Atlanta United FC on Saturday.