FT: Toronto FC 2-2 New England Revolution - Game thread, preview, how to watch

Live Thread

FT - Criscito’s first goal for Toronto FC gives the Reds a point at home. I hope you enjoyed the match and the coverage here. Have a good rest of your night!

FT - Toronto FC 2-2 New England Revolution. Criscito’s first goal for Toronto FC gives the Reds a point at home. I hope you enjoyed the match and the coverage here. Have a good rest of your night.

92’ - Jimenez tries to chip it to Laryea but Petrovic gathers.

90’ - There will be 3 minutes of stoppage time.

89’ - Bradley tries to carry the ball into the penalty area but Omar Gonzalez clears it out.

87’ - Criscito has a go from distance but the low effort doesn’t trouble Petrovic. Why not try it though after that earlier stunner.

87’ - Laryea brings it to the byline and wins a corner for his team.

85’ - Five minutes to go. The Reds are looking for a late winner!

82’ - A great pass from Michael Bradley through to Jimenez. The substitute can’t get the shot on target though.

78’ - Laryea picks up a yellow card.

75’ - Mamma Mia!

75’ - GOAL TORONTO FC. CRISCITO WITH A BEAUTIFUL VOLLEY FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX! 2-2!

71’ - Oh wow! Lorenzo Insigne comes close but is denied on the line by former Red, Omar Gonzalez!

68’ - Bruce Arena now makes a double change. Noel Buck and Esmir Bajraktarevic come on for Emmanuel Boateng and Justin Rennicks.

65’ - Bob Bradley makes two changes. Jesus Jimenez replaces Ayo Akinola at striker. Deandre Kerr comes on for Jayden Nelson in the midfield.

62’ - Bernardeschi fires from inside the box but Petrovic is able to get behind it.

61’ - VAR agrees with the non call. We move.

60’ - Laryea seems to get tangled up in the box but the referee waves play on. Richie is furious!

58’ - Toronto are beginning to dominate possession in New England’s half. Just over 30 minutes to go here.

56’ - Criscito tries a curler from distance but it’s too high.

54’ - Insigne is dropping deep to get involved in the buildup play. TFC search for an equalizer.

48’ - GOAL NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION. Carles Gil gets his 13th assist of the season. He plays a tidy ball to Justin Rennicks who slides it past Bono from a somewhat tight angle. 2-1 to the Revolution now.

46’ - And we are back underway at BMO!

HT - Thoughts on that opening 45?

HT - Toronto FC 1-1 New England Revolution. That was a lively first half! McNamara cancels out Bernardeschi’s goal from the spot as we head into the halftime break.

48’ - A cross/shot from Criscito on the left almost finds its way into the top right corner. Petrovic has to swipe it out of danger.

43’ - MacNaughton can ball. He plays a nice pass to Osorio who wins yet another corner for the hosts.

43’ - MacNaughton can ball. He plays a nice pass to Osorio who wins yet another corner for the hosts.

42’ - Domenico Criscito is good at soccer. That is all.

39’ - A knuckleball from Insigne forces Petrovic to push it over the crossbar. Corner kick to TFC.

37’ - GOAL NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION. Bono makes an initial stop but can’t hold onto the ball as Tommy McNamara equalizes.

35’ - Great chance for a second! Osorio can’t control a beautiful ball in from Bernardeschi.

31’ - GOAL TORONTO FC. Bernardeschi calmly slots the pen to the left! He is the first TFC player to score in their first three home matches.

30’ - Penalty to the Reds!! Akinola is brought down by Christian Makoun in the area.

24’ - New England are forced into an early change. Matt Polster subs in for the injured Wilfrid Kaptoum.

21’ - So close! Akinola can’t keep his header down after Bernardeschi crosses it in from the right.

16’ - Bernardeschi swings one in from the corner. Mavinga just misses a header and Insigne isn’t quick enough to react at the far post. Almost!

14’ - Bernardeschi forces a stop from Djordje Petrovic, corner for TFC.

