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MLS: Ten-Man New York Cruise Past Toronto
Two weeks, two matchwinners from Mike Magee, and suddenly the up-and-down Red Bulls are the team no one in the East wants to face.
Aug 18, 2008 12:12:56 AM
New York Red Bulls 2 - 0 Toronto FC
Midseason renovations subsist on the hope that the newcomers will ignite the team from dying embers into a raging inferno. Rarely do the changes have the intended effect.
But New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio seems to have the touch. Last year, his August acquisitions while managing Chicago sparked the club's run to the playoffs and into the conference finals. Now he looks to have pulled off a similar feat with the Red Bulls, who were mired in last place just a month ago. Since South Americans Jorge Rojas, Gabriel Cichero, and Juan Pietrovallo have arrived, the entire side's level has risen dramatically, and on Sunday afternoon they posted their second straight win over an Eastern Conference rival.
First Half
As was the case in the New York's 4-1 thrashing of D.C. United, Mike Magee was the triggerman. The 23-year-old midfielder keeps maturing, and his creativity in midfield created the first chance for the home side.
Juan Pablo Angel, who has been re-energized with the arrival of the other South Americans, picked up the ball at the center circle. He beat one defender and played a give-and-go with Magee that put Angel through on goal. The Colombian striker did well to keep his balance under a challenge from Julius James, but Angel’s deft flick was saved well by sprawling TFC keeper Greg Sutton, who also managed to recover in time to block Dave Van Den Bergh’s rebound shot.
Two minutes later, Angel blazed a tricky, bouncing shot that forced Sutton into another save. Then, at the other end, Chad Barrett popped up to head a Laurent Robert freekick off the New York post. It was the only chance the Reds would muster in the first 45.
In the 37th minute, Magee and Angel again linked up, this time to deadly effect. And Angel didn’t even touch the ball. A long, clearance from Seth Stammler caught the TFC defense napping. At first, it appeared they would escape as Angel was in an offside position. But he held his run, and Magee took advantage of the slow-thinking Toronto backline, bounding past Marco Velez, and slammed his shot past Sutton into the lower left corner.
Second Half
Toronto, with just one win in their last 12 matches overall, channeled their desperation into their attack. Debutant Johann Smith, newly arrived from Bolton Wanderers, was inserted, with hopes that his world-class speed would cause problems.
But before Smith could power up his jets, New York caused problems for themselves. Seconds into the half, Cichero, playing in just his second MLS match, elbowed TFC striker Danny Dichio while the two battled for a high ball. The Venezuelan international was shown a straight red card by the referee, while Dichio, who recently returned from a concussion-related layoff, was attended to. TFC’s leading scorer was eventually replaced.
In the 51st minute, Smith beat the New York defense to a hopeful throughball, but when keeper Jon Conway rushed at him, Smith’s reflexive chip ultimately failed to find either the net or Barrett, who was wide open in the middle. In the 75th minute, Rohan Ricketts picked up a loose ball in the offensive third, rounded his man, and lashed a left-footed shot on target. But Conway was in position to make the save.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Angel put the game out of reach with his 7th goal on the season, and his fifth in the last five games. Rojas started the move, playing a pinpoint pass through to the streaking Dane Richards, who was making his return from injury. The speedy Jamaican ran at goal, drew Sutton out, and played a square ball to Angel for one of the easiest goals of his illustrious career.
The three points lift New York into a tie for fourth place with D.C. United, while Toronto drop to a tie for 6th place with Kansas City.
-- Goal.com
Midseason renovations subsist on the hope that the newcomers will ignite the team from dying embers into a raging inferno. Rarely do the changes have the intended effect.
But New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio seems to have the touch. Last year, his August acquisitions while managing Chicago sparked the club's run to the playoffs and into the conference finals. Now he looks to have pulled off a similar feat with the Red Bulls, who were mired in last place just a month ago. Since South Americans Jorge Rojas, Gabriel Cichero, and Juan Pietrovallo have arrived, the entire side's level has risen dramatically, and on Sunday afternoon they posted their second straight win over an Eastern Conference rival.
First Half
As was the case in the New York's 4-1 thrashing of D.C. United, Mike Magee was the triggerman. The 23-year-old midfielder keeps maturing, and his creativity in midfield created the first chance for the home side.
Juan Pablo Angel, who has been re-energized with the arrival of the other South Americans, picked up the ball at the center circle. He beat one defender and played a give-and-go with Magee that put Angel through on goal. The Colombian striker did well to keep his balance under a challenge from Julius James, but Angel’s deft flick was saved well by sprawling TFC keeper Greg Sutton, who also managed to recover in time to block Dave Van Den Bergh’s rebound shot.
Two minutes later, Angel blazed a tricky, bouncing shot that forced Sutton into another save. Then, at the other end, Chad Barrett popped up to head a Laurent Robert freekick off the New York post. It was the only chance the Reds would muster in the first 45.
In the 37th minute, Magee and Angel again linked up, this time to deadly effect. And Angel didn’t even touch the ball. A long, clearance from Seth Stammler caught the TFC defense napping. At first, it appeared they would escape as Angel was in an offside position. But he held his run, and Magee took advantage of the slow-thinking Toronto backline, bounding past Marco Velez, and slammed his shot past Sutton into the lower left corner.
Second Half
Toronto, with just one win in their last 12 matches overall, channeled their desperation into their attack. Debutant Johann Smith, newly arrived from Bolton Wanderers, was inserted, with hopes that his world-class speed would cause problems.
But before Smith could power up his jets, New York caused problems for themselves. Seconds into the half, Cichero, playing in just his second MLS match, elbowed TFC striker Danny Dichio while the two battled for a high ball. The Venezuelan international was shown a straight red card by the referee, while Dichio, who recently returned from a concussion-related layoff, was attended to. TFC’s leading scorer was eventually replaced.
In the 51st minute, Smith beat the New York defense to a hopeful throughball, but when keeper Jon Conway rushed at him, Smith’s reflexive chip ultimately failed to find either the net or Barrett, who was wide open in the middle. In the 75th minute, Rohan Ricketts picked up a loose ball in the offensive third, rounded his man, and lashed a left-footed shot on target. But Conway was in position to make the save.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Angel put the game out of reach with his 7th goal on the season, and his fifth in the last five games. Rojas started the move, playing a pinpoint pass through to the streaking Dane Richards, who was making his return from injury. The speedy Jamaican ran at goal, drew Sutton out, and played a square ball to Angel for one of the easiest goals of his illustrious career.
The three points lift New York into a tie for fourth place with D.C. United, while Toronto drop to a tie for 6th place with Kansas City.
-- Goal.com
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