Reds won’t be tourists in New York

Toronto promises not to sit back and watch league’s top offence

Toronto FC may be in the driver’s seat heading to the away leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal, but that doesn’t mean the Reds have any plans to change their attacking approach come Sunday.

TFC’s last-gasp 2-0 victory over New York City FC at BMO Field on Sunday means a win, a tie or any one-goal or two-goal loss other than 2-0 will secure the Reds a place in the East final.

If Toronto scores one away goal, the New Yorkers would have to notch four to advance.

Should the match at Yankee Stadium finish with the exact same score line as the first game in Toronto, the meeting will go to extra time, with penalties a possibility.

In the Reds’ nine regular season defeats this season, only one loss was by more than one goal, a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of New York Red Bulls in late May.

New York City has never beaten Toronto by three goals.

With that in mind, TFC will not set out to simply protect its lead.

“We can’t get complacent,” defender Nick Hagglund said. “I think it’s important for us to continue with our game plan, continue to pressure them high up the field and make them make mistakes. No matter what, we’re going in to win the game.”

Coach Greg Vanney said it’s up to his team to eschew the cat-and- mouse game of letting New York City’s attack come at it for 90 minutes.

That tactic could be especially dangerous against a team that scored 62 goals in the regular season, though coach Patrick Vieira’s squad won by three goals on just three occasions this year and never kept a clean sheet in the process.

The field at Yankee Stadium — the smallest field allowed by international rules, which is located in the baseball diamond’s outfield — also poses a challenge for the visitors.

Its awkward size limits the time players have to play the ball, making the tempo of the game more hectic, Vanney said.

Mistakes can quickly be punished in the condensed space.

“It’s a field where so many things can happen. You don’t want the ball near your goal. Throw-ins, everything, can just so quickly be in front of your net it’s important not to go (and) sit back entirely in your own half,” he said.

Hagglund, who played at Yankee Stadium last season in a thrilling 4-4 tie, said there’s no way for TFC to prepare for those dimensions from Toronto.

Instead, the team will have to use the first 10 minutes of the match to get a feel for the field.

In the meantime, the team will focus on sticking with what has been working lately, said striker Tosaint Ricketts, who scored Toronto’s second goal on Sunday.

“We’re getting results, we’re playing well,” Ricketts said. “We’re just an all-around solid team right now and I don’t think there’s much we need to change.

“We just need to go out and play the game and just get the result.”

“It’s a field where so many things can happen. You don’t want the ball near your goal. It’s important not to go sit back.” GREG VANNEY TORONTO FC COACH