Macoumba Kandji and Juan Pablo Angel
each had two goals and an assist, and Red Bull New York beat Toronto FC 5-0 in
a driving rain Saturday in the last MLS game at Giants Stadium.
New York, which will move into new Red Bull Arena next year, ended a miserable
season with just its fifth win. New York won just two of its first 22 matches,
but finished with three wins in its last eight games under interim boss Richie
Williams.
Toronto entered the match in a four-way tie for eighth place and the last spot
in the MLS Cup playoffs, but wasted its chance to qualify for the playoffs for
the first time in franchise history.
New York got off to a dream start when Angel controlled the ball near midfield
and slipped a pass to Albert Celades, who made a one-touch, flick-on to spring
Kandji between Toronto defenders Emmanuel Gomez and Nana Attakora.
Kandji drove into the right side of the area and slotted back toward the left,
beating Toronto goalie Brian Edwards less than two minutes into the match for
his third goal of the season.
Toronto followed with three chances, the first by Chad Barrett in the 11th. He
had a scoring chance with New York's Bouna Coundoul off his line, but couldn't
get a fast shot by the scrambling goalie as he raced back in to make the save.
Dwayne De Rosario flicked a header wide of the upper-left corner in the 12th,
then Adrian Serioux's left-footed shot from the top of the area was stopped at
the right post by Coundoul minutes later.
The Red Bulls made TFC pay for the missed opportunities when Kandji and Angel
combined for another goal in the 33rd. Kandji got possession on the left side,
then quickly picked out Angel across the top of the area.
Angel made a nice first touch to lose Serioux, then unleashed a perfectly-hit
shot from the top of the 18 to the bottom-right corner for his 11th goal.
Toronto had one more good shot before halftime but, even though Amado Guevara
dipped a 20-yard free kick well, it skipped wide of the right post.
New York ended any hopes Toronto had of making a comeback when Angel added his
12th goal of the season in the 62nd. Jeremy Hall dropped a perfect pass off to
Angel inside the area, and Angel slotted into the bottom-right corner.
New York entered the match needing three goals to avoid setting an MLS record
for the fewest goals in one season, but Kandji and the Red Bulls weren't done.
Kandji stole a bad back pass to Edwards and easily slotted into an empty goal
in the 70th for his fourth of the season.
Celades, who earned his fourth assist on Kandji's first goal, left the game in
the closing seconds to close his career. Celades announced his retirement just
before the match.
Kandji set New York's last goal in the closing seconds, earning a penalty kick
that Matthew Mbuta buried in the 94th for his first goal of the season.
New York (5-19-6) finished the season with just 21 points, by far the worst in
MLS this season. Toronto (10-10-10) finished its third season without a losing
record, but let a playoff spot slip away with the loss.
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