Red Bulls at Toronto FC: Running Commentary

Good evening folks. The New York Red Bulls take on Toronto FC tonight in a game with plenty of sub-plots and the promise of some serious excitement.

From the Red Bulls likely having Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore together for the first time this season, to Amado Guevara facing the Red Bulls for the first time since being traded by them after the 2006 season, tonight's match should have great drama along with the unmatched atmosphere at BMO Field, where a sold-out crowd is expected.

I will be spending time before and during the match with Toronto FC fans for a story on the game-day experience here so I won't be doing a running commentary until the second half. Since I know many of you will be watching the match on ESPN2 please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and play-by-play on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match and be sure to check in on SBI throughout the evening and check out the pre-game coverage as well.

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POST-GAME- I highly recommend a Toronto road trip to all MLS fans. If your team is playing here you should find a way here. Sure, you'll be outnumbered 20,000 to 20, but the atmosphere is great. The fans are knowledgeable and energetic throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and definitely see why BMO Field is a tough place to play for opposing teams.

That's all for tonight folks. Thanks for following along and stay tuned for more stories on my trip to Toronto on Friday.

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FINAL- Red Bulls 1, Toronto FC 1. A fair result. The Red Bulls were organized and had a good amount of possession while Toronto FC's defense was solid again, though its offense is starting to leave us with some questions about its effectiveness. I will say that the fans at BMO Field are amazing.

Marvell Wynne was just named man of the match and given a trophy. Apparently someone forgot about Marco Velez. He gets my vote for Man of the Match.

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91st minute- Wolyniec in for Altidore. Three minutes of stoppage.

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90th minute- Kudos to the Toronto defendse for getting two defenders on Altidore every time he touches the ball. The kid has no room to operate.

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87th minute- The long balls to Cunningham aren't going to work tonight. Toronto needs to feed Edu and Guevara, who can slip Cunningham passes on the run. Cunningham's speed will be a problem for Parke and Goldthwaite, but only if he gets the ball in a good position.

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84th minute- Cunningham coming in for Dichio, probably about 10 minutes too late.

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80th minute- Freeman has looked good today, no complaints about him. I wonder how Angel plays, it looks like he's ready to go 90.

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79th minute- This is the time in the game when Altidore usually makes something happen. He almost did with that cross.

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78th minute- Ubi with a nice play on Edu, drawing applause for Osorio.

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76th minute- Edu streaks in unmarked and nearly gets to a nice pass in the box. Stammler came in late but I'm pretty sure that was Ubi's mark. I wonder if Osorio uses his last sub to get him off the field.

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75th minute- Jarrod Smith in for Rohan Ricketts. I can't say I was overly impressed with Ricketts today. Some decent tricks but nothing too special.

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70th minute- There's Ubiparipovic, getting in late and drawing a yellow for a foul on Edu. Osorio is definitely regretting putting Ubi in this match.

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68th minute- Looks like Sinisa's job is to keep tabs on Maurice Edu, which he's not doing a good job of lately. Edu is definitely pushing forward more in the attack.

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66th minute- Sinisa Ubiparipovic is being read the riot act by Juan Carlos Osorio. Not sure what Upiparipovic did but he looks a bit lost out there.

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64th minute- Still waiting for Dane Richards to make his presence felt in his debut. A tough game to be thrown into, but his speed can make things happen. The real question is who will get him the ball.

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62nd minute- Amado Guevara has been active tonight but I don't know if his teammates are making themselves available for him. Robert and Ricketts need to run a little more to get into position to receive service. I would put Jeff Cunningham in this match ASAP if I were John Carver.

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61st minute- Angel has seemed off tonight. Other than his great header that missed by inches high, he looks a tad rusty. Toronto is also doing a good job on him.

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60th minute- I've been impressed with Marvell Wynne tonight. He has pretty much locked down Danleigh Borman.

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59th minute- A pretty even match so far although I feel as if the Red Bulls have had slightly better possession and chances.

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PRE-GAME- It's a late-arriving crowd here at BMO Field, which is to be expected for a 7pm game on a Thursday night, but the crowd is definitely filing in. I will be heading down to sit with the Red Patch Boys and U Sector in the first half to take in the gameday fan experience. It should be interesting.

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PRE-GAME- Looking at that Red Bulls lineup, I think we are more likely to see a formation like this one:

Borman------------Angel-------------Altidore

--------------------Magee---------------------

------------Reyna-------Stammler------------

Van Den Bergh----------------------Freeman

---------Goldthwaite-------Parke-----------

-------------------Conway--------------------

I recall the Red Bulls rolling out a similar look earlier in the year and the trio of Borman, Angel and Altidore would force Toronto to keep numbers back, specifically Marvell Wynne, who has been a great threat on the right flank for Toronto.

