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Toronto FC at New York Red Bulls: Match Night

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The New York Red Bulls take on Toronto FC tonight in a key match in the Eastern Conference playoff race. At least it’s key for the Red Bulls. TFC is stuck in last place and a loss tonight could officially eliminate the Canadian club from playoff consideration.

Tonight is also the Red Bulls’ first match since last week’s 5-4 shootout loss against the Colorado Rapids. The shell-shocked defense will look to rebound after allowing eight goals in two matches.

I will be covering the match tonight and doing a running commentary throughout so be sure to check in here for updates on the action.

If you will be watching the match, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below (leave the play-by-play to me.)

Enjoy the match:

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81st minute– Ibrahim comes in for Barrett for TFC.

A yellow card to Jeff Parke for a foul on Jim Brennan.

Okay folks, I need to do some writing. I’ll leave the rest of the play-by-play to Manic Messiah.

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74th minute– Johann Smith comes in for Rohan Ricketts, giving Toronto FC a serious speed upgrade on the left flank. Smith is going to cause some problems.

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72nd minute– Red Bulls moving the ball around well but can’t find the final pass in the attacking third to create a chance on goal.

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70th minute– Kandji with a dangerous ball in that Cichero can’t quite control.

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69th minute– Kandji is playing up top, with Magee floating out to the right.

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67th minute– Wynne with a 60-yard run after being sent loose by a Dichio pass. Wynne sprints past the Red bulls before finding Barrett all alone in the box.

Kandji has come into the match for Richards.

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65th minute- GOAL TORONTO FC!! Barrett with the finish after a beautiful run and pass from Wynne. TFC 2, Red Bulls 1.

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64th minute- Ricketts fouls Stammler for another long Red bulls free kick.

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63rd minute– When will we see Kandji? I think the time is fast approaching.

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61st minute– Van Den Bergh racing down the left flank to earn a corner kick. That’s the element he brings, helping to stretch the field and give the Red Bulls attack so many more options.

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56th minute– Goldthwaite fouled by Barrett, who draws a yellow for his trouble.

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54th minute– The Red Bulls have certainly come out inspired in the second half. Toronto FC is on the back-foot now and I can’t help but wonder what Osorio’s next moves will be.

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51st minute– Goldthwaite throw is flicked by Angel to Richards, who toasts Harmes for his third goal of the season.

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49th minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!! Dane Richards with a beautiful turn and finish. He actually looked like a forward on that play.

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HALFTIME– Van Den Bergh’s presence is big for a variety of reasons. It allows Rojas to slide into the middle and it gives the Red Bulls better service from the flank.

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HALFTIME– We will see Dave Van Den Bergh coming into the match for Juan Pietravallo to start the second half. Makes sense. Look for this lineup:

—————-Angel——Magee—————-

————————Rojas———————–

Van Den Bergh————————–Richards

———————–Stammler—————–

Goldthwaite—–Cichero—-Parke—–Leitch

————————-Conway—————–

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HALFTIME– Right now Toronto FC has to be pretty happy. Their defense has been solid, with Carl Robinson doing a good job of disrupting things in the middle of the field, and they have shown enough on the counter to keep the Red Bulls from attacking in numbers.

Halftime adjustments? We might have to see Mac Kandji and/or Matthew Mbuta in this match. The Red Bulls attack needs some energy and they can provide it.

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HALFTIME– Right now I can’t help but think that Osorio is looking for the receipt for Cichero so he can give him back to the Venezuelan club he got him from.

The offense hasn’t done the coach any favors either. Other than a Goldthwaite shot and a few Magee half-chances, the Red Bulls offense that scored four goals last week has yet to show up. Maybe we will see Dave Van Den Bergh after all. This match is too important to rest him if he can actually play.

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HALFTIME– The Toronto goal is the fault of both Cichero and Conway, two players who happen to be coming off poor performances against Colorado.

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HALFTIME– Toronto FC 1, Red Bulls 0. TFC with a deserved lead as the Red Bulls have looked erratic this half.

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48th minute– Magee with a decent chance but can’t put enough on it to beat Sutton.

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46th minute– Angel sends the kick way high.

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45th minute– Red Bulls with a long-range free kick chance.

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44th minute– We’re going to see four minutes of stoppage time.

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42nd minute– Yellow cards went to Angel, Rojas and Harmes during that whole Guevara foul and shoving match stoppage.

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40th minute– This is a frenetic match and you get the sense a goal is coming, just not sure from which team.

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38th minute– Angel cleated Guevara from behind on that play. Miraculously, Guevara recovered about 30 seconds after getting to the sidelines.

