The coach demanded a nothing-to-lose, reckless abandon from his players. And instead, he got timid, play-not-to-lose soccer from them in their biggest game of the season.
Jesse Marsch demanded that his players play like men and, too often across the 95 minutes on this crucial playoff night at Red Bull Arena, his players performed more like boys.
That’s what makes the Red Bulls’ 2-1 loss to Toronto FC in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night so sickening.
The Red Bulls were home, they were playing the No. 1 overall seed in MLS, a team that played 34 regular-season games and lost only five of them, a team that set the league record for most points in a season.