The New York Red Bulls were well aware that their last performance at home - that yielded a 3-1 loss to LA Galaxy - could not be allowed to stand. They knew they had to rebound quickly: to re-assert the standards that have sustained them more or less since they moved to Red Bull Arena, and because Toronto FC is currently the hottest team in MLS. Another tepid outing would be severely punished by TFC.
And the Red Bulls did improve significantly. Just not sufficiently for a win.
For much of the first half, both sides ran at each other gamely but contained each other pretty effectively in the final third.