Frankie Amaya and Caden Clark scored a goal in each half as the New York Red Bulls handed former head coach Chris Armas and Toronto FC a 2-0 defeat Saturday afternoon at Red Bull Arena.
Amaya’s first goal for the Red Bulls started with Clark stripping Marky Delgado and making a penetrating run before finding Fabio in the box. With back to goal, the Brazilian laid the ball off to Amaya, who fired a low, well-struck shot inside the near post from just outside the 18-yard box.
Fabio, who picked up his third assist — and second on a layoff — nearly scored his first goal for his on-loan club. But Fabio couldn’t direct a Cristian Casseres pass that sliced through the Toronto FC defense and took Alex Bono off his line, with the ball going harmlessly off his chest and over the end line.
That miss proved to be a minor footnote because Clark put the match away in the 69th minute with his third goal of the season. Dru Yearwood played a through ball to Fabio, which forced Bono off his line to challenge. The ball caromed off the Toronto FC goalkeeper and Clark pounced to fire the insurance goal into the empty net.
Three ThingsÂ
- THE BIG PICTURE: After opening the season with consecutive defeats, the Red Bulls have strung together back-to-back clean sheet wins at Red Bull Arena, looking more and more comfortable under a new coach. Toronto FC, which came into the match off CCL disappointment, continues to search for a first league win. But new Designated Player signing Yeferson Soteldo, who made his debut off the substitute’s bench in the 55th minute, showed flashes of what’s to come.Â
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: This was the only goal the Red Bulls would need. Amaya gets the glory, but it doesn’t happen if not for Clark’s work to create the turnover.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: It’s that kid again. Clark’s pressure and penetrating run set up Amaya’s goal and then the 17-year-old continued his run into the box to clean up the scraps of Yearwood’s dangerous pass into the box.
Next Up
- RBNY: Saturday, May 15 at Philadelphia Union | 7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ | MLS regular season
- TOR: Wednesday, May 12 vs. Columbus Crew SC | 7 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ | MLS regular season
