HARRISON, N.J. – The stars were out, but a happy homecoming was not in the cards for two former MetroStars/Red Bulls.
With Toronto FC's Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, both born New Jersey, looking to make an impact against their former squad, frustration quickly set in as the two worked in futility to get something going on the night.
“I thought we started in a fairly solid way," Bradley said. “They made some plays in front of goal tonight. And over the course of 90 [minutes] we weren’t able to put the game on our terms.”
New York’s well-documented high press caused Toronto issues on the night, as the visitors struggled to gain any cohesiveness in the midfield. The result saw MVP front-runner Sebastian Giovinco isolated up top for the majority of the evening, as the Red Bulls effectively contained him.
“There were outlets, we just didn’t find them,” Toronto head coach Greg Vanney explained after the match. “It’s about recognizing the passes that they jump. Every time we’re playing a forward pass, they’re pressing it and forcing it backwards and they’re moving forwards. We turned over some balls and I think a lot of teams turn over balls against them.”
“We knew what to expect,” Bradley added. “The game looked exactly how we thought it would.”
Regardless, Toronto could not cope with New York’s midfield on the night.
The match also saw the debut of former USMNT forward Herculez Gomez, who saw 20 minutes of action in his first appearance for Toronto FC. And while he was able make “an instant impact,” as his coach described, it was not enough to help his team climb back into the game.
“For a good 10, 15 minutes, we were taking it to them. The tides were turning, so it’s frustrating," Gomez said. "[Red Bulls head coach] Jesse [Marsch] has them buying into a certain style, so that’s always a tough team to play when everyone buys into that. But it wasn’t like they had a lot of buildup and beat us that way. They beat us on our mistakes, plain and simple.
“A team that constantly presses like that should be getting tired around the 60th, 70th minute, but they weren’t because we were constantly turning the ball over.”
