Toronto FC draws the New York Red Bulls to stay unbeaten in seven
By Mark Shannon
Toronto FC comes close to winning their seventh straight, but settle for a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls.
They were a foot, a foot away from winning their seventh straight. Toronto would take the lead late in the game, but have the goal called back due to Raheem Edwards being in an offside position when the ball was played through. Toronto was that close to stealing one late in the game again, but they had another chance to go ahead when Jozy Altidore stepped up to the spot but was stopped by Luis Robles. Yes, they didn’t tie the record with seven wins in a row, there’s still a lot to take from this game. Toronto takes another point on the road with their third draw away from home this season.
Toronto is still unbeaten in seven games and they have only allowed 12 goals through the first 13 games of the season and that’s good for third in the MLS. They’ll be in tough next game against the Columbus Crew as both Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore out, the latter picking up his fifth yellow of the season and a suspension to go along with it. Toronto will now get set for a midweek Canadian Champions Cup match against the Ottawa Fury before the Columbus match next Friday night.
Player That Stood Out
It was a wide-open affair for most of the night, but the best player on the pitch was Chris Mavinga. He was rock solid on the backline making key tackles when they needed to be made. His MLS career started out awful with his performance against Atlanta, he has now followed that up with four straight solid performances and is showing TFC fans why Toronto went out and brought him over from Europe this off-season.
Three Keys to The Game
Controlling the game once again.
That’s been a staple for Toronto throughout the season, showing they can boss the game with whoever is out on the pitch. It was a choppy, yet wide open affair for most of the night, but the insertion of Raheem Edwards and Benoit Cheyrou seemed to invigorate Toronto and wound up leading to the tying goal and almost the win as Toronto had multiple chances to take the lead including Ricketts rocket off the crossbar.
Strong in defense
Toronto has one of the deepest teams in the MLS right now, and they’re showing it at both ends of the pitch. Defensively, however has been their strongest point this season. They have allowed only 12 goals this season and have been hard to break down, on the road, or at home. Chris Mavinga has stepped up and provided solid defence and has made up for his bad start to his MLS career.
Victor Vazquez
Much has been made of the Spaniard, but game in and game out the guy impresses and last night was no exception. His creativity and ability to wiggle out of spaces makes him just that more special. His ability to get out of a tight spot to send the ball out wide to Steven Beitashour led to the Toronto FC goal. His lovely little chipped ball over the top of the defense to Tosaint Ricketts led to a beautiful chance only for Ricketts to hit the crossbar. He’s been a wonderful addition to the team and he’s been the missing piece to the puzzle for Toronto for years.
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Toronto returns home next Friday for another Eastern Conference clash against the Columbus Crew.