HARRISON, N.J. – Toronto FC, thanks to goalkeeper Sean Johnson, edged the New York Red Bulls 5-4 in a penalty shootout after their 2024 Leagues Cup opener ended in a scoreless draw in regulation time Saturday.
Matty Longstaff, Kosi Thompson, Derrick Etienne Jr., Jonathan Osorio and Shane O’Neill scored penalties for Toronto.
Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara, normally the backup to Paraguayan international Carlos Coronel, stopped Jahkeele Marshal-Rutty on TFC’s sixth attempt.
That set up Daniel Edelman for the possible winner, but he skied his shot. O’Neill then gave Toronto a 5-4 lead and Johnson stopped Andres Reyes for the shootout win
Lorenzo Insigne, aiming for the top corner, hit the crossbar with Toronto’s first penalty attempt.
Lewis Morgan, Dante Vanzeir, Wiki Carmona and Elias Manoel converted their spot kicks for the Red Bulls. Johnson stopped Cory Burke with the game on the line at 4-4.
It marked Toronto’s first-ever win in Leagues Cup. TFC has yet to scored a goal in regulation time in the tournament.
Toronto had more of the ball in a less-than-enthralling first half at Red Bull Arena and managed the lone shot on goal before the break. The game opened up somewhat in the second half with both goalkeepers tested.
Johnson preserved the tie with a fine save in the 84th minute, acrobatically pushing a header from Vanzeir over the crossbar. And an unmarked Vanzeir headed just wide in the 89th minute.
And Meara stopped Insigne’s low shot from outside the penalty box in the dying seconds of stoppage time. The Italian, who had a quiet night, had a second chance but sent his shot wide.
Under Leagues Cup rules, there was no extra time before the penalty shootout.
Toronto earned two points for the shootout win while the Red Bulls got one for the shootout loss. A regulation win is worth three points in the tournament.
The Red Bulls host Pachuca on Tuesday with the storied Mexico side visiting Toronto on Aug. 4 to complete East Group 6 play.
The Leagues Cup, now in its fourth edition, has grown to involve all 29 teams from MLS and all 18 from Liga MX.
Liga MX champion Club America and MLS titleholder Columbus Crew have been given byes to the knockout round of 32. The other 45 entries have been divided into 15 groups of three teams.
The top two from each group advance to the round of 32.
Toronto failed to survive the group stage of last year’s tournament, losing 5-0 to New York City FC at Red Bull Arena and 1-0 to Mexico’s Atlas at BMO Field, with the NYCFC loss one of the low points in a dismal 2023 season.
The Red Bulls reached the round of 16 where they lost to the Philadelphia Union in a penalty shootout.
Toronto (9-14-3) currently sits eighth in the MLS’s Eastern Conference, 11 points behind the fourth-place Red Bulls (10-4-11), who have a game in hand.
Coming off a 3-1 win over second-place FC Cincinnati, the Red Bulls were unbeaten in their previous eight games (2-0-6). The New Yorkers were also unbeaten in 15 straight home games.
Toronto had won two of its last three, including a 1-0 victory at CF Montreal last time out, after a seven-game losing streak in all competitions.
Toronto coach John Herdman fielded arguably his strongest lineup with Kevin Long, Deybi Flores and Etienne coming on for O’Neill, Longstaff and Thompson.
The Red Bulls gave 16-year-old forward Julian Hall his first start.
The homegrown player, who turned 16 on March 24, had already made seven first-team appearances (83 minutes) off the bench and became the second youngest goal-scorer in MLS history — at 16 years 87 days old — on June 19 when he scored in the 88th minute to give the Red Bulls a 2-2 tie at CF Montreal.
Hall, who started up front beside Morgan, left in the 62nd minute after taking a knock going after a high ball.
Toronto came on in the latter stages of the first half. A diving Meara parried a dangerous Federico Bernardeschi cross that deflected off a defender in the 38th minute before stopping a shot from Jonathan Osorio two minutes later.
A 52nd-minute Red Bulls goal by Norwegian winger Dennis Gjengaar was called off for offside. Three minutes later at the other end, Meara had to make a fine save to stop a curling Etienne shot destined for the corner of goal.
Herdman sent on O’Neill, Longstaff, Thompson, Sigurd Rosted and Marshall-Rutty in the second half.
The Leagues Cup, which opened Friday and runs through Aug. 25, began in 2019 and also took place in 2020 and 2023.
Mexico’s Cruz Azul and Leon won in 2019 and ’20, respectively, while Lionel Messi and Inter Miami hoisted the trophy last year. The top three teams qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup with the winner earning a bye to the round of 16 of the elite club championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Canadian MLS teams did not take part until 2023, with only Vancouver Whitecaps FC surviving the group stage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2024.
