April 29, 2008 MLS Toronto FC vs New York Red Bulls pregame guide (from MLSnet.com)
04/29/2008 6:18PM
TFC looks to stay hot vs. Red Bulls
Home field key as Toronto meets hungry New York
MLSnet.com Staff
TORONTO FC vs. NEW YORK RED BULLS
BMO FIELD, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May 1, 2008 | 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
WEEK # 6 | GAME # 36
One of the hottest teams in the early going of the MLS season, Toronto FC face their next big challenge when the New York Red Bulls come calling on ESPN MLS Primetime Thursday. TFC has won three games in a row - a club-record winning streak - and hasn't allowed a goal in 3-1/2 hours. The Red Bulls come into the game off a 2-0 home victory against the San Jose Earthquakes, their first since a season-opening win against the Columbus Crew, which was also at Giants Stadium.
REFEREE: Abbey Okulaja. SAR (bench): Thomas Supple; JAR (opposite): Daniel Belleau; 4th: Mauricio Navarro
MLS Career: 74 games; FC/gm: 29.4; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 11; pens: 20
INJURY REPORT: TORONTO FC - NONE REPORTED ... NEW YORK RED BULLS - OUT: MF David Roth (L knee surgery); DF Michael Palacio (L knee injury); FW Oscar Echeverry (R knee LCL sprain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Juan Pablo Angel (L hamstring strain); DF Kevin Goldthwaite (lower back strain); PROBABLE: MF Dane Richards (R MCL tear)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (3 meetings): Toronto FC 1 win, 3 goals ... Red Bulls 2 wins, 6 goals ... Ties 0
AT BMO FIELD (2 meetings): Toronto FC 1 win, 3 goals ... Red Bulls 1 win, 3 goals ... Ties 0
• This is the first of three meetings between the teams this year, the only one set for BMO Field. They will next meet on Aug. 17 at Giants Stadium, concluding their season series Oct. 4 at the Meadowlands.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
6/6: TOR 1, NY 2 (Cunningham 22 - Angel 69, 71)
8/12: NY 3, TOR 0 (Angel 24; Altidore 50, 63)
10/4: TOR 2, NY 1 (Edu 18; own goal 66 - Richards 75)
• The Red Bulls won the season series between the teams last season, winning two of the three encounters, though they split the two matches in Ontario. The Red Bulls won the first two games before TFC came back for the victory in the series finale.
• Coaches record: John Carver v RSL: first game ... Juan Carlos Osorio vs. TOR: P1 W1 L0 D0
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC won for a third consecutive weekend, getting a pair of goals from Amado Guevara for a 2-0 victory against the Kansas City Wizards last Saturday at BMO Field. The Reds now have nine points from five matches, still in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind MLS overall leader Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
• Toronto FC came into the match having won back-to-back games for just the second time ever, while the Kansas City Wizards had started their six-game road swing with a victory in Chicago the weekend before.
• Guevara had made an impact in his first two games with TFC, wins against the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, and the Honduran international was the hero yet again. In the 56th minute, Marvell Wynne set off on a mazy run down the right, though he was stopped in the K.C. penalty area. But an attempted clearance bounced off one defender and back toward the Wizards goal -- right to Guevara, who turned it home while all alone in front of goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
• If there was some question about the first goal, there was none about the second. After a foul set up a free kick some 20 yards straight out from goal, Guevara curled the ball perfectly over the bar and off the inside of the left-hand post, the second goal in as many matches directly from a free kick for TFC.
• It was the first time in Toronto FC club history a player had scored twice in one match and it led to the first three-game winning streak in club history. In the inaugural season for the Reds, they didn't win their third game until June 2.
• Toronto FC head coach John Carver made no changes to the team that defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 the Saturday before at BMO Field.
• Here's Carver's team (4-4-1-1): Greg Sutton - Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Marco Velez, Jim Brennan - Rohan Ricketts (Todd Dunivant 78), Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Laurent Robert (Jarrod Smith 83) - Amado Guevara - Danny Dichio (Jeff Cunningham 65). Substitutes Not Used: Brian Edwards, Kevin Harmse, Julius James, Olivier Tebily
• "I thought we created all the chances in the first half, and we started the second half well. We stayed strong again and dealt with it. And I think the fans are starting to think this is a fortress, they keep singing "this is our house" well, it is. And I want to make that known to everybody that when teams come here they're going to find it difficult," Carver said.
TEAM NEWS
• For the second week in a row, Toronto scored a free kick goal. The week before, it was Laurent Robert against Real Salt Lake; from a nearly identical position, Guevara scored his first in his return to MLS.
• "The same thing happened last week," Guevara said. "We had a discussion looking at who has the best angle to take the shot. Last week we decided that Laurent had the best shot on goal. This week we both looked at the position of the ball and decided that I had the best angle. So I took it and thankfully the ball went to the right place." Said Carver: "I actually thought Laurent was going to take it. But this is why I give players the responsibility. They decide, they're in the situation, they know who feels good and on this occasion Amado fancied it."
• The Reds have now not allowed a goal in 212 minutes - perhaps a modest shutout streak, but still currently the longest in club history.
• "Again, a pleasing result and especially - and I might sound a little bit negative here - but especially the fact that we kept another clean sheet right at the death thanks to Greg Sutton, because that was a match-winning save for us, for me. The fact that he makes that save was crucial," said Carver.
• TFC paid special attention to Wizards playmaker Claudio Lopez, doing much to limit his influence on the game, especially from the central midfield duo of Carl Robinson and Maurice Edu. They will face a similar threat this week in Red Bulls midfielder Claudio Reyna.
