Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls exchanged set-piece goals in a 1-1 draw on Thursday night at a rainy BMO Field.
Marco Velez's first career MLS goal off of a Laurent Robert direct free kick gave Toronto an early lead after 22 minutes, but New York's Dave van den Bergh came back with a direct free kick of his own in the 39th to deadlock the score.
The result does little to ease the congestion in the competitive MLS Eastern Conference. Toronto is now one of four clubs tied for second place at 10 points apiece, though TFC is still placed fifth based on goal differential. The Red Bulls, meanwhile, are sixth in the conference table with eight points -- a total that would currently tie them for first with FC Dallas in the Western Conference.
The match got off to an uneventful start as both sides played cautiously in an attempt to feel out the other. The result was 20 minutes of somewhat listless soccer. The crowd's biggest cheer of the opening minutes was for New York's van den Bergh, who had a red streamer thrown by a BMO Field fan caught around his waist and flew behind him like a makeshift cape when the midfielder ran down the field.
Toronto FC's first shot brought the match to life. In the 22nd minute, the Reds had a direct free kick beyond the top left corner of the New York penalty area. Set-piece specialists Laurent Robert and Amado Guevara (both of whom have a free kick goal already this season) lined up over the ball, but it was Robert who swooped in and delivered a curving cross in front of the net. The ball found TFC defender Velez alone on the right side behind the Red Bulls defense, and Velez made no mistake with the header to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
An ecstatic Velez sprinted over to the Toronto bench to celebrate with his teammates, as the goal represented a large weight off of the rookie defender's shoulders. He had drawn the ire of some fans and pundits after struggling in his first few matches, and is fighting for his starting job at center back with the recent signing of Olivier Tebily and the development of rookies Julius James and Pat Phelan.
The pace of the match picked up after the goal, as the Red Bulls went on the attack in search of the equalizer. Their best opportunity came in the 28th minute, when a cross found striker Juan Pablo Angel in front of the net. Angel, returning to the lineup after missing last Sunday's match with a nerve injury in his back, missed the mark with a header that sailed over the net.
Angel was not the only new face in the Red Bulls' starting XI. The striker was one of four changes from the lineup that defeated San Jose on April 27. Defender Hunter Freeman made his 2008 debut after being sidelined with an ankle injury, while Mike Magee was handed his first start of the season, in an attacking midfield role.
The Red Bulls brought the score level with a set-piece goal of their own in the 39th minute. TFC defender Tyrone Marshall was called for a hand ball just outside of the box, giving the Red Bulls the direct free kick some 20 yards from goal out from the right-hand post. Van den Bergh lined his effort through the wall and just inside of the far goal post past a diving Greg Sutton. The goal was van den Bergh's second of the season.
New York suffered a blow when team captain Claudio Reyna left the game at the half with what team officials described as a lower left leg injury. Reyna was replaced in the midfield by Sinisa Ubiparipovic.
More excitement occurred just after the start of the second half when a mild fracas broke out near midfield. Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore was given a foul for shoving Robert, and the TFC midfielder responded by pushing New York's Hunter Freeman to the ground. Both sides gathered and words were exchanged, but the only further development was a yellow card for Robert from referee Abbey Okulaja. The rough play continued for TFC two minutes later when Guevara was booked for a reckless foul on New York's Mike Magee.
The rough play provided the few notable moments of the opening of the half, as both sides reverted to their earlier strategy of playing back and trying to find a hole in the other's formation. The teams weren't helped by the weather; a misty rain and a strong southbound wind made it difficult to pass on the FieldTurf surface.
New York, after amassing four fouls in the first half, recorded eight fouls in the first 25 minutes of the second half, including a booking for Ubiparipovic. The Reds couldn't capitalize on New York's lack of discipline, however. On the three direct free kicks taken after fouls in that 25-minute period, only one resulted in a shot -- a floating effort from Robert in the 65th minute that was easily handled by Red Bulls goalkeeper Jon Conway.
Both sides made substitutions in an attempt to spur on the attack. Dane Richards entered the game in the 56th minute in place of midfielder Danleigh Borman, while the Reds made the now-traditional switch of Danny Dichio for Jeff Cunningham at striker in the 84th minute. It was the fourth consecutive match in which Cunningham has come on for Dichio late in the game.
TFC get a 16-day break before their next match, a home date on May 17 against the Columbus Crew. The Reds look to extend their club-record four-game unbeaten streak against a Columbus side who beat TFC 2-0 on March 29. The Red Bulls will travel west to meet the LA Galaxy on May 10 at The Home Depot Center.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
