New York Red Bulls run wild in 4-1 victory to spoil Toronto FC's home opener
CF Montreal drops home opener against Philadelphia Union
Toronto FC's home opener went south quickly Saturday with the New York Red Bulls running wild in the first half en route to a 4-1 win.
Lewis Morgan needed just 23 minutes to record a hat-trick with New York captain Aaron Long accounting for the other goal as the Red Bulls did all their scoring in the first 45 minutes. Polish forward Patryk Klimala contributed three assists.
Toronto (0-1-1) started well, threatening on offence, but was cut open in transition and found itself trailing 2-0 after 24 minutes thanks to Morgan's finishing and some slack defending. Jesus Jimenez pulled one back for Toronto but the Red Bulls (2-0-0) were ruthless in punishing the TFC defence, adding two more before the break.
The visitors' threat on the counter-attack was demonstrated by the fact that they scored on four of their five shots on target in the first half while having just 32.8 per cent of the ball.
WATCH l Morgan's hat trick helps Red Bulls defeat TFC in Toronto:
The score could have been more lopsided had Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono not made several big saves in the second half. Another Morgan goal, in the 87th minute, was ruled offside.
Toronto finished with no points despite 67.3 per cent of possession and seven corners to the visitors' five. The Red Bulls outshot TFC 13-6 (9-4 in shots on target).
Toronto's Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo was yellow-carded in the 61st minute for a nasty lunging challenge on Klimala deep in TFC territory, with referee Rubiel Vazquez opting not to reach for the red after reviewing the play on a pitch-side monitor at the behest of video assistant referee, Canadian Carol Anne Chenard.
The Red Bulls went ahead in the 17th minute against the run of play when Jonathan Osorio lost the ball near midfield. Frankie Amaya accelerated past Michael Bradley, Bob's son, and found Klimala, who sent the ball over to an unmarked Morgan in the middle of the penalty box. The Scottish winger's curling shot beat Bono.
Toronto's defence was cut open again in the 24th minute, with Morgan beating Bono low to the corner from just outside the penalty box on what was essentially a two-on-one. Klimala played provider again.
Jimenez scores 1st MLS goal
Jimenez cut the lead to one in the 35th minute after a slashing run by Luca Petrasso carved open the Red Bulls defence and found Jimenez. The Spanish striker dribbled past onrushing goalkeeper Carlos Coronel and slotted the ball past two defenders into the goal.
For the 21-year-old Petrasso, a former TFC ball boy, it was an assist in his Toronto debut. For Jimenez, it was a first MLS goal in his BMO Field debut.
Toronto's defence was missing in action in the 40th minute on yet another counter-attack after a Toronto corner. Klimala bodied Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty out of the way near midfield and then muscled past Jacob Shaffelburg, setting up a two-on-zero that Lewis finished for his hat trick.
It was 4-2 two minutes later as Amaya's free kick found an unmarked Long, whose header beat Bono.
Marshall-Rutty and Shaffelburg are learning a new position in fullback, with flashes of real flair mixed in with some errant decision-making in a position that offers a fine balance between attacking and defending.
Bob Bradley has shown confidence in his youngsters in this early stage of the season.
Bob Bradley brought off Michael Bradley and Salcedo with 10 minutes remaining, with defender Lukas MacNaughton making his TFC debut.
TFC opened the season last weekend with a 1-1 tie at FC Dallas. The Red Bulls, who finished 20 points ahead of Toronto in last year's standings, won 3-1 at San Jose.
Bob Bradley made two changes to his starting 11 with centre back Shane O'Neill and midfielder Petrasso coming in for Chris Mavinga and Deandre Kerr, both of whom were substituted at halftime. O'Neill, a free-agent signing from Seattle in the off-season, made his first Toronto start.
Petrasso started well, combining with Shaffelburg to threaten down the left flank. But Shaffelburg limped off just before halftime, holding the back of his thigh. He was replaced by Ifunanyachi Achara to start the second half with Petrasso moving into left back.