13’ - Carles Gil takes a shot from distance but it goes wide. The game is starting to open up here.

9’ - The Reds are piling on the pressure in the opening minutes.

1’ - And we’re off!

7:05 pm EST - The lads are ready to rumble!

7:00 pm EST - There’s still time to get your predictions in!

6:30 pm EST - We are one hour away from a big matchup in Toronto!

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Starting XIs

Bob Bradley just making the one change from the win against Portland.

Ayo Akinola gets his chance up top, replacing Jesus Jimenez in the starting lineup!

Jayden Nelson keeps his spot in the midfield with Mark Anthony Kaye still missing from the squad.

For New England, Omar Gonzalez gets the start against his former club.

Carles Gil will feature on the right wing for the Revolution. The Spaniard has 12 assists in MLS this season.

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Match Preview via Aasim Hashim

Toronto FC’s next three matches could go a long way in determining whether the club has a realistic shot at the playoffs.

The Reds will begin their all-important week by hosting the New England Revolution on Wednesday night. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm EST and can be watched on TSN.

As it stands right now, Toronto sits in 12th in the Eastern Conference with 29 points, four points behind Inter Miami, who currently occupy the final playoff spot. Over the course of the next week, the Reds will face-off against clubs who are within touching distance - the Revolution on Wednesday night, a trip to Inter Miami on Saturday, and then a visit to Charlotte the following Saturday.

With the current run the Reds are on, and the squad gelling together with every passing game, this stretch of games is coming at a great time for the club. Over their last four games in MLS play, the Reds are 3-1-0, which includes a 0-0 draw against the Revs at Gillette Stadium. In fact, since the debuts of Italian duo of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, the Reds have not lost a 90-minute match, with their only defeat coming in the 2022 Canadian Championship Final in penalties.

Over their four-game unbeaten run in the league, the Reds have also shown that their defensive side of the game has become much improved, having conceded four times in four matches, with three of the four goals conceded coming in a 4-3 win in Nashville, the Reds’ first MLS road victory of the season.

The centre back duo of Chris Mavinga and Lukas MacNaughton, along with Richie Laryea and Domenico Criscito, have been preferred by head coach Bob Bradley and found a rhythm over the last three matches, and despite the short turnaround, this backline will all but likely keep their spots for Wednesday’s matchup.

Toronto came away from their weekend matchup unscathed with no new players added to the injury list. For Wednesday’s matchup, the Reds will continue to be without Noble Okello and Quentin Westberg (Upper body), while Mark-Anthony Kaye remains questionable with a lower body injury.

The Reds’ opponents on Wednesday night will be feeling just as confident as the Reds heading into their highly anticipated rematch. After a poor start to their season, New England has definitely turned their season around. The first nine matches saw the Revs lose five of those games. Since their loss on April 23rd, New England has only failed to pick up points on two occasions, in their losses to New York City FC and the Philadelphia Union.

Heading into Wednesday night, the Revs are riding their own four-game unbeaten streak. Over their latest four-match unbeaten run, the Revs are 2-2-0, and have not conceded a goal in that span. In their most recent outing in the league, New England walked away with a 1-0 victory over last-placed D.C. United.

A big part of New England’s defensive success has been goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic. Petrovic took over the number one spot on June 12th and since then has featured in 11 games for the Revs. In those 11 games, the Serbian international has recorded five clean sheets, and has conceded just 11 goals, which currently has him ranked third amongst MLS ‘keepers.

Petrovic played a key role in the last matchup between these clubs, when the Serbian denied Insigne from the spot, which would have surely given the Reds all three points.

Revolution head coach Bruce Arena will have a relatively healthy squad when New England crosses the border. The only notable absence for the Revolution will be Henry Kessler who has been ruled out due to Health & Safety protocols. Kessler had featured in all four matches during this unbeaten run. However, Kessler’s absence could open the door for former Reds defender Omar Gonzalez to feature at BMO Field.

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Match Details

Opponent: New England Revolution

Kick-off: 7:30 PM

Stadium: BMO Field

Watch: TSN