The Red Bulls shut out Toronto 3-0 in their last meeting in New York on August 15.
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A goal from Herculez Gomez in the 51st minute helped give Toronto FC its record fourth-consecutive win with two matches remaining.
Toronto FC secured a berth in the MLS play-offs thanks to a 2-1 win over New York Red Bulls and a moment of brilliance from Sebastian Giovinco on Wednesday.
Giovinco brought the crowd on its feet in the 79th minute after deking out a slew of Red Bulls before firing a shot into the right hand side of the net.
The goal turned out to be a crucial one for Toronto, as substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips scored in the 86th minute to cut the home team’s lead in half.
While Toronto clinched their playoff spot, New York failed to garner the single point needed to officially take the Eastern Conference crown, making Sunday’s encounter against the Philadelphia Union at Red Bull Arena a more significant fixture for both their conference and Supporters’ Shield hopes.
That move paid an nearly immediate dividend for Toronto, as Giovinco sealed the win on a brilliant individual effort in the 78th minute in which he deked out essentially the entire Reds Bulls team and blasted the ball past keeper Luis Robles. Vancouver (15-13-5) is in third place with 50 points, one point behind the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Toronto will certainly have a few challenges though against the Red Bulls, something that goes beyond its lack of recent success against New York.
Diaz made it a 2-0 game in the 52nd minute, with his seventh goal of the season.
The Toronto back line should remain relatively similar to that of recent weeks, including mid-season pick up Josh Williams, who has stepped in nicely at center back after struggling to find the field in the first half of the season with New York City FC while battling injury.
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It was perhaps Gomez, whose opener was his first goal since joining TFC this summer, who best summed it up. Salt Lake have regained their form somewhat since that loss, however, winning four of their last six, and they will have both goalkeeper Nick Rimando and captain Kyle Beckerman ready for full action after worldwide duty.
