Toronto FC 3-3 New York Red Bulls
Full-time: What a game! Toronto have stayed on top of the Eastern conference and become the first team to clinch their spot in the playoffs. The Red Bulls will be wondering of what might have been.
90'+5 Felipe tries to find Wright-Phillips but the striker is offside and that's the last play of the game.
90'+3 Bradley almost picks his way through the Red Bulls back line but McCarty steps in at the last second to stop Bradley.
90'+2 Yellow card awarded to Felipe after he trips Lovitz as Toronto were breaking towards goal. The free-kick is cleared by the Red Bulls.
Five minutes of stoppage time have been added here as the Red Bulls have a free-kick coming up.
Bradley finds the feet of Altidore who turns his defender before finding the bottom corner while falling to the ground. Toronto's pressure has finally paid off. Toronto FC 3-3 New York Red Bulls.
86' GOAL! Altidore draws Toronto level!
85' Toronto are trying to find that elusive third goal but the Red Bulls are still holding firm and not letting too much go by them.
81' SUBSTITUTION: Dax McCarty comes in for Davis.
76' At the other end Moor stumbles and Bono has to come out quickly to stop Wright-Phillips from latching onto another defensive error.
76' Morrow gets forward and Altidore manages to hold off his defender to get a header on target but he can't get enough power to get it past Robles.
75' Bradley sends in a cross that finds Lovitz at the far post but Lovitz' sliding effort pops up into the air and Robles catches the ball.
73' A foul throw by Lawrence gives the ball back to Toronto who will be flodding forward for the equalizing goal.
69' SUBSTITUTION: Sal Zizzo comes on for Muyl.
69' CHANCE! NYRB immediately go the other way and Wright-Phillips gets free but his shot is deflected for a corner.
Altidore wins the free-kick at the top of the box and steps up to take the free-kick. He powers it into the far corner and Robles can do nothing. 2-3 to Toronto.
68' GOAL! Altidore pulls Toronto within one!
67' Altidore is fouled in a good position for a Toronto free-kick.
63' SUBSTITUTION: Daniel Lovitz comes on for Johnson and Tsubasa Endoh for Zavaleta.
60' SUBSTITUTION: Mike Grella comes on for Royer as NYRB's first substitution of the match.
59' A series of corners for TFC end with a header by Altidore that goes wide.
53' CHANCE! Kljestan sends Wright-Phillips through again but the striker hits it just wide. He honestly could have four goals today with the chances he has had.
53' SUBSTITUTION: Armando Cooper comes on for Delgado as Toronto FC make the change.
53' The ball finds Hamilton who was coming back from an offside position. He lets fly from outside the box and misses narrowly wide.
51' Zavaleta gets forward but his effort is wild and goes way wide from long range.
Alex Muyl gets forward and the Red Bulls have a three-on-one situation as they break quickly. Muyl passes to Kljestan who finds Wright-Phillips alone and unmarked and the striker gets his second of the day, placing his shot into the far corner. 1-3 to the Red Bulls.
48' GOAL! Wright-Phillips again!
The second half has begun with Toronto kicking us off.
Halftime: Toronto FC 1-2 New York Red Bulls. What a half! Chances for both teams and three goals to show for it.
45' Morrow puts a cross in and Altidore wins it but Duvall does well to stay with Altidore and clears the ball before Altidore can get his shot off.
44' Toronto get forward with Altidore but his angled shot is saved and collected by Robles.
43' CHANCE! The Red Bulls almost score again! A corner kick finds Chris Duvall at the back post and he nods it towards Wright-Phillips. The striker tries an overhead kick which is cleared off the line by Bradley.
Osorio finds Morrow out wide and the left back cuts the ball back to an onrushing Bradley who one-times it past Robles and gives Toronto a goal. 2-1 to the Red Bulls now.
41' GOAL! Toronto are back in this!
39' CHANCE! The Red Bulls could have wrapped this up in the first half. Royer plays the ball over the top for Wright-Phillips and Bono is caught in no man's land. Wright-Phillips chips the goalkeeper but his angles are all wrong and the ball rolls harmlessly out.
