“How good was Toronto FC? Simply put, this was, without question, the most complete and dominant performance in franchise history. That’s not hyperbole. That’s fact. That they did it at this hallowed sports cathedral [Yankee Stadium] and against one of the top teams in Major League Soccer only underlines how special of a night this was for the Canadian outfit.”
TORONTO – Yankee Stadium has staged some pretty memorable Major League Soccer games in its time, none more so, perhaps, than last season’s decisive match in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Up 2-0 from the first leg, Toronto FC marched into Yankee Stadium for the return game and absolutely mugged New York City FC, thrashing the club from the Bronx to the tune of 5-0 to book their spot in the conference final. It was a masterful performance by the Reds as they humbled and embarrassed NYCFC en route to a magical run to the MLS Cup final.
TFC returns to the site of their greatest triumph, albeit this time without the same stakes, on Wednesday night when they take on NYCFC in their first visit to Yankee Stadium since last November’s epic beat down.
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A veteran of 13 MLS seasons and having appeared in close to 350 regular season games, TFC defender Drew Moor fondly remembers that victory over NYCFC, specifically the intensity displayed by coach Greg Vanney and his teammates in the build-up.
“The week leading up to the game was some of the most focused, tactical preparations. All 11 guys who were starting, plus the entire roster, were so serious about that game. We knew the way New York would play, we knew they weren’t going to change, but Greg and the coaching staff and our players knew exactly how to execute our game plan, to counter them,” Moor recently told Sportsnet.
“It played out to such perfection that I was blown away. When I was on the field at Yankee Stadium and we were up 3-0, I was thinking this is surreal. They still wouldn’t change, and they were still playing right into our hands. I don’t want to say that it was just because of that, that was the reason why that performance was so good from us.
“It was because we executed brilliantly. We finished our chances, we were all over the place, and it was the best performance I’ve ever been a part of, but also as much as I’ve had in such a big game.”
It took the Reds only six minutes to open the scoring, with Sebastian Giovinco taking a pass from Jozy Altidore, spinning past New York defender Maxime Chanot and then beating goalkeeper Eirik Johansen with a hard shot at the near-post. Giovinco added a second goal in the 20th minute, converting from the penalty spot after being brought down inside the area.
“I thought if we could get the first goal, that a couple of things would happen for us. One, we’d put [NYCFC’s] belief in their ability to come back into question. Two, I felt like with the small field that they have there, if we can press in an organized way that we would make it very difficult for them,” Vanney recalled.
“I go back and watch that game as much as any game I’ve watched because I thought we were that good and that efficient at the little details.”
Altidore delivered the fatal blow 10 minutes later, collecting a pass from Eriq Zavaleta and blasting a powerful shot from a sharp angle inside the box that blew by Johansen. Altidore’s strike not only settled the series, but it sent droves of New York fans inside Yankee Stadium racing for the aisles in disgust.
“The TFC supporters were in amazing form. At times in that game, you couldn’t hear anything from the New York City fans, just us,” said former Toronto mayor David Miller, a die-hard TFC fan who was at the game.
“Some of the [New York] fans near us left after the third goal and immediately 400 or 500 [TFC fans] started singing, just instinctively, ‘Why are you leaving, is this a fire drill?’ Seeing us come out so well against world-class players like [Andrea] Pirlo and [Frank] Lampard and David Villa — the game was magic.”
Toronto didn’t let up. Giovinco turned provider shortly after the halftime break, slipping a ball into the box for substitute Will Johnson, who fed fellow Canadian Jonathan Osorio to finish it off. Giovinco completed his hat trick in injury time, going on a run down the right side before ripping a shot from outside the box that flashed past Johansen and nestled inside the far post.
“It was one after another, and at some point, the final result became beyond question. The guys never let off. They could have let off, but they never let off,” Vanney stated.
For general manager Tim Bezbatchenko, the win in New York was the end result of his hard work, and the work of many others within the organization, in taking a fledgling team that had not qualified for the playoffs through its first eight years in the league and transforming it into an MLS Cup contender.
“When we beat Philadelphia [in the previous playoff round] there was a sigh of relief. But this was about making a statement, and about seeing how good we could be. … It was exciting to see all come together. It could not have been any better,” Bezbatchenko stated.
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