FT: Toronto FC 1-0 New York City FC—Match thread, preview, and how to watch

LIVE MATCH THREAD

FT — It’s all over in New York Jersey! A late Alejandro Pozuelo penalty sees Toronto FC take all three points.

90’ — There will be six minutes of added time.

90’ — GOAL! New York City FC 0-1 Toronto FC — Pozuelo buries the penalty and Toronto FC take the lead!

88’ — PENALTY! Toronto FC get a chance from the spot after Acevedo blocks a shot with his hand. Pozuelo steps up against a familiar foe in Sean Johnson. This is the fifth time Pozuelo will take one against Johnson.

88’ — Héber is stretchered off the pitch after his injury.

84’ — Héber goes down, and is in a lot of pain. Looks like a nasty knee injury, but let’s hope it isn’t for the NYCFC striker.

82’ — Alejandro Pozuelo chips a free kick over the wall to a wide-open Omar Gonzalez, who can’t direct his header into the bottom corner.

75’ — 15 minutes left for someone to find a winner!

64’ — Just after coming off the bench, Nelson picks up a yellow card.

61’ — Jozy Altidore and Tony Gallacher are replaced by Jayden Nelson and Justin Morrow.

56’ — Jozy Altidore goes into the book.

51’ — Alex Bono punches the ball away on a cross, and gets kicked in the process. He certainly felt that one, but is going to carry on.

46’ — The second half is underway!

HT — The first half ends 0-0. NYCFC have had most of the chances, but Alex Bono has turned them all away. The midfield diamond hasn’t worked for The Reds, something that Greg Vanney might opt to change at the half.

42’ — BONO AGAIN! He makes yet another save from close range.

40’ — Nick DeLeon gets a yellow card.

36’ — Valentín Castellanos picks up a questionable yellow card after sliding into Alex Bono while winning the ball. A strange call, but his appeals don’t change the ref’s mind.

35’ — Alejandro Pozuelo fires a shot on goal with his first touch, but Sean Johnson keeps it out.

32’ — Alex Bono does well again to keep the ball out of the net! He’s been brilliant thus far.

25’ — Pablo Piatti joins Callens in the referee’s book.

23’ — Alexander Callens picks up a yellow card for a professional foul on Ayo Akinola.

19’ — Alex Bono makes a nice save to deny Jesús Medina’s long shot, and keep this one scoreless.

7’ — Tonight’s game is the 100th of Chris Mavinga’s Toronto FC career!

1’ — The match is underway at Red Bull Arena!

6:48 p.m. EST — Not long left! How do you think Tony Gallacher will do in his Toronto FC debut?

6:24 p.m. EST — Getting closer to the start of this one. What do you think of the lineups?

6:00 p.m. EST — One hour until kickoff!

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STARTING LINEUPS

Toronto FC:

Alex Bono gets a rare start for Toronto FC, Tony Gallacher makes his debut, and Altidore starts with Akinola.

NYCFC:

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MATCH PREVIEW (Courtesy Aasim Hashim)

TORONTO, Ont.—Toronto FC will have revenge on their mind as they head down to New York to take on New York City FC on Wednesday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.

While this is not an elimination game, their last encounter with NYCFC is sure to be on the minds of the Reds. Back in July, it was the Blues who ended TFC’s run at the MLS is Back tournament in their Round of 16 matchup.

More importantly, the Reds will be looking to pick up all three points to put some distance between themselves and NYCFC while picking up valuable points in the Supporters’ Shield race. Heading into Wednesday’s match-up, TFC sit five points behind league-leaders Columbus Crew.

With a busy schedule for the Reds, injuries and fatigue have played a role in how Greg Vanney has deployed his team. With injuries already in midfield to captain Michael Bradley and Liam Fraser, the Reds added Auro Jr. to the list with an ankle injury. He’ll likely be unavailable for Wednesday’s encounter. Jozy Altidore, meanwhile, was substituted at the half with Vanney citing a heel injury was hampering the Reds striker. The injury, meanwhile, is considered to be minor and Altidore is expected to be involved in some capacity Wednesday evening.

With Altidore being replaced at half-time on the weekend, it was Ayo Akinola who benefited. Akinola came on in the second half and put the Reds ahead in the 60th minute. Speaking after the game, Vanney spoke about the difference in the team structure with Altidore and Akinola on the field.

Vanney was unhappy with his squad’s organization all throughout the first half and Akinola’s introduction changed the way the Reds played in the second half. While we’re uncertain of Altidore’s status for Wednesday night, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Vanney hand another start to the 20 year-old striker who has been in much better form than Altidore.

On the flip side, New York City FC are currently unbeaten in their last six games (4-2-0). The Blues will be looking to bounce back from their 0-0 draw over the weekend against the New England Revolution, but have had a good run of games over the last month.

NYCFC will be without the services of Maxi Moralez on Wednesday night as the Argentinian was ruled out for 4-6 weeks with a knee injury.

Moralez has been a key piece of the Blues offense. He led the league last year in assists with 20 and adding seven goals. This year has seen Moralez struggle with injuries including missing time during the MLS is Back Tournament, but the Blues have been able to play well enough and currently find themselves in a playoff spot and just five points behind TFC.

While the Blues will miss the presence of Moralez in their midfield, they will still be a tricky side for TFC to contend with. The Reds will need to lean on their stars to push them over this hump where they’ve picked up all three points just once in their last four games.

Additional Notes

• This will be the third meeting of the season between TFC and NYCFC. Each team has picked up one win.
• Currently on loan at San Antonio, TFC youngster Jordan Perruzza, scored two goals on his debut with San Antonio FC, including this screamer which is up for the USL Goal of the Week:

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HOW TO WATCH