New York Red Bulls' coach Jesse Marsch came up with as good of a quote as possible after his team's 2-1 loss to Toronto FC in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
"It's only halftime."
Too bad for the Red Bulls that it may as well be fulltime considering the fact that the only way they'll keep their season alive is if they score at least two goals and beat the best team in the MLS on its home pitch on Sunday.
Don't miss the MLS action from BMO Field at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 5, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN.
Odds Analysis
The Reds aren't going to have to try all that hard to put this one away. Thanks to the fact that they have a pair of goals on the road, RBNY is going to have to score twice just to have a shot of advancing through this fixture.
That said, even with the pressure totally off when it comes to winning this match, a team that snared 69 points in the regular season is going to be a heavy favorite at home against a team that just barely eked its way into the second season.
The price on TFC is going to be far less now than it would have been had the first leg ended in a draw, but thanks to the 2-1 result, 90 minutes of merely playing keep away would do the Canadian side well.
The First Leg
It truly was men versus boys in the first leg of this conference semifinal. The Red Bulls never looked like they had their legs under them after playing in Chicago a few nights earlier, and they easily could have lost this match by two or three goals.
In fact, the one respite Marsch's side had on the evening came on a suspect penalty right at the end of the first half when Bradley Wright-Phillips took on some contact on the edge of the box and did some good acting to get the penalty. Daniel Royer stepped up and nailed home the penalty, though that was really the only fantastic opportunity the hosts had the entire match.
Toronto was always forward-thinking, and though it needed a Sebastian Giovinco wonder strike on a free kick to ultimately get the victory, it was a much-deserved result.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Toronto was beaten five times this season by the 2-1 margin or better that New York needs to have to win this match, but just one of those five came here at BMO Field. The 5-3 loss to Montreal on September 20 came on a night that all three of Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Victor Vazquez were held out of the lineup.
Needless to say, this is going to be a really tough match for the Red Bulls. The Toronto lineup is going to be chock full of its regular stars, and we just can't imagine BWP being able to pull this game back all by himself.
The combination of Michael Bradley and Altidore worked some real magic at the front of the pitch on Monday night at Red Bull Arena, and it's only going to take one more moment or so to effectively put this match away.
We do think the Red Bulls will open it up and try their best, but they're overmatched here and will see their season end with a whimper on Sunday.
MLS Odds: Toronto FC 3, New York 1
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