35' Kljestan finds Royer with a great pass from midfield but Royer is called back for offside. NYRB head coach Jesse Marsch asked his team to target Toronto's right flank and it's paying off.
Zavaleta actually tripped over his own feet as Royer closed him down which allowed the Red Bulls to get in and score their second. That was the second time a Toronto centre back had given the ball away cheaply deep in their own half and this time they are punished for it.
Eriq Zavaleta with an awful giveaway deep in his own half as Royer pressured him leaves Wright-Phillips one-on-one with Bono and the Englishman makes no mistake by chipping the goalkeeper for a cute finish.
31' GOAL! The Red Bulls are two-nil up!
26' SAVE! Kljestan puts a delivery right on Wright-Phillips' head and Bono stretches to make a huge save for Toronto. The resulting corner is cleared by TFC. A great save by Bono that to stop NYRB from getting a two-nil lead.
25' CHANCE! How many opportunities do Toronto need to level this game up? Osorio shifts and goes by a few Red Bulls defenders and tries to pick out a teammate in the box but his pass is cleared by the Red Bulls. Toronto have definitely had the better of the chances since the goal.
23' CHANCE! Another one goes begging for Toronto! Johnson slips Altidore through and the striker manages to hold off his defender and round Robles but he fires wide of the net.
20' The Red Bulls win the ball back quickly and work the ball well before Felipe's long range effort goes straight to Alex Bono.
17' CHANCE! Hamilton gets forward on the left hand side with numbers for Toronto forward and finds Jonathon Osorio but Osorio's touch fails him and he sends his shot wide from just inside the 6-yard box. Osorio really should have scored there.
16' Sacha Kljestan sends in a free-kick that finds the head of Aurélien Collin and Bradley has to be sharp to knock the ball out for a corner to prevent a second Red Bulls goal.
15' The Red Bulls pressured well and were first to the ball during that attack that led to their goal. Beitashour was unlucky but the cross from Felipe was fantastic.
Felipe sends the ball into Wright-Phillips who then works the ball back to Felipe. The midfielder squares the ball and Steven Beitashour ends up putting it into his own net. 0-1 to the Red Bulls.
12' GOAL! The Red Bulls take the lead!
10' Moor sends his clearance off of Royer and Bradley Wright-Phillips is in. The Toronto defenders recover well and block the shot from Wright-Phillips.
10' The ball goes back and forth but neither goalkeeper has been troubled yet.
8' The resulting corner from Michael Bradley is dealt with by the Red Bulls and they now push forward through Royer. That attack leads to nothing as well.
7' Hamilton get forward and again and squares the ball which eventually finds Marco Delgado. His effort is deflected out for a corner.
6' Another Toronto FC attack comes to an end when Jozy Altidore is called offside.
5' Will Johnson is fouled by Daniel Royer and the Red Bulls' attack ends.
4' Jordan Hamilton gets forward but a late offside flag stops the play.
2' Play stops for Morrow who collided wth the advertising boards.
1' Justin Morrow sends in a cross but Luis Robles snatches it out of the air.
And we're off! NYRB kick us off.
17:00 PM EST: We're minutes away from kick-off and both teams have completed their warm ups. BMO Field is slowly filling up as well on a warm Sunday afternoon with a good breeze coming in from Lake Ontario.
16:45 PM EST: A win for the Red Bulls clinches a playoff spot and could potentially wrap up the Eastern conference leader as well. Toronto just need a draw to confirm their playoff spot.
New York Red Bulls Starting XI: Robles; Lawrence, Perrinelle, Collin, Duvall; Davis, Felipe; Muyl, Kljestan, Royer; BWP.
Toronto FC Starting XI: Bono; Beitashour, Zavaleta, Moor, Morrow; Bradley; Delgado, Johnson; Osorio; Alitdore, Hamilton. (4-4-2 Diamond)
The official TFC line up is up and we will post the NYRB starting line up as soon as we get it.
16:20 PM EST: Good afternoon everyone! We're about 40 minutes away from kick-of in a bi Eastern conference match up between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls.
Check back later throughout the day as I will update with any news that comes about.
Toronto FC 2-0 New York Red Bulls.
