In a span of just three minutes, Toronto FC saw a one-goal lead turn into a one-goal deficit against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night. It wasn't hard to find a turning point.
With TFC leading 1-0 in the 69th minute, Andrew Boyens brought down Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore with what the TFC players and coaching staff (not to mention the crowd in attendance at BMO Field) thought was a good tackle. Referee Tim Weyland, however, thought it was a foul.
The result was a direct free kick from Juan Pablo Angel that the striker buried in spectacular fashion to tie the game. Just two minutes later, Angel struck again with a well-placed deflection inside the left post to give New York a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
It was a stunning turn of events for Toronto, which had controlled the pace of the first half and could've well been ahead by more than 1-0.
"We were sucker-punched," said TFC coach Mo Johnston. "Listen, they're a very good team, they hold the ball up well. Juan Pablo Angel was outstanding. You saw the class on the first goal, and ghosting it in the back post on the second goal. You can't teach that. He's a world-class player."
Angel has now scored six goals in five MLS games, but his individual brilliance was tempered by the controversial circumstances surrounding the direct kick. Boyens, though he noted he hadn't seen the play yet on video, thought it was clean.
"I was a bit disappointed for it to be called a foul," Boyens said. "I thought I did well enough, and then I thought he milked it a little bit. But in the end, that foul was called on me and we have to react to it."
Johnston didn't wish to comment on the Boyens foul or the refereeing in general. He did give his opinion on a first-half caution on Red Bulls defender Markus Schopp that could've been an earlier turning point in the match.
"For me, Markus Schopp should've been red-carded," Johnston said. "[Toronto's Andy] Welsh got by him clear, [Schopp] throws him down. He should've been red-carded, end of story."
It was a high-spirited match on both sides (TFC had 12 fouls, New York had 10), and according to Johnston, there was even a minor scuffle in the tunnel after the game.
Midfielder Ronnie O'Brien didn't think his club's problem was a lack of discipline or the officiating -- it was a lack of killer instinct around the net.
"You're got to be ruthless in front of the goal," O'Brien said. "We've got to finish off games. We've got to finish those half-chances. If we had scored a second goal today, we'd win that game pretty easily; I don't think they would've been back in it."
Toronto had a late flurry in search of the tying goal, and O'Brien himself was in the thick of it. The midfielder intercepted a back pass and got a clean shot on net that got past New York goalkeeper Jon Conway, but narrowly missed the inside of the left post.
Substitute Edson Buddle had another golden opportunity a few minutes later, but Conway was there to make a big save that kept the Red Bulls ahead.
"To be honest with you, sometimes it's a little bit of bad luck," Johnston said about TFC's missed chances. "Their goalkeeper made a magnificent save on Edson Buddle. It could've been 2-2, but that's just the way this game is."
Toronto FC now have 10 days before their next game to dwell on the tough defeat. Johnston, however, took a number of positives from this team's performance and noted that his club has come a long way from the team that was outscored 10-0 in their first four games of the season.
"The way I see it ... the last 3-4 weeks, we're on the up," Johnston said. "For [the press] to sit here talking to me about losing points by not keeping a lead, that's pleasing for me because it's showing that we made a lot of strides in the last couple of months.
"We held our own against a very, very good team," he added. "The way I feel our team can play, we can go up against anyone in the league."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