Kadin Chung came on in the 70th minute for his TFC debut.
Toronto is now winless in eight straight games (0-4-4) in league play dating back to early October. The Red Bulls, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last six meetings (4-0-2) with Toronto.
CF Montreal comes up short against Philadelphia
CF Montreal are still winless in MLS after falling 2-1 at home to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday afternoon.
Philadelphia's (1-0-1) goal scorers were Alejandro Bedoya and Daniel Gazdag while Montreal's (0-0-2) lone goal came through Lassi Lappalainen.
Montreal started off controlling possession and dictating the pace but were unable to break through Philadelphia's two banks of four.
The first major chance of the game was Philadelphia's when a defensive mix-up led to Julian Carranza's shot point blank forcing a crucial save from Sebastian Breza.
Just after the half-hour mark, Lappalainen's shot deflected off Nathan Harriel, arcing over everyone and opening the scoring for Montreal.
WATCH l Quick strikes in 2nd half help Union defeat CF Montreal:
While Philadelphia gradually started to impose their will on the game, neither team threatened to add to the scoreboard.
Five minutes into the second half, Djordje Mihailovic picked up the ball at midfield and ran through the entire Philadelphia defence before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
Controversially, the goal was disallowed as VAR decided that Mihailovic had committed a foul before his goal.
Things only got worse for Montreal as Philadelphia added another goal three minutes later. Carranza was played in behind the Montreal defence and squared it for Gazdag who gave the Union the lead.
As Montreal continued to push for an equalizer, a rocket from Lappalainen was headed straight for the top corner, forcing an acrobatic save by Andre Blake, waking up the 13,000 fans in attendance.
Less than a minute later, Carranza's studs-up tackle on Zachary Brault-Guillard saw him get sent off for his second yellow card offence and reducing Philadelphia to ten men.
With less than ten minutes to go, Kamal Miller was gifted a wide-open header, but could not hit the target.
Montreal failed to generate any chances after that, with Philadelphia sitting deep and repelling every wave of attack.
Montreal will now shift its attention to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals as the team heads to the Estadio Azteca to face Cruz Azul in the first leg on March 9.
Whitecaps battle NYCFC to scoreless draw
Thomas Hasal made four saves for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, backstopping the team to a 0-0 draw in their home opener against New York City FC.
NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson registered a single save.
New York, the reigning MLS Cup champions, overwhelmed Vancouver during long stretches of the match, outshooting the home side 19-11 and 4-1 in shots on target.
After a chaotic start, though, Vancouver settled in and began to limit the visitors' chances, blocking seven shots across the match.
WATCH l Whitecaps earn 1st point of season in draw with NYCFC:
Both sides were coming off losses, with the 'Caps suffering a 4-0 drubbing to Columbus Crew SC on opening day. New York dropped a 1-0 decision to the L.A. Galaxy in its first outing of the MLS campaign.
Hasal's best save of the night came in the 89th minute when Santiago Rodriguez sent a ball into the Vancouver box, where Thiago Andrade redirected it at the 'Caps net. The Canadian 'keeper leapt up off the goal line, tipping the shot up and over the crossbar.
The Whitecaps put some offensive firepower on the field in the 64th minute Saturday, subbing American striker Brian White in for midfielder Deiber Caicedo.
It was White's first appearance of the season after missing the season opener against Columbus with a foot contusion.
New York was the dominant side across the first half, dictating the pace and controlling 68.6 per cent of the possession. The visitors also outshot the 'Caps 12-5 and 3-1 in shots on target.
Vancouver's first on-target shot came when attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld sent a crisp cross into Lucas Cavallini in the box. The Canadian striker flicked a header on net but Johnson made the diving stop.
It was the 'Caps first on-target shot of the season after failing to put a single ball on net against Columbus.
The Whitecaps are set to visit Houston Dynamo next Saturday.
