Toronto FC will aim to bounce back from a gutting loss as they travel to face the New York Red Bulls on Saturday in Harrison, N.J.
Toronto (7-9-3, 24 points) on Wednesday took a 1-0 lead over visiting Nashville SC in the 34th minute behind Alonso Coello’s first MLS goal, but Sam Surridge scored in the 65th and 90th minutes as Nashville escaped with a 2-1 win to extend the Reds’ winless streak to five (0-3-2).
In the eyes of head coach John Herdman, some worrying trends Toronto looked to have resolved may be reemerging.
“I was proud of about 55-60 minutes tonight but that last 30 … just feels like old TFC is back,” Herdman said after the match. “We just wobble, we look unsure, we look timid. We look like we can score. But when we look like we can score, we look like they’re going to score the other way very quickly, and that’s a challenge.”
Toronto will now attempt to do what no other team has done this year: beat the Red Bulls at home. New York is 5-0-3 at home in 2024.
The Red Bulls (8-4-7, 31 points) return home after erasing a 2-0 deficit at CF Montreal, grabbing a 2-2 draw behind goals from Wikelman Carmona and Julian Hall. New York, according to head coach Sandro Schwarz, showed dominant stretches throughout the match despite falling behind, eventually rescuing a road point through Hall’s late tally.
“I’m not frustrated (with the result) because I want (us) to play like we are dominant. When you want to be successful, you need these moments to be dominant, and this is what we have to learn,” Schwarz said.
Hall, just 16 years old, became the second-youngest goal-scorer in MLS history with his 88th-minute equalizer against Montreal, almost immediately after entering as an 87th-minute substitute.
Toronto, on top of its absences due to Copa America, will be without Tyrese Spicer for the next six weeks due to a back injury, per Herdman.
Spicer, the first overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, has 13 appearances and 10 starts, posting two goals and two assists.
–Field Level Media