• "We put in a few challenges on him and it upset him," Robinson said. "He's a fantastic player and we knew we had to stop him today and we did. We knew they had to stop Amado today and they couldn't do it. So that's why we won the game."
• The Reds could add some fresh legs to the lineup this week with first-round MLS SuperDraft pick Julius James back to match fitness after a shoulder injury and defender Olivier Tebily officially signed after several weeks of training with the team.
• "It's good now because we're sitting here talking about players coming into the team," Carver said. "That tells you something about the strength we've tried to add to the club.
• Still, with the play of Guevara in the underneath forward role and the addition of Robert and Rohan Ricketts in wide attacking midfield roles, there hasn't been room for Jeff Cunningham. Fourth in MLS history with 97 career league goals, Cunningham has come on as a substitute in the last three matches, playing 51 minutes in all, after starting the first two.
• "There's been rumors out there about him being traded. That's not coming from me," Carver said. "When Jeff's ready to be traded I'll tell you, and I'll tell him first. But as it stands at the moment Jeff's a big part of this club, and what I want to build. He's just got to be patient."
NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls returned to their winning ways, getting a pair of late goals for a 2-0 victory Sunday afternoon against the San Jose Earthquakes at Giants Stadium. The Red Bulls have seven points from four matches, sitting in sixth place in the tightly congested Eastern Conference, two points behind Toronto FC and five out of first place.
LAST MATCH
• The Red Bulls had followed a season-opening win with a loss and a draw, while the reborn Earthquakes were coming off their first victory since their return to the league, following a pair of losses.
• Just it went it seemed as if the game might dissipate into a draw. Jozy Altidore took over. First, in the 79th minute, the 18-year-old went on a rampaging run at the Quakes defense and was tripped by Ryan Cochrane just after crossing into the area. Mike Magee stepped up and converted the resulting penalty, his first goal since since July 22, 2006.
• Then Altidore sealed the win five into time added on. A long throw-in from the right was allowed to bounce around the San Jose area and Altidore was able to quickly bring it down and turn, putting a shot off the right-hand post and into the goal for his second on the season.
• Red Bulls boss Juan Carlos Osorio made two changes to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with the New England Revolution the weekend before. Luke Sassano came back in on the right of midfield as Chris Leitch returned to the back three, Carlos Mendes returning to the substitutes' bench. With Juan Pablo Angel sidelined, John Wolyniec partnered Jozy Altidore in attack.
• Here's Osorio's team (3-4-1-2): Jon Conway - Chris Leitch, Jeff Parke, Kevin Goldthwaite (Carlos Mendes 75) - Luke Sassano, Seth Stammler, Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Mike Magee 46), Dave van den Bergh (Danleigh Borman 72) - Claudio Reyna - Jozy Altidore, John Wolyniec. Substitutes Not Used: Eric Brunner, Hunter Freeman, Chris Megaloudis, Zach Thornton
• "I am pleased with the result and what pleases me the most is we managed to keep a clean sheet with a good response in the second half to individual players that I had something to say at halftime about," Osorio said. "In the end over the 90 minutes, we were the better team with the better options and we deserved three points and we start preparing for Thursday's game."
TEAM NEWS
• For the second week in a row, Altidore was the difference-maker for the Red Bulls. Shackled for most of the first 75 minutes, he created the first goal, winning the penalty kick, then bagged one for himself at the end.
• "I think that they tried to frustrate him and they were doing a good job at it. I said a couple things to him for the second half at the break and in the second half, he dominated the game. He got a penalty and a goal, so good for him," Osorio said.
• Said Altidore: "It was a really tough first half. Nick Garcia and their defense are pretty aggressive and it definitely frustrated me a bit and it got to me and it wasn't something I liked but it's part of the game and I have to get used to that. It's not based on one guy's performance, it's based on the team's performance."
• For Magee, the penalty kick conversion was a welcome event after spending much of last season sidelined because of injury, undergoing surgery to remove a membrane and a piece of inflamed fat pad under the patella in his right knee in January. After making 80 appearances over his first three seasons in the league, he managed just 24 over the last two - including seven (all as a substitute) a year ago.
• "We know what Mike brings to the table. He has that final pass, he can keep good possession and he has an eye for a goal, so good for him too. We just have to manage how we bring him back to full game fitness because as you know last year, he hasn't been playing football for the last three years," Osorio said. "It's like what we have been saying with Kevin (Goldthwaite). It's been a nagging injury here and there but if we manage to keep them healthy then I think it will contribute a great deal for the benefit of the club."
• After coming off the bench in each of the first three matches for the Red Bulls, John Wolyniec started and played the entire 90 minutes. He played a part in both goals, holding up the ball for Altidore to run onto for the run that created the penalty, and trying to win a long throw-in that eventually fell to Altidore for the second.
• "That's effective football. I kept saying to him, that's your strength. Just get a hold of the ball and at the end it will pay off for you and I think he did," Osorio said. "He battles for 90 minutes, and he made the center backs know they weren't playing the proper game. He showed us at the end what we need to be appreciative of."
• In probably his most complete game for the Red Bulls, Reyna was masterful in the midfield and if not for a goal-line clearance from Nick Garcia - one of two from the Quakes defender on the game - he would have had his first MLS goal.
• "A healthy Claudio is a very influential player. He showed today he can play as a playmaker or as a second midfielder, central midfielder and both positions he played very well. He competed very well and I think he did a lot of good for the final score," Osorio said.
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