E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Toronto FC kept its slim playoff hopes alive Saturday night, earning three valuable points with a vital 3-1 road victory against Eastern Conference rival New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium.
TFC striker Chad Barrett scored on either side of halftime, netting the game-winner in the 65th minute. Substitute Abdus Ibrahim, 17, put the game away when he headed home Johann Smith's cross three minutes before the final whistle. Dane Richards got New York's lone goal in the 49th minute.
The win is essentially worth six points for the visitors, since New York is one of the teams TFC is chasing for a postseason berth. Another is D.C. United, which lost to Chivas USA on Saturday, keeping TFC in the thick of the hunt with three regular season matches remaining.
Given the tilt's importance, both teams came out cautiously during the opening stages.
Neither side managed a shot on goal through the first 20 minutes. Then New York created a pair of quality chances, forcing Toronto 'keeper Greg Sutton into two diving saves. The first was on a close-range shot from Juan Pablo Angel, the second on a Mike Magee volley.
Toronto FC, however, struck first. In the 25th minute, Reds striker Chad Barrett took advantage of Gabriel Cichero's latest blunder, running past the Red Bulls defender and pouncing on his weak, headed pass-back attempt before lofting the ball over the head of 'keeper Jon Conway, who was stranded hopelessly off his line, and into the unattended net. The home team was none too happy about falling behind. In the 34th minute, tempers boiled over and a scrum broke out after Juan Pablo Angel caught former Red Bulls midfielder Amado Guevara in the back of the leg near midfield. When the dust settled, Angel, teammate Jorge Rojas and TFC defender Kevin Harmse had been booked by referee Ramon Hernandez.
New York midfielder Seth Stammler had an opportunity to even the score on the stroke of halftime. But his eight-yard shot off Richards' pass was well saved by Sutton and TFC went to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.
New York pulled level just four minutes after the second half began. Angel headed on Kevin Goldthwaite's throw-in on the left side and Richards cleverly allowed the ball to go over his head and into space so he could run onto it. With TFC's back line retreating, Richards darted into the area and fired a low shot past Sutton to even things up.
Moments later, Richards nearly put his team ahead when he chased down a defense-splitting through-ball, but Sutton saw the danger early and got there first to clear the ball away.
In the 65th minute, Toronto went ahead for good. After successfully defending a New York free kick, Marvell Wynne sprung a lightning-fast, odd-man counter-attack when he picked up a loose ball deep in his own half and raced 60 yards into the Red Bulls box.
With Wynne approaching, Conway had to come out to play the shot. But at the last possible second, Wynne served a perfect square pass across the face of goal for Barrett to steer into the gaping goal from the doorstep.
Toronto FC added an insurance goal in the 86th minute as Ibrahim beat Cichero to a cross by Johann Smith and headed the ball past Conway at the far post. It was the third straight game the Red Bulls have conceded three goals or more.
TFC now has 31 points from 27 games. The Reds' next match is against FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas next Saturday. The Red Bulls remain on 35 points, with their hold on a wild card spot in real doubt. They face a huge game against another team tied with 35 points, Real Salt Lake, next Thursday as the Utah club opens its new stadium.
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