Toronto FC Goals: Salloi 70'
New York City FC Goals: Fernández Mercau 29'
Quick Read
New York City FC earned a point on the road against Toronto FC after Nico Fernández Mercau’s superb first-half strike gave the Boys in Blue the lead. Toronto responded in the second half, with substitute Daniel Sallói converting Theo Corbeanu’s low cross in the 70th minute. Matt Freese made several important saves as both teams ultimately settled for a 1-1 draw.
Match Recap
New York City FC were on the road this weekend as they took on Toronto FC.
Pascal Jansen’s side were keen to build on the point they earned in their last outing against the New England Revolution.
Jansen made four changes to the side that faced New England last time out, introducing Luighi, Mitja Ilenič, Keaton Parks and Thiago Martins in place of Talles Magno, Tayvon Gray, Jonny Shore and Max Murray.
A steady start to the contest saw Toronto register the first real look at goal in the ninth minute through Markus Cimermancic. His initial shot was blocked by James Sands, but Alonso Coello’s follow-up flew off his foot and forced Matt Freese to divert it behind for a corner.
Arguably Toronto’s best chance of the half came when Sands was robbed of the ball deep inside his own half, and a pass was flashed across the New York City FC goalmouth. Thankfully, Derrick Etienne Jr. could not get his toe on the ball to turn it home.
Set pieces proved to be a dangerous avenue of opportunity for Toronto in the first half. Benjamín Kuscevic managed to wriggle free at a corner in the 24th minute, but headed over.
While chances had been sparse for New York City FC, the visitors made theirs count when they took the lead in the 29th minute through a brilliant strike from Nico Fernández Mercau.
The playmaker picked up the ball in the Toronto half and drove inside from the right before firing a daisy-cutter into the bottom-right corner from 25 yards out.
Buoyed by the goal, New York City FC quickly set about trying to secure a second, with several dangerous half-chances lacking only a final pass.
Djordje Mihailovic tried to level the scores in first-half stoppage time, but his dipping shot did not present a problem for Freese.
New York City FC almost made the perfect start to the second half by securing a second goal. A well-worked corner saw Fernández Mercau slide the ball to an unmarked Luighi. His effort had curl and power, but not the desired accuracy.
They fashioned another good chance minutes later when Bénie Traoré’s clipped cross found Andrés Perea on the edge of the box. His bouncing volley skipped just past the post.
Toronto responded with a half-chance of their own after Mihailovic fired in a low cross from the right that forced Freese to get down low and claim the ball.
He was handed a similar opportunity from the opposite side minutes later, but this time Sands was on hand to head the ball clear.
From the resulting corner, Zimmerman powered a header toward goal that required a great reaction from Freese, who palmed the ball up into the air before it could be cleared away from danger.
Toronto were ramping up the pressure, with much of their play running through Theo Corbeanu down the left. That put a lot of responsibility on Nico Cavallo, who stood up admirably to the test.
Jansen turned to his bench for the first time just after the hour mark, introducing Raúl Gustavo and Kevin O’Toole in place of Cavallo and Traoré.
Toronto found an equalizer in the 70th minute through Daniel Sallói. The substitute was found by a low cross from Corbeanu and turned it home.
Mihailovic then went close to securing a second goal after turning away from Keaton Parks 25 yards out. His shot was dipping, but Freese did well to palm it away from danger.
A third change for New York City FC arrived in the 75th minute, as Thiago Martins was replaced by Malachi Jones. He was joined on the field by Jonny Shore, who replaced Parks shortly afterward.
New York City FC had done well to repel Toronto’s attacks and fashioned a chance of their own in the 85th minute. Ojeda’s cross found Luighi, but his bicycle-kick attempt lacked the accuracy required to trouble the goalkeeper.
Chances proved few and far between in the final moments of the game. Mihailovic fired a free kick over early into stoppage time, while Ilenič drew a good save from Luka Gavran.
In the end, neither side could find the go-ahead goal, forcing both teams to settle for a point on the night.
How We Lined Up
What's Next
Next up for New York City FC is a game against Nashville SC on Friday, September 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30PM ET.
