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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Yeah…the Red Bulls sure played it clean…
5:43 – Cichero elbows Chad Barrett in the back of the head (clearly visible on the left side of the screen just before the offside). No call. Parke bumps Barrett afterwards while Barrett is trying to get to the ref, again no call.
11:15 – Cichero again, barely touched by Dichio, reacts as if he’d been shot out of a cannon, rolling a full 7 yards (there’s one thing those NFL lines are good for) clutching his thigh, though it was only his foot which was clipped. Foul called (rightly so) on Dicho, no booking (again, rightly so).
17:02 – Jon Conway catches a ball then deliberately runs elbows first into Jim Brennan, who had stopped in an attempt to avoid a collision with the keeper. No call. Watch the replay to see just how easily Conway could have stopped or at least avoided Brennan.
34:05 – Angel stomps on the back of Amado Guevara’s leg, scraping his studs down the back of Guevara’s calf and onto his ankle. Angel’s reputation as a clean player probably saves him a straight red. Guevara is down for 2 minutes, then spends a further 2 minutes on the sidelines before being allowed back in the game, clearly still favouring the left leg.
40:30 – Kevin Goldthwaite’s foot (studs first) makes hard contact with Hunter Freeman’s ankle as Freeman attempts to play a ball forward from the half. No foul called, no booking (and rightly so, though the play should have been stopped). It was a 50/50 ball.
I won’t bother with the stuff that happened in the second half, since most of it has already been covered above.
Philip Costa-
1-0, 2-1 sure, lucky win.
3-1, a score like that is deserved.
We won that match fair and square.
Its rare that this can be claimed by TFC or a TFC fan at this point in the season.
Ill leave aside theatrics from both sides.
shite or sh*t, the Red Bulls are it
*comment spam? ives plz
Unless you guys are British or Irish, you look foolish typing ‘shite’
So f*cking shite!
oh the redbulls are shite!!
Ibbe is my hero
Costa
Look Dichio in the eye and say that…
LOL!
I want to punch JCO. This is his team and they’re awfully inconsistent. I’m not sure if it’s the fact they’re over coached or maybe the talent just isn’t there. Even if RBNY makes it to the playoffs, we’re not making it past the first round. Sooooo frustrating…
The beer bottle? Pitty it miss!
Toronto? awful side who got lucky.
Dichio = girl in a dress
Oh yes, let’s not forget about the beer bottle thrown at Guevara. Classy no?
To the jokers who claim TFC played dirty, why don’t you watch them replays and tell me Angel didn’t stamp Guevara in the ankle? Why don’t you see if that clown Parke didn’t step on Robinson purposely? And then near the end of the game blatantly shove Ibrahim with both hands and get away with it?
Admittedly I saw the Dichio flop and Barrett flopped once too. But the examples if TFC “cheating” were pretty legitimate stoppages, and the fact that you chose to ignore the RBNY thuggery shocks me.
They didn’t kick the ball out of bounds when Robinson was down, what game were you watching?? They got a corner out of that play.
Before you comment, make sure you have yoru facts right.
I notice the two folks calling TFC diving cheaters, are the two who were at the game, and likely haven’t seen close-up replays yet.
I’d also like to state that Dichio “dives” for no one. That guy is one of the toughest fuckers in the league.
– Scott
Roogsy –
Most, if not all, of the Red Bulls didn’t notice the TFC player down holding his head – most were in the run of play pressing forward.
When they did notice, they kicked the ball out of bounds.
They behaved totally right.
Awful match. Red Bulls certainly deserved to lose.
But, yes, Toronto was playing fairly dirty, and diving a lot.
I usually have a problem with Magee diving actually – he throws up his hands calling for a foul almost as soon as he tips over.
But Toronto is FAR FAR worse. And, man alive, Dichio plays dirty most of the time. He got away with 2 fouls for every 1 he was called for.
I actually was trying to start the “Ma-gic Wa-ter” chant every time a TFC player went down. Because they magically popped right back up after stopping the run of play and/or momentum and being cured, basically, by a suck of a water bottle.
Red Bulls got beat. All in all, little display of “the beautiful game” in this match.
Just got back from game and have been attending every game for the last nine or ten years. The Red Bulls are PATHETIC! They have no concept of playing defense and no matter who you want to blame CONWAY is done and should never play soccer again. He is the WORST Keeper in the league. Of course the RED Bulls are out of the playoffs and clearly deserver to be. The defense does not know how to pickup the open man and the midfield execept for DVB who hustled his ass stinks.
