New York City FC (3) - Toronto FC (1) Postgame Summary

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MLS Toronto FC

New York City FC (3) - Toronto FC (1) Postgame Summary

July 3, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Toronto FC News Release


SCORING SUMMARY

NYC - Hannes Wolf 20' (Mitja Ilenic)

NYC - Mitja Ilenic 49' (Agustín Ojeda, Aiden O'Neill)

TOR - Tomás Romero 70' (own goal)

NYC - Kevin O'Toole 74' (Hannes Wolf, Maxi Moralez)

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

TOR - Kevin Long 2' (caution)

TOR - Matty Longstaff 19' (caution)

NYC - Alonso Martinez 25' (caution)

TOR - Maxime Dominguez 67' (caution)

TOR - Malik Henry 71' (caution)

RECORDS (W-L-T)

New York City FC 9-7-4 31 points

Toronto FC 4-11-5 17 points

LINEUPS

NEW YORK CITY FC - Tomás Romero; Mitja Ilenic, Justin Haak, Thiago Martins (C), Birk Risa (Kevin O'Toole 70'); Maxi Moralez (Jonathan Shore 84'), Aiden O'Neill, Andres Perea; Agustín Ojeda (Julian Fernandez 76'), Hannes Wolf, Alonso Martinez (Monsef Bakrar 85')

Substitutes Not Used: Greg Ranjitsingh, Nico Cavallo, Strahinja Tanasijevic, Maximo Carrizo, Seymour Reid

TORONTO FC - Sean Johnson (C); Kosi Thompson, Kevin Long, Sigurd Rosted, Raoul Petretta (Richie Laryea 57'); Matty Longstaff (Malik Henry 70'), Maxime Dominguez, Alonso Coello; Theo Corbeanu, Tyrese Spicer (Deandre Kerr 58'), Ola Brynhildsen

Substitutes Not Used: Luka Gavran, Kobe Franklin, Reid Fisher, Lazar Stefanovic, Markus Cimermancic, Charlie Sharp

MEDIA NOTES

Kosi Thompson made his 100th appearance for Toronto FC across all competitions, becoming the 17th player in club history and the third active player alongside Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea to reach the milestone.

ROBIN FRASER - HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC

Q: Seemed like a fairly decent start but you found yourself behind one nothing after 20 minutes. Despite that, what was your take on the evening?

Disappointing, disappointing because I thought we more than started well I thought for a lot of the game we were really good and really solid and mistakes, mistakes did us in but by and large were disappointing the result partially because we know how badly we need results. But really the effort, proud of the effort the effort was great there were a couple of mental lapses that end up costing us too much but so many guys played so well and put in a really honest shift and it's just disappointing when you do so many things well and you still come out on this side of it.

Q: Just two shots on target tonight for your side. How do you explain that? Why the lack of shots on target do you think?

Well, it's a tight field. It's a small field and we're away from home. I thought for the first half we were pretty comfortable. I don't think we held the ball up front as well, early in the half as we needed to. And I think that eroded a little bit of our attacking confidence. But I do think that as the game went on, we were consistently in it. We were really solid. They weren't really getting toward our goal, and for us it was just about a little bit more patience and getting more numbers up the field.

Q: A little bit of a tweak in the attack there. I thought Theo [Corbeanu] was a little wider than maybe he had played last game and you had [Tyrese] Spicer on the other side. What was sort of the thinking with utilizing that wide space and how did it work out for you?

I mean, that's pretty much how we used Theo [Corbeanu] and [Tyrese] Spicer every time they play. So, nothing was different with regard to that. Felt like certainly they've been in good form, they're good players when they get into one-v-ones and it's a tight field, so it takes a lot of work to really get them some time on the weak side. And that was really the thought is to utilize these guys and put them in one-v-ones, two-v-ones, and allow them to beat their players and get behind.

Q: Did the goals come too easy? It seemed like there was a lot of empty space for the New Yorkers on some of them.

I think the goals came too easily because of a few mistakes, a few mental lapses. That's really it for me. That's where the opportunities came about. You talk about too much space, maybe you're thinking about the actual final shot, but I'm looking at everything that led up to the shot and I felt like things could have been dealt with a little bit cleaner, a little bit higher up the field and we wouldn't have been in those situations.

Q: How would you evaluate Ola's [Brynhildsen] performance tonight?