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PRE-GAME- Here is Toronto FC's lineup:

----------------Dichio----------------------

Robert---------Guevara----------Ricketts

----------Edu------------Robinson---------

Brennan----Velez------Marshall----Wynne

------------------Sutton--------------------

BENCH- Edwards, James, Harmse, Dunivant, Smith, Tebily, Cunningham

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PRE-GAME- Here is the Red Bulls lineup:

-----------Angel--------Altidore------------

Borman-------------------------------Magee

-----------Reyna-------Stammler----------

Van Den Bergh----------------------Freeman

-----------Goldthwaite---Parke--------------

-------------------Conway---------------------

BENCH- Thornton, Brunner, Wolyniec, Richards, Sassano, Megaloudis, Ubiparipovic

Chris Leitch is out with a left knee injury he suffered during the San Jose game. Carlos Mendes is also out with a left quad injury suffered in training earlier this week.

Comments

[Aengus]

Nice to see a Red Bull game in HD

[Nic]

Anyone know where I can watch this online and on a mac?

[bwidell]

Way to go Jozy, nice job stealing the elementary school line from Matt Reis. Can't he come up with something on his own instead of stealing other peoples' lines?

[kahlva]

Is Altidore up top or on the right wing? And is Magee playing the attacking mid role?
(ESPN had the lineup look a little different...)

[Haig]

It's ESPN2-- should be on most P2PTV?

I hope a motivated Reyna plays a burner.

[Andrew D (From Florida)]

Whats up with jozy being on the right?

[ManicMessiah]

Altidore on the wing... ugh.

Man, I miss Guevara.

Those are the only pre-game thoughts I had.

[Dominghosa]

Looks like TFC needed to get more buses to transport folks to the stadium.

[Haig]

The elementary school thing sound like a locker room inside joke.

47F? Perfect soccer weather. You can run all day.

[Dominghosa]

Nice shot by the attacking mid.

[Confused]

Ives, what the hell are you talking about with the formations...what are they actually running (for those of us stuck in the office)

[Dominghosa]

Yikes.

[Haig]

6' Goldthwaite gets booed for Ricketts clumsiness.

[Haig]

8' Longwinded bafflement about long list of Metro coaches.

[hoch]

can somebody post a link for p2p? i cant seem to find a working link thanks

[Haig]

10' Stammler takes Amado down with a hipcheck. Hey, it's Canada!

[Haig]

11' All Metro possession, nothing useful. The new paradigm.

[Haig]

12' Metro corner: streamer time

[Haig]

Velez and Angel: battle of the sissyfists.

[bwidell]

Why is NY wearing blue? Isn't their main kit white...?

[Haig]

Stammler's on Guevara like a thrift-store sweater.

[Haig]

They wear blue as their change/away kit.

[Haig]

Hot Canadian girls in toques, with beers that cost US$47.50.

[bwidell]

My point is, why are they wearing their change kit? Their main kit is white.

[Haig]

17' Toronto so surprised by a terrible Altidore pass that they give the ball away immediately.

[Haig]

18' Streamer Kick

[ManicMessiah]

I hate the streamers, cannot disagree with JP more.

[Blake]

I imagine Jozy used the elementary school line, because it's probably the last school he went to...haha.

And meanwhile, did RBNY get an attacking clinic from Eddie Johnson? Passbacks all over the place.

[eric]

I don't get Borman. I would have just kept Doe (as insurance to injury, not a starter) and had continuity.

[Haig]

20' another streamer kick. Is the streamer factory in Toronto?

[jerry]

thanks for the commentary guys im sure the rest of us at the office really appreciate it go red bulls!

[Dominghosa]

Golazo.
Robert, Canada's Beckham.

[Haig]

Another WTF free kick. How many of these does it take for the "NY favoritism" lie to stop?

Toronto goal.

[kpugs]

Red Bulls bias aside, didn't Velez look like he was offside by about 2 miles? It's a bad angle, I'm not going to claim he definitely was, but it appeared he was off.

[Dominghosa]

WHy wasn't anyone falling Velez or the ball?
Disgraceful.

[jerry]

thanks for the commentary guys im sure the rest of us at the office really appreciate it go red bulls!

[Joamiq]

Awesome - BS foul and the defense falls asleep - my favorite way to give up a goal!

[Haig]

24' 1-0 Toronto

[eric]

NY's backline takes a siesta while TOR take a sneaky quick free kick, Valez is COMPLETELY unmarked at the back post. Y'all office folks will be shocked later, it's hard to explain just how open he was. Long story short, his header beats Conway.

NY has had better possession, Tor has the lead in the 26th.

[Joamiq]

I think Velez was still onside when the ball was kicked. He was Angel's assignment initially, I believe

[Haig]

Sleepytime marking on the freekick, headed in by Velez?

[Dominghosa]

JP just mentioned a stat that the team that has scored first has yet to lose a game this season.

[Haig]

Magee demonstrates USL level dithering in attacking mid.

[Haig]

Metros playing essentially 3-6-1? Jozy very deep.

[Haig]

Angel just misses with an innocuous looping header.

[Dominghosa]

have fun fellas...

[Blake]

Holy crap can Angel head the ball. Now for some better service...

[Haig]

Wow. 29' minutes and three Metros back off, quaking, at Guevara dribbing 25 yards from goal.

Domination in possession for Metro yields one half chance and a 1-0 deficit.

