The New York Red Bulls battled to a 1-0 win at BMO Field on Sunday, but dropped the series against Toronto FC on aggregate away goals, 2-2.
After a difficult road win and still falling short of advancing, the Red Bulls were left dissatisfied after a series they felt they could’ve won.
“I thought we should have won the [series],” Bradley Wright-Phillips said. “I thought we were the better team, even in the first leg I think we were the better team.
“A couple chances and we would be in the next round. A credit to the boys we had done everything we need to and in the end we didn’t get that chance.”
New York successfully disrupted Toronto FC’s gameplan at BMO Field, scoring the first goal of the game and dictating the pace of the game.
At the end of the 180-minute series, head coach Jesse Marsch said Toronto narrowly ‘escaped’ elimination at BMO Field.
“They should feel like they escaped because they did,” Marsch said. “It’s not whether they feel like that or not, they have to move on and ultimately survive. They accomplished the goal.”
In the end, New York was left disappointed after a gutsy effort in a hostile environment.
“We are disappointed,” Captain Sacha Kljestan said. “If you just look at this game we came into Toronto on the front foot… we made the game look like we wanted it to look.
“The guys laid it all out there. We got everybody to put it all on the line and to play with a lot of heart and I think the guys played with a lot of heart tonight.”
