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Toronto FC were back in action following the World Cup break for a rare Friday night fixture in New York, with Reds fans likely hoping that TFC would not come out of the gate as lethargic as fellow Canadian clubs Montreal and Vancouver did on Wednesday evening.
TFC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen made two changes to his starting eleven, with left back Justin Morrow returning to the starting XI and recently acquired forward Dominic Oduro getting his first start for Toronto.
The Opening 45
TFC came out strong at the opening whistle, with the Reds showing absolutely no rush from their time off due to the World Cup break. Toronto striker Luke Moore came close to a very early goal when he tested New York Luis Robles with a dangerous shot.
The Reds continued to push forward with intent but were unable to pierce New York’s back line in a significant way.
At the other end of the pitch, the Red Bulls picked up steam as the half progressed. Not surprisingly, New York looked to superstar Thierry Henry to pull the strings for the offense and the former Arsenal forward did not disappoint.
In the 27th minute, Henry delivered a perfectly weighted pass to set up Bradley Wright-Phillips in the Reds box, but a fantastic clearing tackle from TFC defender Doneil Henry cleared the danger.
New York opened the scoring just under ten minutes later, when another fine pass from Thierry Henry set up defender Ambroise Oyongo Bitolo to deliver a cross that midfielder Péguy Luyindula headed past keeper Joe Bendik into the back of the TFC net.
The Second Half
Toronto came out of the half-time break with the exact same intensity with which they started the match and were rewarded for their fine play in the 55th minute, with Jonathan Osorio delivering a perfect ball to Dominic Oduro down the right flank and the winger’s cross converted masterfully by Jermain Defoe.
New York had an excellent chance to equalize a couple of minutes later when the Red Bulls won a free kick in a very dangerous position just outside the TFC box. However, Thierry Henry’s free kick sailed harmlessly over the crossbar.
TFC Designated Player came on for Oduro in the 65th minute and made an immediate impact with her energy and work rate.
Toronto took the lead on a strange sequence of events after Defoe used his smarts to win a free kick for the Reds in a dangerous spot, with Defoe and Gilberto arguing bitterly over who would take the dead ball shot. The Brazilian ultimately took the shot in the 72nd minute and hammered an absolute laser of a free kick past Robles into the Red Bulls net.
The Reds continued to dominate play and looked like they were cruising to an impressive road win until New York stole a point from the jaws of defeat in the final minute of injury time, with Tim Cahill showing his class in heading a perfect ball to set up Bradley Wright-Phillips for the equalizer.
Overall, this was an excellent performance from Toronto, as they dominated New York on their own pitch. This was probably Toronto’s best performance to date in terms of ball movement and possession. However, it is still hard not to be disconcerted by TFC conceding yet another late goal and being unable to close out the victory that they deserved.
Man of the Match
Jermain Defoe
As per usual, striker Jermain Defoe was Toronto’s standout player in the game. He continually kept the New York back line on their toes and he scored a cracker of a goal to tie things up early in the second half. He also played a key role in Gilberto’s goal given that he used his experience and intelligence to win the free that lead to what should have been a game winning goal.
Honourable mention
Gilberto came on in the second half and looked very much like a man obsessed with netting a goal. He delivered his usual final all-around game and got the monkey off his back with a genuinely fine effort to secure his first MLS goal.
Toronto FC Line-up
12 Joe Bendik
28 Mark Bloom
13 Steven Caldwell
15 Doneil Henry
2 Justin Morrow
11 Jackson
21 Jonathan Osorio
26 Collen Warner
23 Dominic Oduro
27 Luke Moore
18 Jermain Defoe
Substitutions: (65) Gilberto for Oduro; (80) Orr for Moore; (90) De Rosario in for Gilberto.
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