Prediction: Toronto FC have been immense at home, only losing two of their twelve matches at BMO Field so far this season. It has propelled them to the top of the east and six points away from topping the MLS as a whole. A win against the Red Bulls will push them into the playoffs and also bring them closer to winning the MLS regular season. The Red Bulls however, are never an easy task and although they have only picked up two wins in fifteen on the road, they will give any team fits if the home side is not fully committed all throughout the match. With that said, TFC will not want to disappoint their home fans on what should be a warm Sunday afternoon and with news that Giovinco could return for this match, they will feel confident of picking up all three points.
The head coach for Toronto FC is Greg Vanney. On the other bench, Jesse Marsch is the head coach for the New York Red Bulls.
Robles; Duvall, Zubar, Collin, Lawrence; Felipe, Davis; Royer, Kljestan, Verón; Wright-Phillips.
Projected Lineup: New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1).
Bono; Beitashour, Zavaleta, Moor, Morrow; Cheyrou; Bradley, Johnson; Osorio; Altidore, Ricketss..
Projected Lineup: Toronto FC (4-4-2 Diamond).
Here is the projected lineup for both Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls.
The officiating crew for this match is led by center official Robert Sibiga. Assisting Sibiga on one side of the field will be Daniel Belleau, while Jeff Muschik will be on the opposite side of the field. The fourth official is listed as Geoff Gamble.
The match is being played at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada. Game time is scheduled for 5:00PM EST.
The two teams have met twice already in the regular season. Toronto picked up a good 2-0 win in March away to the Red Bulls but the New York side won the following match up at home in May by three goals to nil. On any given day, either side is able to completely dominate the other so the game this Sunday should be a great one for fans and neutrals alike, if past results are anything to go by.
In Bradley Wright-Phillips, NYRB have one of, if not the best, striker currently playing in the MLS. The Englishman can create goals out of nothing and also does not need many chances to put the ball into the back of the net. Wright-Phillips has managed 18 goals and five assists this season, also surpassing his mentor Thierry Henry as the Red Bulls highest scorer in July. In short, Wright-Phillips is lethal in the 18-yard area and will be key to anything the Red Bulls do against Toronto. Helping Wright-Phillips has been Sacha Kljestan who currently leads the MLS with 15 assists. Kljestan has had a majestic season so far and he will want to continue the good form that saw him get a call up to the national team of the US.
The away side on Sunday will be the New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls are two points away from Toronto and are coming off a three win in five run that sees them sitting third in the Eastern conference standings right now. The away side also had a midweek game at home against Alianza in the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage and will want to carry the momentum from that win into their match up this weekend.
The last match that Toronto played in was a 2-1 away win against the Chicago Fire. At home, Toronto have been a force to be reckoned with and they will need to be at their very best to continue their winning streak and beat out their Eastern conference rivals who will also believe that they can still finish on top of the conference.
If there is a weakness in Toronto, it's their back line. The defensive five have done well for the most part but they do concede some very sloppy goals and if they want to go far into the playoffs, goalkeeper Alex Bono and the four ahead of him need to step up their game and provide the right solidity for the team as the season reaches its pinnacle.
Another name that should be mentioned next to Toronto's star players is the performance of Benoit Cheyrou. The defensive midfielder will not get the plaudits that his attacking teammates will receive but he has been a key cog in Toronto's midfield and provided the perfect platform for those ahead of him to play consistently well throughout the season. Cheyrou's deep-lying play making abilities usually set the tone for Toronto and they will look to him to do the same this weekend against their opponents.
Toronto FC continues to push FC Dallas to finish on top of the standings and win the 2016 MLS Suporters Shield. The home team have had their key player, Seabastian Giovinco, help them reach the top of the Eastern conference. But the Italian is currently out due to injury so now the burden falls to US internationals Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley to steer the team through this next run of fixtures and finish the regular season on a high. A run of three wins in their most recent five games will certainly help them achieve that goal.
Hello there, and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of Major League Soccer! This matchup features Toronto FC who welcome the New York Red Bulls in a potential six-pointer in the race to top the Eastern conference. My name is Kudzi Musarurwa and I will be your host today!