TORONTO – Toronto FC’s English forward duo of Jermain Defoe and Luke Moore both found the back of the net at chilly BMO Field against the New York Red Bulls to give the Reds a 2-0 win over their Eastern Conference rivals on Saturday afternoon.
Defoe’s goal, a sublime top-shelf shot, opened the scoring for Toronto FC, and the score held until second-half injury time, when a fortuitous bounce landed kindly to Moore’s feet, allowing him to open his MLS account and seal the victory for TFC.
The first goal came on a lightning-quick counter as New York attempted to play through Toronto FC’s compact formation. Bradley Orr, who had a standout performance as a central midfielder, intercepted a pass and pushed forward, sliding a perfectly-weighted through ball into the path of Defoe's run.
Defoe controlled the ball, took four strides forward and cracked a rocket of a shot into the top corner of the net, beating Robles to give TFC a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute of play.
Referee Silviu Petrescu doled out three yellow cards in the first half, the first to Thierry Henry in the 6th minute, the next two to Jamison Olave and Justin Morrow as the half dwindled down in testy fashion.
Red Bulls coach Mike Petke made an early second-half substitution, Chris Duvall coming in for Kosuke Kimura at right back. Nelsen made his first change 10 minutes later, Moore coming in for Gilberto.
New York nearly found an equalizer in the 82nd minute when Henry surged past Alvaro Rey along the left channel and sent a low cross across the box.
The pass fell kindly to Bradley Wright-Phillips but New York's red-hot striker an absolute sitter, slamming his shot well over an empty net with goalkeeper Joe Bendik cut out of the play.
TFC substitute Dan Lovitz had a similar chance from a similar buildup minutes later, but his shot went wide across the goal.
With 10 minutes to go in the match, Petke made his final change, Ruben Izquierdo coming in for Bobby Convey. Defoe and RBNY defender Armando picked up matching yellow cards in the 88th minute after an ill-tempered confrontation as the game heated up in the dying moments.
Five minutes of added time provided Kyle Bekker with an opportunity at scoring but his shot went wide. In the final minute, Moore opened his Toronto FC account with an easy tap-in after Robles failed to claim a bouncing ball
With the win, TFC are now 4-4-0 in league play with 12 points from eight games. Toronto now travel to Kansas for a Friday night clash with Sporting KC, while New York host the Portland Timbers at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
BOX SCORE:
New York Red Bulls 0, Toronto FC 2
May 17, 2014
MLS Regular Season
BMO Field – Toronto, ON
Scoring Summary:
- TOR: Jermain Defoe 4 (Bradley Orr 1) 12’
- TOR: Luke Moore 1 (Joe Bendik 1 ) 95’+
Disciplinary Summary:
- NY: Thierry Henry (caution) 6’
- NY: Jamison Olave (caution) 42’
- TOR: Justin Morrow (caution) 45’
- NY: Armando (caution) 88’
- TOR: Jermain Defoe (caution) 88’
New York Red Bulls (3-3-5, 14 pts.): Luis Robles, Kosuke Kimura (Chris Duvall 48’), Armando, Jamison Olave, Bobby Convey (Ruben Bover 81’), Lloyd Sam, Dax McCarty, Eric Alexander, Jonny Steele, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Thierry Henry
Substitutes not used: Ryan Meara, Connor Lade, Richard Eckersley, Ibrahim Sekagya, Andre Akpan
Toronto FC (4-4-0, 12 pts.): Joe Bendik, Mark Bloom, Steven Caldwell, Nick Hagglund, Justin Morrow, Alvaro Rey (Daniel Lovitz 68’), Kyle Bekker, Bradley Orr, Jonathan Osorio, Jermain Defoe, Gilberto (Luke Moore 56’)
Substitutes not used: Chris Konopka, Ashtone Morgan, Doneil Henry, Jeremy Hall, Dwayne De Rosario
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Referee’s Assistants: James Conlee, Scott Kachmarik
4th Referee: Geoff Gamble
Attendance: 22,591