Besides JPA and DVB everyone else should be released and the team has to start over. Parke is slow and so is Goldy or “pansy”. Cicc. is lost out there.
I have been writing and begging all year for a SOLID PROVEN forward who can finish. Not some luck kick from Mike MaGee who is a bench player not a starter. I have been sayinng from the beginnig lets sign Eskandarian to assist JPA. Richard played a horrible game except for his goal. Stammler has no offense abilities and Rojas can do nothing against a quick team.
Have no answers except dissolve this team and start over!. The team will not win another game this year and by losing TWO HOME GAMES last week and this they deserve to be out. Toronto who I hate did play much better and it seems like whoever we play we are very slow on defense. Lets get rid of the dead wood and start over!
I wonder if Chicago still wants Osorio …
Seriously guys? If you guys are questioning the stoppages in play, you’re showing a high degree of bias. First of all, during an obvious head injury to a TFC player, play continued in NY’s advantage. And while Guevara has been known to take a dive, that injury was legit and Angel’s lucky he didn’t get a red. Harmse was legitimately injured on the hand and you are lucky Parke didn’t get a red for intentionally stomping on a player. Have some perspective…NY simply sucked tonight.
kpugs – perhaps you didn’t see the close-up of Angel’s card on Guevara, but he actually stomped the back of Guevara’s knee. THAT is why he got stretchered off, and took a few minutes to return to play.
Your analysis doesn’t make any sense. TFC had nothing to gain from Guevara getting stretchered off, and being down a man for a few minutes. Angel had already been carded.
I initially thought Guevara had been faking it, until I saw the replay of what happened. Angel could have been sent off for that horrible challenge.
I also find it ironic that you’re schlepping the “bunch of cheaters” line, when your club got downright thuggish towards the end of the match. Especially Cichero and Parke, who straight up shoved Ibrahim to the ground near the end of the match. Or even Conway, who laid into Brennan, and knocked him down in the first half.
– Scott
Now, kpugs, I didn’t see the entire match, so I don’t know about some of those instances…I did notice Barrett stay down after what looked a bit iffy, so I’m not excusing him, and I didn’t see Guevara’s, but he’s known for it anyways so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.
But I know Harmse stayed down after being stepped on (he came back on, but you could see two fingers bandaged in what looked like a splint), and I know Robinson stayed down after bumping heads with someone. While I sometimes wonder about soccer players staying down with hand injuries, it was stepped on, which is pretty painful in normal shoes – let alone soccer spikes. And head injuries are iffy, you never want to take the chance with one.
I don’t remember Dichio doing anything, but perhaps that was in parts I missed.
Meanwhile, the Red Bulls may not have faked anything (which is debatable – for example, when Barrett got his yellow, the contact looked pretty soft to me, but there was only one replay), but they did have some cheap play. Like walking on a guy when he’s down.
Kpugs – perfectly described.
Before anyone (TFC fans) jumps down my throat and says I’m making excuses, trust me that I am not. While I do have my opinions on the ref tonight, we got beat. Outplayed, and beaten.
Having gotten that out of the way, the diving and cheating by TFC were dispicable. By my count 4 times the game was STOPPED for an injured TFC player, only for that player to IMMEDIATELY return to the game. This includes Guevara WHO WAS CARRIED OFF ON A STRETCHER. In addition there were three additional instances of faking injuries by a combination of Barrett and Dichio.
This is absolutely pathetic. The TFC coaches are on the sidelines IRATELY screaming at the referee to let players back on that moments ago “couldn’t” get up, much less walk.
This isn’t on the fans at all, but TFC disgusts me. I haven’t seen such a blatant and disgusting display of cheating in this league, EVER. I see it all the time against the USA by various CONCACAF teams, but come on.
TFC won…and they played better. But I now view them as a pathetic bunch of cheaters. My keyboard doesn’t enable me to describe just how disgusted I am by them, especially since the manager was wholeheartedly supporting it all night.
The only consolation I have is that their manager stared me down and appeared to say something to me eventually when I pointed out he was the biggest cheater on the pitch.
The win was deserved…but there is absolutely no excuse for that classless and pathetic behavior. None whatsoever. I’d be ashamed to support that team. Ashamed.
P.S. For the wisenheimers about to pipe up…no, the Red Bulls didn’t have any such instance of that behavior tonight. No fake injuries, and NO PLAYER stayed down on the pitch. Because they weren’t hurt. Just like none of the TFC players were hurt, but hey they have no class.
its a curse!! Metrostars were born losers, red bulls continue the tradition .
everybody (players and staff) must leave the team.
New stadium new name and a winner team, with hungry and proven players!!
this is a new york team for crying out!!!