[Joamiq]

This lineup is doing alright with possession, but isn't creating many dangerous chances.

[Haig]

Come on, Ives, and pick up the PBP. I need a stiff drink after this first half hour.

[Haig]

31' Hardly any fouls called. Magee chopped down by Amado, throw-in Toronto.

[eric]

There was 1 defender hanging out keeping Velez onsides, like the guy who misses out on the attempted trap. He must have been watching for falling streamers.

It happened pretty fast, and the foul was crap, it hadn't occurred to me that the kick coming was a dangerous free kick, not a goal kick for NY.

[Joamiq]

Ives is in the stands with the Toronto fans, Haig

[Haig]

Not enough density of players up top for Metro. This Sampson-esque strategy from Osorio kind of sucks-- you can build all the pressure you want but it comes to nothing. Call it "blueballs soccer."

[Haig]

I kind of like Magee as playmaker, but he doesn't have confidence.

[Haig]

> 1-0 Toronto, 35'

[Haig]

Dichio applies the infamous hipcheck to Conway on a 0% chance

[eric]

NY hasn't put any pressure together since the goal, TOR is controlling more and more.

37th

[Haig]

37' More fruitless Metro possession.

[kahlva]

Altidore looks TERRIBLE on the wing. And even worse if he tries to do defense.

He's not a midfielder, and not a winger. He's a pure striker, and needs to be up front somewhere...!

[ManicMessiah]

Good freekick position for the Red Bulls.

[Haig]

Great free kick chance from 22 yards from a handball, 38'

[eric]

Handball TOR just outside the box!

[ManicMessiah]

VDB!!!!

[kahlva2]

Van den Bergh!!!

Who here called for him to get sacked again...?

[Joamiq]

GREAT placement by VDB! All even baby!

[Haig]

1-1 40' VDB with a wormburner outside the wall.

[eric]

Somehow VDB gets it thru/around the wall at knee height. Sutton will be cranky.

1-1, 40th

[Justice]

beautiful goal by vandenbergh. golazo.

[Justice]

Clauio Reyna's quietly having a solid game.

[Jacob]

If you saw Larentowicz's free kick goal against the Red Bull's, it was pretty much identical to the one van den Burgh just scored.

[Haig]

Toronto playing with more urgency... barely. If a goal falls on their heads, they'll take it.

[Haig]

43' 1-1

[eric]

Nice shot of some bundled up TOR fans. I'll take the Telefutura babe cam, thanks.

[Haig]

Danleigh Borman proves he is the poor man's Dane Richards, who himself is actually pretty poor. Loses the ball in the box 44'

[Reid]

The Has Been sign was the best sign i've seen in many many moons

[eric]

TOR still look more likely to score, and NY look more likely to concede. Edu finally got a loose ball, and the defense was very content just to jog with him.

Altidore finally makes a run, but the return pass on his give-and-go with Magee is too heavy. This is just after JPA made a run. Maybe NY's skill players will wake up.

[Haig]

Halftime 1-1.

RELIEF!

[Dan (18)]

Borman really either cant cross or cant dribble...i see why osorio wanted a good left footed player.

[Mike]

Anybody know why your goalscorer did a goose-step at the sidelines? Didn't think the dutch were that into goose-stepping, but there it was clear as day...

[FabregasWalcottArsenalFuture]

wtf with the halftime comentator? He is describing something completely different about the Chelsea, Liv game.

[ManicMessiah]

Hopefully Jozy plays the 2nd half up top where he belongs.

[Haig]

I watched the whole halftime show-- where was Don Cherry doing "Coaches' Corner"?

[ManicMessiah]

Reyna out for Upiparapovic...

[Haig]

48' Borman with the world's feeblest cross

[Blake]

An absolute SCREAMER from Borman. But seriously...

[Haig]

Claudio out with a "lower left leg" injury.

When did he have a pride-o-dectomy?

[Sandro]

what happened to Reyna

[Haig]

50' Guevara pulls down Magee

[Haig]

and the Metros turn the free kick into Keystone Kops short by colliding

[ManicMessiah]

Laurent also got a yellow card for Torono a couple of minutes ago.

[Mike]

HAHA Robert was too scared to push Altidore back so he pushed Freeman. What a joke this guy is haha. Highlight of the year!

[Haig]

Harkes talking about Altidore like my wife talks about her cat... "he's a special young man"

[ManicMessiah]

If I was Altidore I would move as soon as I could just to get away from coaches who want to play me on the wing.

[Blake]

"Borman's had a pretty good game here"? Dellacamera, are we ever watching the same game?

[Haig]

Okaluja losing control... whistles for nothing, after not whistling for anything in half 1

[Justice]

is that dane richards?!

[ManicMessiah]

Bad give-away by van den Bergh, but it gets cleared eventually.

Richard getting ready to come on.

[Haig]

Toronto controlling the game now. Dane Richards to enter.

[kahlva]

This 2nd half shows us without Reyna helping control the midfield - it's all Toronto right now.

Reyna healthy is actually pretty invaluable to us...