March 3, 2024
Matches in the MLS recently have normally been played either very late in the evening or in the middle of the night UK time, but today’s match between New England Revolution and Toronto was being played in the early evening so it was an opportunity for these diaries to finally cover the league with the last match of the second round of this season’s competition.
MLS is frequently derided by critics in the UK as being a pension plan for players approaching the twilight years of their careers, and of being a poor quality league, but I have always enjoyed watching games when I have had the chance and haven’t though the standard to be too bad. However, this is coming from a person who regularly watches English non-league football and has recently reported on games in Fiji and El Salvador !
Indeed, on holidays in the Caribbean I used to look forward to watching MLS games on ESPN and Toronto were one of my preferred sides as their fans had very English approach to supporting their side with the songs they sung during the games and the atmosphere generated.
In the past, MLS was shown on Sky TV in the UK, and when that deal expired, games and highlights could be watched on Freesports. However, Freesports no longer exists, and if you now want to watch the MLS from the UK you need to pay for an MLS Pass on Apple TV, for which the cost for the season is $79 for existing Apple TV subscribers or $99 for non-subscribers. Monthly deals are also available.
MLS Format
Since the league began in 1996, LA Galaxy have been the most successful side, with 5 titles and 4 Supporter’s Shields followed by DC United with 4 each.
Toronto won both the MLS title and the Supporter’s Shield in 2017 whilst New England have just the 2021 Supporter’s Shield to their name.
The MLS season is played between February and October. There are 29 sides in the league, with 15 in the Eastern Conference and 14 in the Western Conference, who play a regular 34 match season. The Eastern Conference sides play each other twice plus 6 matches against sides in the Western Conference. Sides in the Western Conference play each other twice plus, with an unbalanced structure, extra matches against sides from both conferences. The league is unusual in that it has three sides from another country ( Canada ) playing in it.
The side with the best overall record in the regular season wins the Supporters’ Shield. The top 9 sides in each conference enter the knock-out play-offs to produce a Conference champion, who in turn then play each other to determine the overall MLS champion.
There is also a mid-season break in July and August when the Leagues Cup is played, which is a tournament involving all clubs in the MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.
The MLS Champions and winners of the League Cup, qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League last 16. The winner of the Supporters’ Shield, the other Conference winner, plus the next best two sides with the best overall record qualify for Round One of the CONCACAF Champions League. Sides finishing second and third in the Leagues Cup also take a berth in Round One.
The three Canadian sides also compete against other Canadian sides in the Canadian Championship, a knock-out cup, for a place in Round One of the CONCACAF Champions League.
The average attendance in the MLS in 2023 was 22,111 which apparently makes it the 7th most watch league in the World.
New England Revolution
In 2023 New England finished 6th overall in the Supporters’ Shield but were eliminated in the First Round of the play-offs, losing 1-4 on aggregate to Philadelphia Union. The 6th place finish gave them a place in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League where they overcame Independiente of Panama 4-0 on aggregate in Round One and next play Alajuelense of Costa Rica in the Round of 16.
Home is the 64,000 capacity Gillette Stadium in Foxborough in the Greater Boston area which is shared with NFL side New England Patriots. For MLS games the capacity is often restricted to 20,000 but can be increased according to demand. The average for 2023 was 23,940.
Revolution were one of the 10 founder members of the MLS and the side’s nickname is The Revs.
Tonight’s starting line-up featured two current US internationals, left-back De Juan Jones ( 8 caps ) and winger Esmir Bajraktarevic ( 1 cap ) and two former US internationals, centre-back Henry Kessler ( 2 caps )and defensive midfielder Matt Polster ( 1 cap ).
Overseas players included Spanish playmaker and dead-ball specialist Carles Gil, who has played for Aston Villa, Valencia, Elche and Deportivo La Coruna. Slovak keeper Henrich Ravas has been called-up into their national squad but is yet to make his debut, and has played for Boston United ( the English one ! ), Hartlepool and Gainsborough Trinity.
Ex-Racing and Al-Wasl Argentinian winger Tomas Chancalay was upfront whilst ex-Helsingborg Ghanian Emmanuel Boateng was on the left-side on midfield. Also in midfield was 18 year old Noel Buck, who was born in the USA but has played for England Under 19s due to having an English father.
Ex-Toronto and Canada midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye ( 42 caps ) was amongst the substitutes as was US international full-back Nicolas Lima ( 9 caps ). Ex-Juventus Albanian forward Giacomo Vrioni ( 6 caps ) was missing through suspension.
New England lost their opening match of the season as they fell to a 1-3 defeat at DC United in Washington and had Giacomo Vrioni sent-off. Although Carlos Gil had scored a fabulous left-footed equaliser, a hat-trick from veteran ex-Aston Villa, Liverpool and Crystal Palace Belgian striker Christian Benteke left them empty-handed.
Toronto FC
In 2023 Toronto finished in last place in the Supporters’ Shield standings so the only way is up this season !
