TFC beats NYCFC to reach Eastern Conference final - Toronto Sun

NEW YORK — At the home of the New York Mets, New York City FC met its match against Toronto FC on Wednesday night.

The Reds played an outstanding road game at Citi Field against NYCFC, the top MLS team in the Eastern Conference this season, coming away with a hard-fought 2-1 victory on a 90th-minute penalty kick goal by midfield whiz Alejandro Pozuelo.

The Reds had a lot going against them leading up to the match. NYCFC was rested, playing at home and Toronto was coming off a 120-minute, extra-time victory over D.C. United only last Saturday. But the Reds rose to the occasion, running their MLS unbeaten streak to 12 games.

“We’ve played on as many big days in the last few years as any team in this league and we have guys who understand what these nights are all about and it showed,” TFC captain Michael Bradley said.

The winning goal came about when Richie Laryea, who was substituted into the match in the 78th minute, was taken down by NYCFC’s Ronald Matarrita in the penalty area.

Pozuelo beat New York goalkeeper Sean Johnson on the subsequent penalty kick with a chip shot down the middle to give his team the win and a spot in the MLS Eastern Conference final next week.

The previous time TFC and NYCFC met, on Sept. 11 at Yankee Stadium, Pozuelo scored on a PK and Johnson made a save on him on another.

Toronto native Laryea also came off the bench against D.C. United last Saturday and scored, posting two huge games in post-season action as a substitute.

“When guys are tired, he’s a disaster to have to deal with and he did what he’s done so many times this year, which is eliminate guys and drive to the end line and get himself in position to cross,” TFC coach Greg Vanney said about Laryea.

Toronto ’keeper Quentin Westberg made a huge save late to preserve the win for TFC.

Pozuelo also scored in the 47th minute, a result of some very poor play in the defensive end by New York. TFC defender Auro put a ball in towards the NYCFC goal and Blues defender Maxime Chanot tried to head it back to his goalkeeper. Instead, he headed it to Pozuelo in the box and the Spaniard easily put it home.

Pozuelo has essentially played back-to-back pro seasons (Belgian League and then MLS), but he has fought through fatigue to be the leader of the his club in the post-season. Pozuelo created four scoring chances and had four shots on goal, leading the Reds in both categories.

“His ability in the attacking part of the field to make plays is amazing,” Bradley said. “And obviously (Wednesday night) when things are going a million miles an hour (on a small pitch) we need him to be able to slow it down and have the composure to make plays that make a difference.”

After Pozuelo’s first goal, NYCFC turned the flow of the match in their favour and tied it in the 69th minute after a perfect cross from Maximiliano Moralez to Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, who was left unattended to the left of Westberg. Tajouri-Shradi had no trouble finding the open net.

“We did that last week, we gave up a goal in the final seconds of the game and those can really kick you in the gut,” Vanney said. “But the guys re-grouped and again we found a way to settle the game down.”

For the second straight playoff match, forward Jozy Altidore (quad strain) and centre back Omar Gonzalez (strained hamstring) — both huge cogs in the TFC machine — were not in the starting lineup, though Gonzalez was on the bench to start the game. Altidore did not dress.

“Jozy’s getting there. He’s been able to get his high-speed running, all that stuff, up to where we’re comfortable. But he still hasn’t really been able to shoot and unleash shots. Giving us six, seven more days (before the Eastern Conference final) is huge. We’re very optimistic we’ll get him there,” Vanney said. “Omar was available if we needed him (Wednesday) to close out the game. He was ready, if push came to shove.”

NYCFC finished first overall in the Eastern Conference this season and received a first-round bye in the playoffs. Wednesday’s match represented New York’s first competitive match in 18 days while TFC played 120 minutes on Saturday, defeating D.C. United 5-1 in extra time. TFC certainly didn’t look fatigued on Wednesday, dominating the first half.

TFC’s Chris Mavinga, playing without his usual centre back partner Gonzalez, had a very strong game despite NYCFC scoring in the second half.

TFC plays the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal between Philadelphia and Atlanta, being played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday night.

“Throughout the game, these past two (playoff) games, a lot of different guys in different moments have had key roles and that’s the depth of our group,” said Westberg, who joined the Reds early this season. “I know that coming into (Toronto) we heard a lot about 2016 and 2017, and now the new guys want to bring something to the equation. Last year was a little hard on everyone (missing the playoffs) and we needed to re-set and now we’re a different style, a different team.

“But at the same time we’ve shown our strength in these moments … with the guys who have been there all these years. As much as we have our limits, we have a lot of heart and we’re out here on a mission.”

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October 24, 2019 at 10:19AM