The New York Red Bulls jumped up to third place in the Eastern Conference with Saturday night’s gutsy 2-0 victory over Toronto FC. Both teams began the match in their preferred 4-2-3-1 formations. New York’s 4-4-2 high press troubled Toronto FC early on, however, TFC took control of the match by dropping Michael Bradley into the defensive line and Alejandro Pozuelo into midfield during their build-up play. Consequently, the Reds were the better side heading into the break but were unable to capitalize on any of their chances.
The home side responded by playing a conventional 4-4-2 in the second half, preventing the visitors from executing their preferred passing patterns, and posing a constant threat on the right side of the pitch via Marc Rzatkowski and Kaku.