They joined the MLS in 2005, and home is the 30,000 BMO Field where the average attendance in 2023 was an impressive 25,310 despite their poor season. Their nickname is The Reds.
The Toronto side today included two players who appeared in the 2022 Euro Final for Italy against England. Juventus midfielder Frederico Bernardeschi ( 39 caps ) scored in the penalty shoot-out and after subsequent misses it turned out to be the winning penalty, and Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne started but was substituted late in the second half.
Only one Canadian started for Toronto, midfielder and captain Jonathan Osorio ( 71 caps ) but there were two Americans, keeper Sean Johnson ( 13 caps ) and full-back Shane O’Neill, who has played for Dutch side NAC Breda and Cambridge United.
Ex-Burnley, Accrington Stanley and Portsmouth Irish defender Kevin Long ( 15 caps ) signed from Birmingham City just before the season started. Italian defender Raoul Petretta has played for Basel whilst French midfielder Nicksoen Gomis has appeared for Bradford Park Avenue and Beerschot.
Completing their line-up was Honduran defensive midfielder Deybi Flores ( 35 caps ) who numbers Greek side Panetoikos and Hungarians MOL Fehevar amongst his clubs, ex-Arminia Bielefeld German striker Prince Owusu, and Spanish midfielder Alonso Coello.
Ex-Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff was missing from the Toronto squad for this game.
Toronto’s coach was Englishman John Herdman, who holds a record in having coached both a country’s men’s and women’s side to World Cup Finals, taking Canada’s men to the 2022 World Cup and the women to the 2015 World Cup. He also coached the women’s side to a Bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Toronto’s season began with a 0-0 draw at Orlando City
Match Day Information
The match was supposed to start at 14.00 local time ( 19.00 UK ) but for some reason the start was delayed and the game only started at 14.10. The temperature at the kick-off was 13 degrees on a cloudy afternoon.
The distance between Boston and Toronto is nearly 900 km and apparently takes over 8 hours by road. Alternatively, flights on Air Canada take one hour twenty minutes.
Bet365.com, who live streamed the game, made New England 19/20 favourites, with Toronto at 14/5 and the draw at 11/4.
The Revolution were playing in a navy blue kit with red sleeves, whilst Toronto were in their change kit of all white.
Match Report
There was a cagey start to the game as Toronto sat back and allowed the Revolution to play around in their own half.
With 4 minutes played a sloppy ball back to his defence from Toronto’s Flores was intercepted by Chancalay only to be crowded out by the Toronto defence. New England then showed some nice interplay but Bajaktarevic’s shot was blocked and the ball rolled slowly to the Toronto keeper.
Bajaktarevic was prominent in the early stages, but his left-footed chip from the right was just too high for Chancalay and keeper Johnson made an easy catch.
Toronto continued to look shaky at the back and an awful back-pass went off for a corner, which was just as well as it was hit so strong the keeper might have been in difficulty had it been anywhere near the goal.
The Revolution were on top in the early stages but Chancalay’s optimistic long-range effort was partially blocked and again keeper Johnson did the sweeping up duties to prevent the ball going out of play for a corner.
In the 9th minute it was the home side’s turn to carelessly give the ball away with Jones being the offender, and Insigne’s 20 yard shot flew inches wide with the keeper beaten.
The visitors were starting to get into the game and should have opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Full-back O’Neill took a good position on the right wing and his cross found Owusu unmarked 6 yards from goal, but his header went over the bar. He really should have scored from there !
The Revolution’s response was for Bajaktarevic to run at the Toronto defence but after getting close to the by-line his effort from an acute angle was saved at his near post by Johnson at the expense of a corner. Shortly after, an incisive pass from Gil freed Bajaktarevic but his first touch was too heavy and a Toronto defender made a good block to avert the danger.
With 18 minutes played Jones crossed after an overlap only for Gil to shot over from 14 yards.
An interesting moment occurred in the 22nd minute. Toronto again gave away possession, this time just inside the New England half, and the home side quickly countered. There didn’t seem to be anything untoward in real time as Flores tackled Gil inside the Toronto area and play carried on. However, the referee was prompted to review the pitch-side monitor for a possible penalty, and on slow motion replay it did indeed look as if it might have been a foul. However, unusually, the referee didn’t overturn his original decision after a VAR intervention.
Despite not being awarded a penalty, New England remained on the front foot and another cross from Jones found Chancalay unmarked ten yards out, but he could only head well over the bar.
In the 25th minute Toronto were again guilty of giving the ball away in their own half and Chancalay ran into the left-hand side of the penalty area, but his low ball across goal was poor and keeper Johnson fell onto it.
A minute later at the other end, keeper Ravas was called upon to make a smart save after a long cross from the left was knocked back into the 6 yard area by Bernardeschi, but Osorio was denied at close range.
