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Toronto FC dominated York United FC with a 4-0 win

Toronto FC Jonathan Osorio shot is saved at BMO Field

TORONTO, ON – Yesterday, Toronto FC dominated the game and was the best team from start to finish. They did not allow York United FC to get many scoring opportunities. TFC also had the majority of the scoring opportunities. Both of those points played a big role in Toronto getting the win over York. This is the first time two first-division teams representing the Greater Toronto Area faced each other since 1992.

Toronto FC dominated in huge win over York United FC

Three keys to the game

Jacob Shaffelburg was the best player of the game

Jacob Shaffelburg played a key role in TFC winning the game. His cross passes for example opened the game right open and exposed York United FC’s defensive frailties.

This play started with Auro Jr. passing it to Michael Bradley, He would then pass the ball to Richie Laryea. Laryea did a good job of finding Shaffelburg. Shaffelburg then delivered a great cross pass to Jonathan Osorio. Osorio was unmarked, which was York’s fault. However, Osorio still had to deliver, and his header was a beauty, making it almost impossible for Nathan Ingham (who had a good game) to make the save.

The second goal was another team play goal. However, the two main catalysts for this goal were Shaffelburg and Ifunanyachi Achara. Achara timed his run perfectly with Shaffelburg and put the ball into the back of the net.

In fact, Shaffelburg could have had three assists. In the 72-minute, he gave another excellent cross, this time to Yeferson Soteldo. However, York goalkeeper Nathan Ingham made an excellent save to keep the game at a two-goal TFC advantage at the time.

Toronto FC had the majority of the chances in the game

This was probably the biggest reason why TFC won the game. They had 19 shots with 11 of them being on target. Once a team dominates a game that much, it makes it virtually almost impossible for the other team to catch up.

An indication of this was from the 11 to the 16-minute, where TFC had three shots and two of them on target. This factor would come to bite York later in the game.

In the 84-minute, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty was fouled and gave his team a penalty late in the game. Yeferson Soteldo then stepped up. He made the goalkeeper guess the other way and converted the penalty perfectly.

This was fantastic teamwork between Michael Bradley and Noble Okello. Bradley made a perfect crisp pass to Okello. He was all alone with York goalkeeper Ingham and ended up putting the ball into the back of the net.

It is important that Toronto had the previous five shots before they scored their third and fourth goals of the game. This made it difficult for the Nine Stripes, who were already down by two goals.

York United FC did not generate many scoring opportunities

This was touched upon in the last point, but York could not generate any opportunities when they were defending for most of the game. They had six shots, but only one of them was on target. However, the other reason is that York was not able to break down Toronto’s defence.

Here are two examples that York had trouble getting past Toronto’s defence.

  • In the 63-minute, Nine Stripes player Abzi had trouble getting past TFC’s defence.
  • Chris Mavinga made a terrific defensive play in the 79-minute. York was in a three-on-one advantage, but Mavinga made a vital interception, which might have ended up with a York goal.

York really had trouble breaking Toronto’s defence. Yes, the Nine Stropes is a CPL team. However, this does not take anything away from Toronto. They finally got a clean sheet and will be heading back into MLS action with confidence.

Toronto FC dominated York United FC overview

Yes, TFC spends a lot of money on their players. However, they have also quietly been developing players from behind the scenes. Before the season began, Raheem Bashir outlined Marshall-Rutty as a player to watch. He was the one who drew the penalty that resulted in Soteldo’s goal. Shaffelburg was the player of the game while Okello scored a goal against York.

The Canadian Championship is now Toronto’s season. It will be very hard for them to get a playoff spot in MLS. So, getting some hardware may help them in the future. This is while York could still do something special in the Canadian Premier League this year. They are currently fourth in the league right now, which is the last playoff spot in the CPL.

The next TFC game will be against the Colorado Rapids at 8:00 p.m. ET. They will face the Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on September 25 in Commerce City, Colorado. The COL-TOR game will be on Altitude. They will then host FC Cincinnati on September 29 at 7:00 p.m. ET at BMO Field. This game will be shown on Star64. Additionally, the next two TFC games will be shown nationally in Canada on TSN.

Toronto will also play Pacific FC (based in Langford, which is in Greater Victoria). Pacific FC won on the road yesterday against Cavalry FC in the Canadian Championship. They also eliminated MLS-side the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship.

This is while York’s next two games will be at home at York Lions Stadium. Both games will be shown on OneSoccer and on Telus. Keep in mind that these games on Telus can only be seen in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec according to OneSoccer. They will face Valour FC (based in Winnipeg) on September 26 and the HFX Wanderers FC (based in Halifax) on October 3. Winnipeg and Halifax are both right behind York, so a win against both teams would greatly improve York’s chances of getting a CPL playoff spot.

Photo credit to CPL by David Chant on September 22, 2021

 

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