New York City FC don’t have much time to think about the result from their debut in the U.S. Open Cup.
The Club, which was knocked out of the competition’s fourth round by the New York Cosmos 4-3 on penalty kicks (2-2 a.e.t.) on Wednesday night, returns to the field on Saturday against Toronto FC.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. EDT from BMO Field. The match will be broadcast on YES Network 2, 970 AM and WQBU.
READ: YES Network Programming Change for New York City FC at Toronto FC
“It’s disappointing obviously to go out on penalties, but the good thing is we have a game coming up so quick,” midfielder Tommy McNamara said. “We have an opportunity to get that bitter taste out of our mouth. It’s a blessing in a way because we can focus on this game in Toronto and play so quickly again.”
“It’s good and bad,” head coach Jason Kreis said. “It’s good we have another match we have to focus on very quickly, but it’s bad because we had to play 120 minutes on turf and then play again on Saturday. We will do everything in our power to get the players regenerated, recuperated and refreshed for the game.”
New York City FC (3-7-5; 14 points) enter Saturday’s contest on a three-match unbeaten streak in Major League Soccer. The Club tied Houston 1-1 on May 30, won 2-1 at Philadelphia on June 6 and defeated Montreal 3-1 at home on June 13.
Toronto FC (6-5-1; 19 points) come into the match on a two-week hiatus, last playing on June 6. Toronto beat Eastern Conference leaders D.C. United 2-1 at RFK Stadium.
The extended time off may or may not favor New York City FC.
“There’s obviously potential pros and potential cons, but you never really know,” said McNamara, who is coming off consecutive league starts. “They’ve had some extra rest and time to focus on the game so they may be sharper, but on the other hand, they haven’t played in two weeks so they might not be as sharp. We’ll see when the game comes.”
Toronto FC is headlined by the trio of Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley. Giovinco, who signed as a Designated Player on Jan. 19, has seven goals and six assists in his debut season in MLS. The Atomic Ant leads the league in shots on goal (28) and is second overall with 61 total shots.
Altidore (five goals) and Bradley (one goal, two assists) return to the side after absences. Altidore was recovering from a hamstring injury, while Bradley was away with the United States National Team for a pair of international friendly victories over the Netherlands (4-3 on June 5) and Germany (2-1 on June 10).
“They obviously have some big-name players, but that’s only three out of the 11 guys,” McNamara said. “Obviously you need to be aware of them, but there’s 11 guys on a team.”
They key on Saturday, according to McNamara, is getting off to a quick start and imposing New York City FC’s style on the match to quiet the crowd at BMO Field as Toronto FC attempt to win four matches in a row for the first time in franchise history.
“We definitely want to start the game on the right foot and impose our style and gain control of the game,” McNamara said. “It’s difficult on the road because they’re a good team at home, but that’s what we’re going to try to do to gain some momentum in our favor.”
