RBNY Rescues A Point With Final Kick to Secure 1-1 Draw vs Toronto FC

When Red Bull New York needed a miracle to rescue a point on Saturday afternoon against Toronto FC, substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was there to save the day.

The Red Bulls secured an unlikely draw at the death at BMO Field on Major League Soccer Matchday 4 when their Designated Player striker tucked home a blooping finish in the 97th minute of the match to make the match 1-1. Fellow substitute Tanner Rosborough was instrumental in winning the corner and ensuring that Toronto couldn't fully clear the ball.

Daniel Salloi scored the lone goal for The Reds in the 43rd minute.

The Red Bulls started the match similarly to how they did in the opening two games, with young phenom Julian Hall returning the striker position while Ronald Donkor reassumed his spot in central midfield. Robert Voloder remained in the center of defense with Dylan Nealis still unavailable and Mohammed Sofo, who had missed some time due to a preseason ankle injury, started on the wing with Cade Cowell at home with family for the birth of his first child.

Robin Fraser's Toronto side featured a defense-heavy eleven, highlighted by a back five with Walker Zimmerman joined by Zane Monlouis and Benjamin Kuscevic in the center back positions. Richie Laryea and former Red Bull Raheem Edwards started as the wingbacks, with Jose Cifuentes, Djordje Mihailovic and captain Jonathan Osorio patroling central midfield. Salloi started the match up front next to Emilio Aristizabal.

Once again, New York maintained the bulk of possession throughout the match, totaling more than twice the amount of completed passes than Toronto (572 to 262) during the match.

The best chances of the early minutes fell to the Red Bulls, with former Toronto FC full back Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty forcing a good save out of Luka Gavran in the 13th minute. Jorge Ruvalcaba, who looked lively throughout the game but never all that dangerous, forced another stop out of Gavran in the 19th minute.

Midway through the half, the home side began to find their feet. Dead ball specialist Mihailovic fired a free kick from just over 20 yards out that was destined for the side netting if not for an excellent save by Ethan Horvath.

Just moments later, though, center back Justin Che sprung the Red Bulls forward on a counter attack that Hall was unable to slot past Gavran. The rest of the half, however, would belong to Toronto.

After Horvath once again denied a great Mihailovic effort in the 39th minute, Toronto took the lead.

With numbers pressed forward to attack a corner, Gavran quickly sprung Mihailovic forward to counter. Matty Dos Santos was caught in no man's land when the Toronto attacking midfielder found Salloi all alone in front of Horvath who calmly chipped the cross over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Toronto had the 1-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, New York turned up the heat but just couldn't quite find the target.

Hall and Donkor did well to set up Emil Forsberg for what should have been an equalizing goal in the 53rd minute, but the RBNY captain missed the net. In the 57th minute, Forsberg forced a save out of Gavran, the first of several key defensive stops from Toronto in the second 45.

In the 79th minute, Hall went to ground after fielding a challenge from Laryea in the penalty area that prompted a VAR review, but the decision on the field of no foul was unchanged.

As doubt began to creep in, the Red Bulls needed to remain sharp defensively, with debutant Josh Sargent posing an additional threat for Toronto in the second half. The second-half substitute forced a strong save out of U.S. National Team colleague Horvath in the 86th minute.

Then, in the 97th minute of the match, 17-year-old Rosborough did great work to earn a corner with the game seemingly seconds from dead. The subsitute later did well to prevent Zimmerman and Monlouis from fully clearing their lines when New York's 11th corner of the afternoon came in, opening the door for some Choupo-Moting heroics to rescue a point at the last breath of the game. 

Despite leaving it until the very end, New York will be pleased to have earned a point in this manner. Toronto will rightfully feel hard done.

Yet, Michael Bradley's men performed well in their skipper's return to his former stomping grounds. Once again, 16-year-old holding midfielder Adri Mehmeti appears to be a 15-year league veteran living in the body of a junior in high school, and with Donkor back in the lineup, the team was able to control the game at the high pace they prefer.

Having rescued a point in the end, they certainly regret missing some big chances earlier in the match. It's another good result on the road, though, with New York collecting their fourth point away from home in two matches through 2026. They had 10 points after 17 away matches in 2025.

Concerningly, RBNY may be without Che for an extended period of time, as he was forced to leave the game in second-half stoppage time with a non-contact hamstring injury. He joins fellow first-choice center back Dylan Nealis on the injured list at the moment.

As of the time of publication, the Red Bulls finish where they started in the MLS Eastern Conference table, fourth place on seven points through four matches.

New York will be back in action away from home next weekend when they travel to Bank of America Stadium to take on Wilfried Zaha and Charlotte FC. The match is set for Saturday, Mar. 23 at 7:30 PM on Apple TV.