Toronto FC suffered a 3-0 defeat on the road against New York City FC at Red Bull Arena Field on Sunday afternoon.
Hamilton-born goalkeeper Luka Gavran was handed his MLS debut vs. New York City FC this afternoon. NYCFC midfielder Andrés Perea opened the game scoring in the 2nd minute when his header from the centre of the box found its’ way into the bottom right corner of the TFC net. In the 7th minute, NYCFC forward Monsef Bakrar’s left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the TFC net was denied by Luka Gavran.
The debutant TFC goalkeeper was thrust into the limelight after a lengthy VAR review determined that TFC defender Shane O’Neill handled the ball with his hand, subsequently earning a yellow card, and awarding NYCFC a penalty in the 26th minute. NYCFC forward Monsef Bakrar aimed his penalty toward the bottom right corner of the TFC net, but goalkeeper Luka Gavran stood tall and made a phenomenal save. The Reds would find their first goalscoring opportunity of the game in the 38th minute. Deandre Kerr controlled Federico Bernardeschi’s cross at the back post and laid it off to midfielder Jonathan Osorio, whose shot attempt forced a save from NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Reds would come to equalizing, as NYCFC midfielder Andres Jasson doubled the home team’s lead in the final moments of stoppage time in the opening half.
Finding themselves down two goals to none on the road, TFC committed more bodies forward in pursuit of a goal in the second half. This tactical change nearly paid off when forward C.J. Sapong came close to putting TFC on the scoresheet. Sapong unleashed a left-footed shot from the centre of the box into the top left corner of the opposition net in the 48th minute.
NYCFC forward Julián Fernández placed his left-footed shot into the back of the TFC net in the 54th minute. This turned out to be the final scoring moment of the game. TFC goalkeeper Luka Gavran stood tall and made two more crucial saves in the 67th and 76th minutes of the game, respectively.
The Reds will return to action on Saturday, September 30th, at BMO Field against FC Cincinnati.
