This was ugly.
Toronto FC dropped a 3-0 decision to the New York Red Bulls in New Jersey on Saturday night, with all three goals coming from Bradley Wright-Phillips in the opening 27 minutes—the worst 27 minutes of the season from the Reds by a wide margin.
Toronto played the entire second half a man up after Gonzalo Veron earned a red card in the 43rd minute for a two-footed tackle on Marky Delgado. But TFC couldn’t take advantage, as they barely tested Red Bulls goalkeeper Louis Robles.
Here are my three main thoughts on the match…
’A HORROR SHOW FOR TORONTO FC’
“It’s just a horror show for Toronto FC,” Sportsnet commentator Gerry Dobson observed at one point in the first half during the broadcast. He wasn’t wrong.
Aside from the 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps earlier this month, this was easily Toronto’s worst outing and performance of the MLS campaign.
All three goals they conceded were incredibly soft. The usually reliable Drew Moor had a poor night in the centre of defence. Toronto couldn’t make the most of the man advantage, as they were slow in their movement and pedestrian in the way they circulated the ball in the second half.
TFC was given a lifeline just after the break when Daniel Lovitz earned a penalty. Will Johnson converted from the spot, but was forced to retake it after Mo Babouli was called for encroachment. Having beat Robles to his left the first time, Johnson decided to go to the goalkeeper’s right for the second attempt. But it was poorly taken, and Robles came up with the save. It was just one of those nights for Toronto.
More worrying is how the team completely fell apart without Sebastian Giovinco. The Italian forward had to be subbed off after only 22 minutes with an abductor injury. Toronto only trailed 1-0 at that point, but within five minutes of Giovinco’s departure they were down by three, the game completely getting away from them without the mercurial Italian.
A horror show, indeed.
INDIVIDUAL MISTAKES KILLED THE REDS
Drew Moor and Justin Morrow did not cover themselves in glory on this night.
Moor, TFC’s defensive captain, was slow to shuffle over to pick up Wright-Phillips after he too easily peeled away from Morrow off a corner kick to nod home New York’s first goal.
On New York’s second goal, Moor didn’t close down the New York forward inside the box, giving him far too much space and time on the ball. Wright-Phillips made Moor pay the ultimate price, slipping a shot through the defender’s legs and inside the near-post past Clint Irwin.
On the third goal, Morrow was very lax in allowing Sacha Kljestan to beat him to a ball played into the box. One touch later, Wright-Phillips found the ball at his feet, and he quickly shot past Irwin as Moor tried in vain to block it.
All three goals were soft, and simply came down to poor marking by Toronto, as they made things incredibly easy for the Red Bulls on the night.
TFC TRENDING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION
Toronto’s solid start to the season—a 3-3-2 record over the first eight games, all of them away from home—seems like ages ago.
The Reds have taken just two out of a possible 12 points in their last four matches, conceding eight times and being shut out themselves twice during that same run. That’s simply not good enough.
Opposing teams were rarely able to open things up against Toronto at the start of the season. Never once were they played off the park. They were in every one of those eight games. They established a firm tactical identity, focusing on defensive organization and being a side that’s tough to break down.
TFC have got away from that identity in their last four outings. They’ve become the antithesis of what they were during that eight-game road stretch: a soft touch, prone to defensive miscues, and easily carved open at the back.
Maybe it’s unfair to be too outraged over this one result. Toronto was, after all, missing designated players Michael Bradley (away with the U.S. national team) and Jozy Altidore (hamstring injury). And then they had to play the majority of the match without Giovinco.
But there’s no denying that TFC is trending in the wrong direction at the moment.
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