Toronto FC: 3 takeaways from a disappointing night against NYC FC
1. Thrown off the deep end
Nelson joined Nobel Okello as the two TFC academy debutants at the MLS is Back Tournament. However, the situation in which they made their first appearances for the club could not have been more different.
Okello was brought on late in a somewhat meaningless final group stage match against New England Revolution for a tidy 22 minutes. Meanwhile, Nelson was plopped into the starting lineup against the 2019 Eastern Conference champions in a win-or-go-home knockout stage match.
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While Nelson played a solid, if unremarkable, 57 minutes against NYC FC before being lifted for Erickson Gallardo, his selection from the outset must be called into question. As stated previously, TFC were stretched thin at the top, but Nelson’s inclusion in the starting XI over a handful of more experienced players, such as Tsubasa Endoh and Liam Fraser, might be a decision that Vanney could be rethinking.
The silver lining is that Nelson received and survived about as brutal a trial by fire as one could incur, having to run with a supersonic New York City FC team that was on a mission. Still, there’s an argument to be made that TFC could have been better served by starting a more established player in a game with such significance.
New York City FC will now go on to face the winner of Portland Timbers vs FC Cincinnati. Toronto FC will await news on how the 2020 MLS season will resume, with early reports indicating an 18-game regular season schedule that could start as soon as mid-August.
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What is your verdict on Toronto FC’s performance against NYC FC? What was the main reason the Reds lost? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.