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Toronto FC losses second straight MLS game against New York City FC

Learn about Toronto FC, who have dropped their second-straight game against New York City FC. Jesús Medina scored the game-winning goal.
Toronto FC MLS

East Hartford, Connecticut — Toronto FC Supporters’ Shield hopes are now slim as the club lost their second-straight game against New York City FC.

NYCFC was the better team as they dominated most of the game. As a result, they come up with a win on the road in Hartford with a 0-1 victory over Toronto.

New York City FC wins second straight against Toronto FC

Three keys to the game

New York City FC had the majority of the possession and scoring chances

NYCFC dominated most of the game against Toronto FC. NYCFC had more than 60 percent of the possession in the first half. They also had 15 shots with six of them hitting the target. The game started with a bang for NYCFC as Gary Mackay thought he scored. The call though was called offside and it remained 0-0.

Keaton Parks then had a glorious chance to score but missed the target in the 11th minute. Valentin Castellanos also had a good chance to score in the 21st minute. He would have another chance in the 29th minute, but ended up missing the net.

However, the pressure of NYCFC ended up paying dividends in the second half. Castellanos’ shot was saved, but Jesús Medina was there for the rebound to score the game-winning goal.

It was a mistake by Quentin Westberg, who gave up the big rebound for Medina. However, Westberg was playing quite well to this point, and there was no defender for Toronto close to Medina. It seemed inevitable though that NYCFC was going to score. Furthermore, Tony Gallacher’s poor header in the 74th minute, resulted in Medina getting a golden scoring opportunity.

Unfortunately, for NYCFC, Medina was unable to capitalize. Castellanos also had a chance to score in the 77th minute, but his shot was stopped by Westberg.

Toronto FC did not capitalize on their chances

Toronto FC had a few chances to score in this game. First, Nick DeLeon tried to score in the 10th minute but missed the net. Then in the 22nd minute, Justin Morrow had a chance to score but missed the net. DeLeon had a chance to score as his incredible strike hit the crossbar in the 45+1st minute.

Michael Bradley also had a chance in the 53rd minute, but his shot missed the target. As one might have read, Toronto did not have a shot on target. It is very hard to win a goal without a shot on goal, although NYCFC’s defense also played a role in that.

Good defense by New York City FC

NYCFC played extremely well defensively. Toronto had seven shots, with three of them getting blocked. The most notable one was in the 8th minute when Justin Morrow’s shot was blocked by Maxime Chanot.

Chanot also intercepted an Alejandro Pozuelo pass that could have easily resulted in a goal for Toronto in the 70th minute. Then in the 85th minute, the NYCFC defense stepped up big time. They would make two consecutive blocks to shots of both Jayden Nelson and Bradley.

Other factors

All too often, Toronto FC made too many mistakes and gave the ball away including the 24th minute. Toronto made too many mistakes in their defensive end of the ball. Some examples include the 64th minute where Tsubasa Endoh’s pass to Quentin Westberg was almost intercepted by NYCFC. A lot of these turnovers could have ended in the back of the net and Toronto looked second-best.

If it were not for Westberg and NYCFC’s missed chances, the game would not have been close.

Toronto FC vs. New York City FC game overview

Also, to cut some slack for Toronto, they have several players currently injured. This includes having no Ayo Akinola, Jonathan Osorio, Jozy Altidore and Pablo Piatti. As one can tell Toronto was not playing well in the midfield, where Osorio could have made a difference. Furthermore, Pozuelo had limited options for players to pass to as Altidore, Akinola and Piatti are all currently injured.

However, that does not change the fact that Toronto’s chances of winning the Supporters’ Shield are not good right now. With two straight losses, including one against the Philadelphia Union, they are now three points behind the Union for the Supporters’ Shield lead.

Furthermore, the Union has a +23 goal differential while Toronto only has a +7 goal differential. This means that TFC will most likely need to get four more points than the Union with only two games left in the MLS season for both teams.

Toronto FC will play against Inter Miami CF on Sunday for their last regular-season game in Hartford. They will then play at Red Bull Arena on Nov. 8 against the New York Red Bulls to end their 2020 MLS season.

This is while NYCFC will also face the Red Bulls on Sunday. NYCFC is currently four points ahead of rivals the Red Bulls. A win or tie against the Red Bulls would mean NYCFC would finish above their rivals the Red Bulls in the 2020 MLS season. They will then travel to Soldier Field for their final MLS regular-season game on Nov. 8 against the Chicago Fire.

 

 

Embed from Getty Images

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