I’m fed up!!
I feel like going to RB headquarters and…..
Forget it,
someone do something
please?
Wow! I can’t believe we won and we scored 3 goals. Chad Barrett had 2! I guess he’s not so bad.
Full Time. 3-1 Toronto.
There were problems all over the pitch, and won’t be helped with Rojas and Richards set to miss upcomming matches (though maybe missing Cichero will).
5 minutes of extra time were added, and 4 minutes of them have been spent futily, until Magee took a shot from the top of the box that went wide and was no threat.
At least Van Den Bergh looks good.
Red Bulls will just not make the playoffs. It’s sad really. The three teams that, in my opinion, represent MLS the most dont even make the playoffs. Yes they’re not out of it quite yet but look at the conditions. Good for Toronto, though.
everyone is going to point to the Red Bull defense, but the team has been caught getting back for at least 2 of the goals, which is on the midfield as much as the defense.
Also, the attack, other than for a 15 minute or so window in the 2nd half did nothing.
great job Ibrahim.
Final score in D.C. 3-0. D.C. are in deep sh** if they cant make what Max Bretos calls “A Herculian Effort+”. I say they wont make the playoffs. While Chivas has another solid performance, great job. Sasha Victorine, Sacha Kljestan, Eskandarian, Dejair, all of them did great.
87th minute- GOAL TORONTO!!! Perfect cross into Ibrahim who headed it past Conway, who didn’t get over to cover fast enough. I think he should’ve gotten over fast enough to at least get a hand on it.
And Cichero takes a yellow, which is a perfect way to wind down another horrific game.
Van Den Bergh played in a great ball, but Magee and Kandji were basically in the same space and neither one latched on to it!
Bye Ives. Still 3-0 in D.C.
Unless Richards is gassed, I don’t see the point in switching him out for Kandji. I would’ve rather kept his speed and subbed out Magee.
And what on earth was Conway doing as far out as he was. Another mistake by him. And Shep is right questioning the wisdom in having a central defender act as a decoy for a free kick.
Incase anyone’s wondering,Chivas are up against D.C. United 3-0 off goals from Eskandarian( you’ll love that one.), Victorine(of course),and Dejair( on his debut).Mendoza left due to injury to his left ankle, and Fred left due to his left hamstring.
That was disgusting. I’m sick to my stomach.
As effective as playing the ball long for Richards has been in the 2nd half, they should bring in Kandji for some added pace sooner rather than later.
Richards!! Clutch goal, nice flick header to get it to him. Richards held position well, and finished with pressure coming from behind.
It’s hard to believe there was a time before the season started that there was a question as to whether Van Den Bergh would even make the team.
Hopefully Mbuta and Kandji can bring the same kind of impact they brought against Colorado.
No, Shep, that effort by JPA a few minutes ago wasn’t a wondrous demonstration of his skill, that “all he ever thought about was hitting the ball first time.”
It was a sign that he’s so woefully underserved (and well-known by much of the league’s defenders now – they won’t give him the room), that he’s relegated to desperately snatching at low-percentage shots like that. It’s not a good thing.
For a number of reasons, he’s seeing nothing like the room that allowed goals such as that self-dummy atop the 6 yard box.
Cichero did make a mistake, but Conway either didn’t come out far enough or shouldn’t have come out at all.
Good job Cichero.
Manic, I would doubt Van Den Bergh plays much since they need him for Thursday.
As for Kandji, fitness and the ankle are issues. Also, Magee did score last week so taking him out wouldn’t have been a good move. I think Kandji will be starting before long though, possibly as soon as Thursday.
10th minute- Apologies for the technical difficulties. Fortunately, you haven’t missed that much in the way of action yet.
Rojas on the wing makes me sick. He is INVISIBLE there. He adds nothing if he isn’t in the middle. He doesn’t care about playing defense and a winger HAS to play defense. I’d rather have Magee on the wing than Rojas. Or why don’t we start Mbuta there? Was he not stellar when he came on last week? One thing I AM happy about it a Stammler / Pietra defensive mid duo.
Ives,
Two things. What kind of chance is there Van Den Bergh sees time tonight? And is Kandji on the bench at all due to fitness, or is it just a tactical choice?
Lineup is terrible.
Great… Rojas out left again and no creativity in the center, looks like we’re doomed to an awful game again. Lose this game and I think we’re out. Why can’t Mbuta or the supposedly no longer injured Borman play left mid, or hell even Stammler out left to defend well. I know, I know, he wants a left footed left mid, but it doesn’t take a genius to see Rojas is not effective out there