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35th minute– Angel hits Guevara and then the teams have a few handbags.

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34th minute– The Red Bulls appear to have settled down a bit, but the real question is whether Cichero is going to settle down or have a second straight meltdown.

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31st minute– Toronto FC smells blood and is all over a stunned Red Bulls squad. It’s still just 1-0 but the Red Bulls suddenly look very shaky.

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28th minute– Cichero plays the goat yet again, helping create that goal. Conway had no reason to be that far off his line.

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27th minute-GOAL TORONTO FC!!! And it’s Barrett with the finish, catching Conway WAY off his line.

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25th minute– Magee with a decent shot on goal that Sutton smothers. That’s what Magee’s in the game for, finding those chances. He needs to finish that one though.

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20th minute– Great save by Sutton on Goldthwaite, who nearly had a goal against his former club.

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16th minute– A lot of chipiness in this match so far. I think Dichio is looking to hit someone as hard as he was hit by Cichero last time around.

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13th minute– Rojas with a sweet pass on the flank. The man can dish the ball.

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12th minute– Dichio with a nice shot on Cichero. Might be some payback in that clash.

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11th minute– And we’re back. Neither team has taken control yet as both sides have had some decent build-ups. Toronto is certainly looking to attack tonight.

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2nd minute- We’re under way here and it’s looking like we’ll have a wide-open match. 

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PRE-GAME– And I’m back. What should we look for tonight? The Marvell Wynne-Jorge Rojas match-up on the wing should be interesting. Dichio vs. Gabriel Cichero should also be a good battle. You might recall that Cichero was issued a red card for elbowing Dichio in the face the last time these teams met.

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PRE-GAME– I believe this is Guevara’s first MLS match back at Giants Stadium against the Red Bulls since leaving the club.

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PRE-GAME– Here is the Toronto FC lineup:

————Dichio——–Barrett————-

——————-Guevara——————–

Ricketts——————————Wynne

——————-Robinson——————-

Brennan—Harmes—Marshall——-Freeman

——————-Sutton————————

BENCH– Edwards, Attakora-Gyan, Velez, Rosenlund, Ibrahim, Jarrod Smith, Johann Smith

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PRE-GAME– Yes, Gabriel Cichero is back in the starting lineup after last week’s debacle. How will he respond?

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PRE-GAME– Here are the lineups:

————————Angel———————-

Rojas—————-Magee—————-Richards

—————Pietravallo—Stammler———-

Goldthwaite—–Cichero—-Parke—–Leitch

————————-Conway—————–

BENCH– Cepero, Jimenez, Sassano, Mbuta, Ubiparipovic, Van Den Bergh, Kandji

Yes, that’s Van Den Bergh on the bench. Looks like the sports hernia surgery was a success.

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Comments

  1. Also Ives it was great to see your writing in the Toronto Star. Although for some reason you forgot to mention all the ‘diving’ Toronto FC apparently did on Saturday.

    Reply
  2. To everyone taking shots at TFC ‘divers’ – I’ve watched every game TFC has played and I’ve never seen numbers go down like that. I was even a little worried at first about injuries being faked. But I don’t know how you watch Angel digging his cleats into Guevara, or Robinson dropping after smashing his head, or hands being stomped on by NY, or Toronto players stepped on while they’re down and still call Toronto the dirty side.

    Do I think Angel did it on purpose? No. But I also don’t think Guevara going down after that makes him a diver. Parke and Cichero on the other hand are both dirtbags – there is your dirty play for the night right there in those two.

    Reply
  3. I would typically find this very amusing, but i decided to play Jon Conway and Osorio on my fantasy team.

    Let this be a lesson to me!

    Reply
  4. TFC is a garbage side, only reason they won was that RB is even more atrocious than they are.

    Until RB aquires a pair of REAL midfielders, these typs of results will continue. You cannot play with 6 defensemen and think your team will be able to produce any goals. Im a huge believer in Sinisa, he has shown that when he’s given the coaches confidence he can be a very good offensive midfielder. Rojas is not an A-mid, nor was he ever an A-mid. He just does not have that tenacity going forward and the club really needs that right now. I can’t imagine how dangerous Angel/Kandji could be if Javier Morales were plugged into this lineup.

    Reply
  5. The problem with the red bulls is they’re just like the galaxy. they play the passionate side of soccer in which you score goals in style and with flare. The kind of soccer that has scorelines of 5-4(sound familiar?). However that soccer has a downside. YOU HAVE THE SH**IEST DEFENSE IN THE LEAGUE! JCO I have nothing but respect for you but do something!Do what Chicago did and bring in some D!

    Reply

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