Again, I thought the work rate was incredible. He puts in such a hard shift every night. I thought early on he didn't hold the ball as well as he needed to, as well as he can. But credit to him, he continues to fight and continues to deal with a lot of people being around him, and that's part of the idea of getting more numbers forward so that we can take some of the attention off, especially if we're playing with one striker. So, I thought it was a tough night in that on a small field attacking players have even less time and space and I just thought his work rate and his fight was what we expect and what we've come to expect.

Q: You've now got a little bit of time with the guys after a pretty busy restart to the season here. What do the next few days look like? What do you want the focus to be?

Well take a few days to kind of rest and get this out of our system and then we'll get ready for the game next week at home and continue to build on some of the positive things that we've seen over the last three games, certainly two and a half games, lots of positives to take out of it. We'll continue to build on our attacking ideas and continue to work on how we defend, how we get pressure. I think that's also been key to what's been good for the last couple of games, is our ability to get pressure higher, make it more difficult for teams, higher up the field. And when we win balls higher up the field, we get more opportunities.

MATTY LONGSTAFF - MIDFIELDER, TORONTO FC

Q: It seemed like a good start to the game, but then you fell behind. Did mistakes just cost you tonight?

Yeah, especially the first. I don't really think there was much in it. We just concede from a set play, which isn't great on our side, especially since coming back after the break, the last two games have been really switched on and really good and it was definitely disappointing to go one-nil down to a second phase of a set play because that's something that we work on a lot. And yeah, it was really disappointing.

Q: Only two shots on target for TFC tonight. Do you have a sense of why the team maybe struggled in the final third to create scoring chances?

Yeah, I think obviously we got into the areas, but as you said, we didn't really threaten enough with chances. I think as a group we have to be better on the final pass or the final ball and maybe have more of a shoot first attitude. I know I'd run the first half. I try to cross where I should probably shoot at them inside the box and obviously you see what happens with the goal where Theo [Corbeanu] crosses it and it goes in. So yeah, maybe we've got to take a few more risks around the box and look to get shots off. But yeah, I think that's the main thing.

Q: Is that the kind of game that gets frustrating, like the early yellow cards, the first goal coming out of nothing? Is that just one of those frustrating nights?

Yeah, obviously I felt like every first foul we made, we got booked for which isn't usual. I felt like whoever made the tackle, especially early on just got a yellow straight straightaway. But I guess that's the way it goes. And yeah, as you said, it's obviously frustrating, especially the first half, we felt like there wasn't loads in it. As I said, it come down to a set play, which is obviously frustrating and obviously in the last couple of games we scored from set plays, so normally it goes the other way where the one's going. So yeah, it's obviously disappointing to concede the first one the way we did.

Q: It seems like a kind of a stop-and-start schedule. Recently you had a huge break and then games. Has it been kind of strange or difficult to get back into the rhythm?

No, definitely. I think it's obviously weird in terms of we had such a big break and then suddenly you come back and you're playing Wednesday, Saturday, Thursday, and then we have another break now really till next Saturday. So yeah, obviously it's schedule's a bit all over the shop, but as a group we've got to know that this is going to come and obviously we had something similar last year, so that's no excuse for us. We've got to be ready to play every time and obviously today I thought for 95% in terms of the way we work, the way we run around and stuff, just as we said earlier, it's just a bit disappointing to concede three poor goals that are easily avoidable.

Q: What is it like for you playing in the narrow confines of Yankee Stadium?

Yeah, obviously it's different to every other pitch. We knew that coming here the pitch was so small and things happen very quick around you. There's a lot of turnovers, there's a lot of second balls and you're going to be prepared for that. But yeah, I thought it was a bit of a chaotic at times where the balls going, falling back and it's second balls, but you expect that on the littler pitch and sometimes it can be tough to create stuff when there's less timing and things like that. But yeah, it's still no excuse to get beat three one.

Q: Some big roster changes earlier this week with the exits of Lorenzo [Insigne] and Federico [Bernardeschi]. Maybe you can sort take us inside the players' locker room. What's sort of the mindset of the group now that the Italians are no longer there?

Obviously, it's probably made a lot bigger deal outside of our changing room. Obviously, the media and you see everything on the news and it's about Lorenzo and Fede. I can only speak on my behalf. I got on really well with them. I was good friends and I think we had a really good relationship. So yeah, I'll definitely miss them and miss being around them and playing with them in that change room. Nothing really changes from our mentality. We know we've got to have 11 players all running and fighting. If not, we're not going to get results. And yeah, obviously as I said, they were great people and someone I got along with really well. But nothing changes in terms of the way we have to play and being together. And if all 11 know we're together and fight, we'll have a chance of winning games. That'd been the same thing to start the season and if we don't then we're probably not going to win as many games as we want to.

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