Luka Gavran made three saves as Toronto FC capitalized on a defensive miscue in the opening minutes, overcame a massive discrepancy in possession and bolstered its playoff positioning with a 2-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls Saturday night in Harrison, N.J.
Daniel Salloi scored an insurance goal in the 82nd minute as Toronto (8-10-12, 36 points) tied New York in points in the tight Eastern Conference race.
The Red Bulls (10-14-6, 36 points) hold the tiebreaker due to owning two more wins.
Toronto’s Josh Sargent was in prime position at the right side of the net to convert an easy tap-in off a feed from Theo Corbeanu in the third minute of play. Instead, New York defender Justin Che deflected the feed beyond the reach of goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and into the New York net.
After Gavran made all three of his saves in the first half, Toronto padded the lead when Salloi was alone in the center of the box and put his eighth goal of the season into the bottom right corner.
Gavran posted his sixth career shutout and fourth of the season. His performance helped Toronto end a 14-game winless skid (0-9-5) against the Red Bulls that dated to July 17, 2019. Toronto also ended an eight-game road losing streak to the Red Bulls dating to Oct. 30, 2017.
New York held possession for 67.3% of the contest and attempted 15 shots but rarely came close to scoring in the second half until Julian Hall put a ball past Gavran only to see Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting get caught offside. The Red Bulls also continued to struggle at home, falling to 5-7-3.
Choupo-Moting also nearly scored the tying goal off a corner kick by Emil Forsberg in the 70th minute, but his header in the center of the box sailed over the net.
Before Choupo-Moting misfired on a header, Forsberg put the ball well over the net on a direct free kick in the 53rd after Toronto’s Zane Monlouis drew a yellow card.
Horvath finished with three saves as Toronto attempted six shots.
–Field Level Media
