2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 21
Toronto FC vs. New York City FC
Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium – East Hartford
October 28 – 7:30 PM ET
TV: TSN 1/4/5
STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US
LOCAL TV: YES
Toronto FC are looking to rebound from a lopsided defeat to the Philadelphia Union in which they surrendered the Supporters' Shield lead when they take on a New York City FC, which clinched a berth in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Tuesday, when the Eastern Conference foes square off in East Hartford Wednesday night.
Toronto (12W-3L-5D) had a nine-match unbeaten streak snapped with a 5-0 loss to the Union at Subaru Park Saturday, while NYCFC (9W-8L-3D) snapped a three-match winless run with a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Impact at Yankee Stadium.
This is the third regular season meeting, with Toronto FC claiming a pair of 1-0 victories, but NYCFC defeated the Reds 3-1 in the MLS is Back Tournament Round of 16 in July.
Toronto FC
In a first-place clash, a shorthanded Toronto FC were always second best Saturday night and despite a rash of injuries that forced Greg Vanney to plug holes, the coach wasn't looking for excuses in his post-match press conference following a heavy defeat that now have them chasing the Union for the Shield.
"It was wrong from start to finish," Vanney said. "We weren't close to them the entire night, really. We weren't in good spots for each other, we weren't clear in terms of the stepping out in how we were going to defend, we couldn't put passes together. And they were just at a different speed than we were on the night, that's for sure.
"So part of it is just we need to put it behind us. But part of it is we also need to recognize it's just a reminder of the time of year. You physically have got to be ready to compete and battle and fight for balls and win tackles and all of those things first and foremost, and then you can play. You've got to be strong when you're holding up the ball, the ball has to move a lot quicker. A lot of that stuff has to happen, and tonight it didn't. Yeah, we were missing some guys, but guys had the opportunity to step in and try to show that this time of year they might be able to help us, and we just from start to finish it was never right."
Injuries are piling up for TFC. Already without Jozy Altidore, Pablo Piatti will be out for a "couple of weeks" with a Grade 2 calf strain, Vanney said on Tuesday.
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Achara (M) - ACL injury
- OUT: Jozy Altidore (F) - hamstring strain
- OUT: Alex Bono (GK) - dislocated finger
- OUT: Pablo Piatti (M) - Grade 2 calf strain
- QUESTIONABLE: Chris Mavinga (D) - undisclosed injury
- QUESTIONABLE: Jonathan Osorio (M) - undisclosed injury
- QUESTIONABLE: Ayo Akinola (F) - undisclosed injury
- QUESTIONABLE: Marky Delgado (M) - undisclosed injury
- Suspended: Auro Jr. (D)
- Suspended after next caution: Pablo Piatti (M)
- International duty: None
New York City FC
Maxi Moralez returned to the NYCFC starting lineup and, despite missing regular starters Taty Castellanos and Maxime Chanot to a yellow card-accumulation suspension, the Cityzens finally broke through after the hour mark to score three times in an 18-minute span to defeat the Impact in the Bronx. It was also particularly impressive considering Ronny Deila had to scramble his starting XI after an NYCFC player tested positive for COVID-19.
On Tuesday, NYCFC booked their postseason berth when Nashville SC defeated the Montreal Impact, 1-0, at Red Bull Arena.
“It says a lot of the group. It was an amazing performance. Really, really good," Deila said after the match. "We were solid from the first minute to the last minute. The first goal was important. We get the first by a great attack and we just kept on pressing and running and playing and we got [goals] two and three. That was a really, really good performance. Just very impressed by the boys.”
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Gedion Zelalem (M) - knee injury
- OUT: Tayvon Gray (D) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: Heber (F) - ACL injury
- OUT: James Sands (M) - fractured right foot
- OUT: Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (M) - undisclosed injury
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: Anton Tinnerholm (D)
- International duty: None
Series Matchup at Toronto FC
- Toronto FC: 3 wins, 12 goals
- NYCFC: 2 wins, 6 goals
- 1 draw
Officials
- Referee: Nima Saghafi
- Assistant Referees: Jose da Silva, Tiffin Turpin
- 4th Official: Adam Kilpatrick
- VAR: Sorin Stoica
