MLS Toronto FC

New York City FC (1) - Toronto FC (0) Post Match Summary

Published on October 28, 2020 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Toronto FC News Release


October 28, 2020

NEW YORK CITY FC (1) - TORONTO FC (0) POST MATCH SUMMARY

SCORING SUMMARY

NYCFC - Jesus Medina 51'

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

TFC - Justin Morrow 3' (caution)

NYCFC - Alexander Callens 45' +1 (caution)

NYCFC - Valentin Castellanos 75' (caution)

NYCFC - Jesus Medina 90'+2 (caution)

RECORDS

TORONTO FC: 12-4-5 41 PTS.

NEW YORK CITY FC: 10-8-3 33 PTS.

LINE-UPS

TORONTO FC - Quentin Westberg; Richie Laryea, Omar Gonzalez, Laurent Ciman, Tony Gallacher; Michael Bradley (C), Liam Fraser (Ralph Priso 76'), Justin Morrow (Jacob Shaffelburg 59'), Alejandro Pozuelo, Nick DeLeon (Jayden Nelson 82'); Patrick Mullins (Tsubasa Endoh 59')

Substitutes Not Used: Kevin Silva, Chris Mavinga, Eriq Zavaleta, Erickson Gallardo, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty

NEW YORK CITY FC - Sean Johnson; Anton Tinnerholm, Maxime Chanot, Alexander Callens, Ronald Matarrita; Keaton Parks (Nicolas Acevedo 82'), Alexander Ring, Maximilian Moralez, Jesus Medina, Gary Mackay-Steven (Gudmundur Thorarinsson 72'); Valentin Castellanos (Sebastien Ibeagha 88')

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Stuver, Luis Barraza, Joe Scally, Tony Rocha, Juan Torres, Justin Haak

GREG VANNEY - HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC

Can you assess the performance?

"It was going to be a challenging night, obviously. I'm not going to make anything about players who weren't there, but we felt like we needed to come out tonight and try to manufacture some chances. I thought right at the start, Michael plays a ball forward to Pozuelo. We've got to turn to get a shot off there. I thought Justin had a couple chances in the first half. They had their chances. But I would say half to three quarters of their chances were actually delayed offside calls they either called or didn't call, which changes the emotion of the game. Because they don't actually blow the whistle sometimes, but the linesman's lifting up the flag after the whole thing happens. So, it feels like you give away chances when some of those weren't actually going to be chances anyways. But having said that, the first half the game was definitely wide open with them getting most of the ball. We were trying to get some pressure on the ball. When that part of the game was over, we needed to just find our shape and defend a little bit more connected. But we're still trying to get pressure to the ball and getting pulled apart a little bit. We dealt with a lot of that stuff and got through the half. We reorganized a bit just in terms of our set defending. In general, I thought we found our way into the game as the game continued. We had fewer chances in the second half, but we started to gain a little bit more control of the game and start to play in possession a little bit more. But we were fighting against trying to have a good response from the last game, in which we didn't get out and compete. I thought tonight we competed. I thought guys worked really hard, some of it effective, some of it not as effective as we'd like. But we created some chances we knew we would have to manufacture. We gave up some chances too, but we've got to execute on the one or two that we thought we were going to get. Tough opponent, tough situation, but I'm proud of at least the effort the guys put in and then the shift that they put in to try to get something out of the game."

Is the Supporters Shield still something you guys are discussing?

"It is what it is. We are trying to gain points every single game. Guys who are having to step into spots are trying to step in and make the most of their opportunity. And we're trying to win games against good teams. So, at least tonight ... you know the other night, I thought just the speed of it, we never really got onto it. But tonight, I felt like we did. Points are always a product of being able to execute over the course of the game. So right now, we're pretty thin, in terms of the guys who played the majority of the minutes for us over the course of the season. And now we're in the tail stretch. The five in 15 took a toll on us for sure and, at this point it's Do you continue to risk guys and lose guys? For the short term ... anybody you lose at this point you're probably going to lose for the playoffs. So, there's always that as a Catch 22. We're trying to work with our doctors. We are trying to work with everybody that's involved to try to make the best decisions for our guys. So that is where we're at. And so, the key for us is to try to take as many points as we can but also to try to get our team whole. Because when all the guys are together, we have seen that we're capable of being the best team in the league. On any given day that's been proven. So, the question is how do we get our team healthy without losing more guys in this last stretch. And if we can win the Supporters Shield in that process, then that's what we're going to try to do. We're not giving up on it, but we are what we are right now is as a group. And we have what we have. All I'm asking from these guys right now is that they give everything they have to each one of these games. And we work hard to try to get the result we can get."

Can you talk about the young players, Shaffelburg, Nelson and Priso, who came into the game?

"I'd love to. These are big games. With a lot riding on them. So just for their development and their experiences that they're putting under their belt. Normally this time of year they probably wouldn't be the second, third, fourth guys off the bench. But given the circumstances they are. And they came on and they were brave. They went after the game and tried to stay aggressive both with the ball and tried to help us defensively to recover the ball. Each one of these experiences is huge for them. These aren't meaningless games. These are important games for their learning and they're showing that they're willing to get out there and compete and do a nice job for us. And they did. So that bodes well for their learning and their development and their future with the club."

JAYDEN NELSON - MIDFIELDER, TORONTO FC

What was is like getting more minutes tonight

"Well obviously it's a tough loss. I just wanted to get out there and try to make a difference and get a goal or something, but it didn't happen, we worked hard the entire game, we didn't really get in our rhythm but it was a tough loss."

It's easy to get down on yourselves when results don't go your way and when the year's been as crazy as it's been, but what's the mood like?

"We're a resilient group and we work hard in training every day. We're defiantly going to bounce back from this, we're not going to dwell on this loss, we still have two more games to go so that's our main focus right now, we put this behind us and we're ready for Miami and New York."

It looks like you're more comfortable out there after a few appearances...

"When I first started, I just wanted to gain more trust with the coach and I feel like I am and I just wanted to show more of my abilities and see what I can do for the team and show that to everyone, so I guess that's what you're seeing."

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