New York Red Bulls II beat Toronto II 5-1 at MCY Soccer Park at Pittser Field on 23 August in the MLS Next Pro group stage. The hosts dominated from the opening minutes, scoring within four minutes through E. Khodri. Toronto struggled to find any rhythm against a side that felt the pressure of maintaining their position in the table.
D. Gjengaar doubled the advantage at 19 minutes, and here's the thing about the 20th minute — it came immediately after. By then the match had settled into a pattern the visitors could not disrupt. The early goals gave New York space to control possession without rushing their attacks.
Gjengaar completed his hat-trick at 42 minutes, a moment that effectively ended any contest. The second half saw A. Rojas add a fifth goal at 52 minutes, followed by another at 53 that had no scorer credited. D. Nelich scored at 61 minutes, and C. Gallagher rounded off the scoring at 67 minutes.
New York registered 196 attacks against 109 for the visitors, with 63 per cent possession. They hit 10 shots on target with 59 per cent accuracy, while Toronto managed just five on target from 42 per cent accuracy. Many shots with five goals means chances were converted, but the gap in possession told the real story of control.
The result keeps New York in second place with 44 points from 25 games, while Toronto remain seventh with 33 points from 24 matches. Both sides have zero draws this season, which makes every result weightier than a typical group stage fixture. The hosts have one foot in the next round by then, while the visitors face mounting pressure.
Toronto's R. Chukwu received two yellow cards in stoppage time, at 90+3 and 90+4 minutes, leaving them with ten men. The incident went to review, but the damage was done long before the final whistle. Tottenham's old head settled them down, but this was a different kind of match entirely.
