Red Bull New York flew into Toronto looking to return to their opening two match form after a three goal drubbing at the hands of CF Montreal that left the Red Bull New York attack searching for answers and the Red Bull New York supporters wondering if the honeymoon phase had already run its course. The mood was still high though. A youthful team, a young head coach with an enjoyable gegenpress system, there is no reason to worry about this team after one loss.
Toronto FC did an excellent job following their gameplan which seemed to deploy absorbing the pressure and then counter attacking at a quick pace. A bend but don't break approach which finally paid dividends in the 43rd minute during a Red Bull New York corner. Ruvalcaba gets called for a foul on Zimmerman and Toronto FC's goalkeeper senses the Red Bull New York overload in the box and pounces on the opportunity. Before anyone can even file a complaint, Gavron takes the free kick quickly sending a long ball to Djordje Mihailovic, who has a two on one opportunity with teammate Daniel Salloi making a run and only Ronald Donkor to beat. With a pass over, Salloi sends a first time lob over Horvath, who stood no chance, and Red Bull New York concede. Gavron was fantastic in net for Toronto, not only notching his first career assist for Toronto, but also finishing the game with a 1.16 goals prevented. He also had an 8.1 rating according to FOTMOB.
The next big chance would come for Red Bull New York in the 53rd after a pacey attack. A beautiful back heel flick by Ronald Donkor to captain Emil Forsberg that falls directly to his feet in the center of the box, but he pushes it wide right. It's one he surely wants back and one most fans will back him to score nine times out of ten, this just happened to be the one.
Josh Sargent Makes His Debut
In the 70th minute the stadium perked up. The twenty two million dollar (potentially twenty seven) man, Josh Sargent, gets his jersey prepared to make his debut in front of his home crowd and makes an almost immediate impact. Arriving during a corner kick set piece, the ball falls mere feet from the goal and inches from Sargent but the scramble results in a block, a clearance, and a sigh of relief for Red Bull New York.
Controversial VAR Decision
The 81st minute arrives, and maybe this is said with red tinted glasses, but it arrives with what appeared to be a penalty on Julian Hall. The on field referee doesn't give it originally and even after VAR asks him to review, he still decides it is not a penalty. Refereeing was very questionable in the previous match against CF Montreal, not that it would have helped them in that game, but it does feel like it's against us sometimes. I'm sure everyone feels that way eventually. Regardless the traveling faithful would still have to wait for a potential breakthrough.
Even worse so, in the 91st minute Justin Che went to ground for what appeared to be his hamstring in a non contact incident. Red Bull New York are very thin at center back already, and Che has been performing admirably filling in at that position. Tim Parker came in to replace him. Hopefully it is nothing major and he doesn't miss anytime at all, he has been absolutely vital defensively.
The 97th Minute Equalizer
The 97th minute arrived and Toronto FC's Kobe Franklin conceded a corner. Red Bull are desperate, as this is surely the last attempt of the game, we are in the 7th minute of the 5 minimum after the Che injury time got added. Ethan Horvath enters the box and Omar Valencia, who entered with Choupo-Moting in the 77th minute, sets up at the corner flag. He sends a high lofted ball to the far side of the 6 yard box, which is headed by a Toronto FC defender, a scramble ensues, Tanner Rosborough takes a shot that is blocked but falls to the right foot of Choupo-Moting who sweetly lofts it into the top right corner to give Red Bull New York the draw on the very last kick of the game.
And with that, came the final whistle. Red Bull New York 1 Toronto FC 1. All even after 90+ at BMO Field in Toronto. Red Bull New York did not give up and escape with a single point that might end up feeling like three. There is still plenty of work to be done to turn these paper stats into stats that translate onto the pitch. There was a lot of turnover, a new head coach that has completely flipped what we've seen tactically in prior seasons. There will be some growing pains. Red Bull New York absolutely need reinforcements if they want to be serious competitors. Injuries will happen but even outside of that, having a nailed on starter at center back that you can count on every single day would be a great get. Voloder doesn't strike me as that player, but he did play very well in this game compared to the previous.
The Choupo-Moting Question
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has seemingly taken a backseat to the youth movement of Michael Bradley's system so far in 2026. Only playing 13 minutes in this game and only taking a single shot. He may have lost a step, but he can still show he has some of the man who scored 17 MLS goals last season. Michael Bradley might think this is how he is best suited to help the team, as a "super sub" to come in late when we need him and potentially change the game and attack. If that's how you should be using your designated player spot, that's another conversation.
By The Numbers
The game overall was disappointing. The wingers still seem to lack any type of consistency or any finish. Sofo had a disastrous day ending with a 5.8 rating and being substituted in the 66th minute. He is coming back from injury, so maybe this was the low point and it only gets better from here. He did have the lowest rating for anyone that played in this game. Ruvalcaba ended the game with a 6.3 rating and it looks like he sometimes doesn't know where to go with the ball once he's advanced into the final third. He attempted two dribbles and was unsuccessful on both of them and was 2/4 on crosses. He looks like he can be a very good player, something just needs to get him going. Whether he needs to just get more reps in with Hall or it's just a patience game, a good player is there. It seems like just a matter of time. Cade Cowell missed this match due to the birth of his newborn, congratulations to him and can't wait to see you back on the pitch!
The numbers don't lie. Or do they? 17 shots to 12, 8 on target to 6, 66 dangerous attacks to 26, 11 corners to 5. 506 accurate passes to 194. This game told the exact same possession story as the previous game, Red Bull New York absolutely dominated, finishing this game with 68% to 32%. The xG was no different with Red Bull New York leading 2.04 to 0.96. Even with all that, Toronto still had the edge in big chances created 3 to 2. They had a higher dribble success rate 47% to 38%, they won more tackles with 21 to 14 and had more interceptions taking away 16 to 13. As mentioned before, teams currently seem to have no problem sitting back and letting the youth play through them, force the team to beat them. They throw nearly everyone behind the ball and let us pass the ball around, having 582 passes to 285 is evidence of that. The next step for this group is connecting the midfield to the attack, creating big chances and taking our possession and making it mean something.
Up Next
The next match for Red Bull New York is against Charlotte FC on Saturday, March 21st at 7:30 PM. Charlotte is coming off a draw at home against Messi-less Inter Miami. Red Bull will be looking to avenge their loss from the last time they played Charlotte last season on August 24th, which saw Red Bull fall 1-0.
Stay tuned to South Ward Signal for player ratings and analysis, match reviews and summaries, and other commentary all season long.