Toronto FC (0W-0L-1T, 2 points) earned two points following a goalless draw and a 5-4 penalty shootout victory against the New York Red Bulls (0W-0L-1T, 1 point) in Leagues Cup action at Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening.
First Half:
Toronto FC Head Coach John Herdman made three changes from the side that started in last weekend’s victory against CF Montréal with Shane O’Neill, Kosi Thompson and Matty Longstaff making way for Kevin Long, Deybi Flores and Derrick Etienne Jr.
In addition to enjoying more possession and completing more passes, the opening half’s best goalscoring chances fell to the Reds in Harrison, New Jersey. First, Derrick Etienne Jr.’s looping cross into the penalty area was headed over by Prince Owusu in the 13th minute before Jonathan Osorio’s left-footed half-volley from Raoul Petretta’s cross was saved by Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara in the 40th minute.
Federico Bernardeschi then almost found the opener with a fizzling long-range effort moments before the half-time whistle as the two sides played out a goalless first-half.
Second Half:
The hosts found the back of the net seven minutes into the restart when Sean Johnson’s punched clearance was re-directed by Dennis Gjengaar’s instinctive shot from close-range. The effort, however, was ruled out by the linesman’s flag immediately as Wikelman Carmona was deemed to have picked up the ball in an offside position in the build-up to the 52nd minute strike.
With the two sides searching for the crucial opening goal of the night, both goalkeepers, New York’s Ryan Meara and Toronto’ Sean Johnson, were in fine form to stand tall and keep their opponents at bay.
American shot-stopper Ryan Meara was on hand to make a pair of low saves from Etienne Jr’s 55th minute curled effort before denying Federico Bernardeschi’s powerful shot five minutes later.
Down the other end, 2021 MLS Cup MVP, Sean Johnson remained alert to make crucial saves from Dante Vanzeir’s looping header and Lewis Morgan’s powerful left-footed effort in the final ten minutes of regular time.
TFC nearly found a late 95th minute winner through Lorenzo Insigne when his well-struck effort from out of the box was parried by Ryan Meara before the Italian flashed a follow-up attempt wide with the final kick of stoppage time.
With both teams unable to break the deadlock, New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC earned a point apiece before heading into a penalty shootout as part of the Leagues Cup competition format. After registering four saves in regulation, goalkeeper Sean Johnson solidified his Man of the Match performance with vital penalty-kick saves from Andrés Reyes and Cory Burke to ultimately give the Reds the 5-4 penalty shootout victory and the additional point from Red Bull Arena.
Toronto FC conclude Group East 6 action in the 2024 Leagues Cup when they host the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winners C.F. Pachuca at BMO Field on Sunday, August 4. Kick-off from BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario is set for 8:00 p.m. and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and on TSN3 in Canada.
LINEUPS
NEW YORK RED BULLS – Ryan Meara; Dylan Nealis, Sean Nealis (C), Noah Eile (Andrés Reyes 89’), Kyle Duncan; Dennis Gjengaar (Dante Vanzeir 62’), Ronald Donkor (Cory Burke 89’), Daniel Edelman, Wikelman Carmona; Julian Hall (Elias Manoel 62’), Lewis Morgan
Substitutes Not Used: Carlos Coronel, Dallas Odle, Omar Valencia, Steven Sserwadda
TORONTO FC – Sean Johnson; Richie Laryea, Kevin Long, Nicksoen Gomis (Sigurd Rosted 75’), Raoul Petretta (Shane O’Neill 59’); Federico Bernardeschi (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty 75’), Jonathan Osorio (C), Deybi Flores (Matty Longstaff 61’), Derrick Etienne Jr.; Prince Owusu (Kosi Thompson 62’), Lorenzo Insigne
Substitutes Not Used: Greg Ranjitsingh, Luka Gavran, Aimé Mabika, Kobe Franklin
MEDIA NOTES
- Deybi Flores, Nicksoen Gomis, Richie Laryea, Kevin Long, Matty Longstaff, Lorenzo Insigne and Prince Owusu made their first appearances in the Leagues Cup competition.
- With the result, Toronto FC earned their first Leagues Cup result and clean sheet in club history.
- Toronto FC recorded their 10th clean sheet of the 2024 season across all competitions (MLS regular season, Canadian Championship and Leagues Cup).
