Altidore, Kljestan sent off as Toronto FC eliminates NY Red Bulls

Toronto FC lost the second leg of its Eastern Conference semifinal second leg against New York Red Bulls 1-0, but still advanced on away goals as the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.

Toronto came into the match holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg in Harrison, New Jersey, with the two away goals giving Greg Vanney's team the upper hand from the off.

The hosts' best early chance came right before the 10-minute mark, when Jozy Altidore found space in the New York penalty area after a driving run, but hooked his low shot just wide of the far post.

Shorty after, a dangerous Victor Vazquez ball across the goalmouth was a boot-length away from finding Sebastian Giovinco at the back post before being poked to safety by Kemar Lawrence.

Toronto continued to have the better of the chances in the opening 45 minutes and had a penalty shout waved off after Giovinco was knocked down while in on goal after some neat build-up play from the Reds.

And Giovinco had one more chance before half-time after breaking free in the New York box and curling a close-range shot with the outside of his right foot wide of the far post when he looked likelier to score.

Altidore, Michael Bradley and Tyler Adams all saw yellow over the course of a testy first half that ended 0-0. Altidore received his caution for a tussle with Sacha Kljestan that spilled over into the tunnel as teams went back to the dressing room and both players were sent off before the start of the second half.

With both teams down 10 men, the Red Bulls got off to a dream start in the second half when Daniel Royer's shot from 40 yards took a deflection off Bradley Wright-Phillips and trickled into Toronto's goal giving New York an important away goal and a 1-0 lead.

Clinging to an aggregate lead on away goals, Toronto's nerves showed and Wright-Phillips should have made them pay when he was played into the area with a flick from Adams only to have his shot snuffed out by goalkeeper Alex Bono.

Toronto then thought they'd scored a decisive goal when Jonathan Osorio bundled home a Giovinco chip at the back post, but the referee waved off the goal and instead called a foul on the TFC player.