However, Toronto grabbed the opening goal of the game a minute later. Bernardeschi’s ball from the right reached Insigne just inside the Revolution area on the left. After taking a touch to control the ball, he looked up and sent a delightful chip into the opposite top corner, giving the keeper no chance for a stunning goal. 0-1 after 27 minutes.
New England tried to quickly respond but after Gil’s free-kick was partially cleared, Boateng’s wild 20 yards strike sailed well over the bar.
It looked like Toronto had doubled their lead in the 33rd minute. Insigne’s cross from the left went beyond the far post but Bernardeschi managed to keep the ball in play and squared it across the 6 yard line for Owusu to poke into the unguarded net. However, there had been an off-side during the earlier build up play, so the goal was chalked off.
Four minutes later a long ball down the left channel by Jones put Bajaktarevic in space but his ball across the goal mouth towards Chancalay produced a tremendous block from Long to prevent a certain goal.
New England then won a free-kick in a promising position but rather than pump into the mixer, Gil played it short, received the return pass and then played an incisive short pass through the square back-line for Bajaktarevic to run onto, but good defending closed him down and the chance was gone.
Toronto were again careless in possession and Jones intercepted another loose pass and ran towards the by-line but his pull-back was met by another tremendous sliding block from Long, and Flores took no chances and put the ball out for a corner. When the set-piece was cleared, Jones delivered a good looking ball into the penalty area but the Toronto defence allowed it to pass and go out for a goal kick.
With the half-time whistle, Toronto went into the dressing rooms with a slender advantage, which was perhaps deserved, as for all of the home sides’ possession, the Canadian side had created the better chances.
Revolution looked to have created an early chance in the second half as Farrell’s through pass looked to have put Polster clear but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside, which looked very, very tight.
After this New England were struggling to breakdown the Toronto defence, who looked much tighter now they had something tangible to defend.
In the 55th Toronto substitute Franklin fell in inside the Revolution area and there were loud appeals for a penalty, which the referee ignored and VAR didn’t intervene.
A few minutes later, New England brought on Kaye, which meant both sides now had one Canadian each on the pitch.
Another interesting incident occurred in the 64th minute. New England had a free-kick out wide on the left which Gil delivered beyond the far post but the referee’s whistle could quickly be heard. The ball found Kaye and his attempt on goal was well saved by Johnson, but Toronto were awarded a free-kick. I have no idea why !
In the 69th minute Chancalay had a good chance from 10 yards after a ricochet from an attempted interception but Gomis produced a great sliding block to keep out the left-footed effort.
New England were still dominating and Gil was denied by a fine finger tipped save from Johnson to keep out a curling 20 yard attempt to give Revolution their 5th corner.
However, Toronto were not a spent force going forward, and after a nice flowing move Osorio was teed up, but his 20 yard curling shot clipped the top of the bar and over.
Back at the other end a smart pass from Gil released Bajaktarevic in the left-hand channel but his shot on the run saw Johnson save low down at his near post. However, the Revolution’s best chance came in the 79th minute, Chancalay got to the left by-line and after his first pull-back hit a Toronto defender and returned to him, his pass across the 6 yard line was a little too strong for substitute Nacho Gil, with the ball striking his body and looping for Johnson to make the save.
A minute later there were more panic stations in the Toronto defence when Johnson got a fist to a right wing cross and then ran after it to try and gather. Unfortunately for him a Revolution player got to it first and pumped it back into the danger zone, but despite the absence of the keeper the Toronto defence were able to clear.
Toronto were starting to clock up the yellow cards for time wasting and the lively Bajaktarevic skipped past Bernardeschi but again the final ball was lacking.
With 4 minutes left on the clock Lima got to the right by-line and after his cross was poorly cleared, Polster blazed high over the bar from the edge of the area.
6 minutes of added time were to be played, and New England were able to fashion one final chance. Gil got to the by-line on the left and his pull-back found Polster just inside the area but his low drive produced an outstanding save from Johnson, who somehow managed to push the ball over the bar.
In the last minute of injury time, Bernadeschi played a cute ball over the last Revolution defender but Akinola decided to run towards the corner flag rather than go for a second goal to clinch the three points but after winning a throw in the referee blew for full time.
After two away games, Toronto were unbeaten and were still to conceded a goal, which represented a vast improvement on their wooden spoon from last season. New England were now played two, lost two, and for all their pretty approach work and the eye-catching touches from Gil, Jones & Bajaktarevic they were desperately missing a goal-hungry striker, which perhaps the return from suspension of Vrioni will address ?
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWiNWsDlbuw
New England Revolution : Ravas – Farrell ( Lima ), Kessler, Romney, Jones ( Panaytou ) – Bajaktarevic, Polster, C. Gil, Buck ( Kaye ), Boateng ( N. Gil ) - Chancalay
Toronto FC : Johnson – O’Neill, Long, Petretta ( Thompson ) – Osorio, Bernardeschi, Flores, Coello, Gomis – Owusu ( Akinola ), Insigne ( Franklin )
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