Toronto boss Fraser highlights Pereira’s professionalism

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Toronto FC head coach Robin Fraser praised the professionalism of defender Matheus Pereira after his eventful display against Orlando City.The Reds drew 3-3 with Orlando on Wednesday, with Pereira scoring an 89th-minute equaliser for the home side, which was also his first goal for the club.However, that moment came after Pereira conceded a penalty in first-half stoppage time, with Martin Ojeda converting the spot-kick after the Brazilian's handball.Despite the mistake, Pereira put in a strong performance for Toronto, leading his side in possessions won (eight) and touches (64) to go along with his goal.Ahead of their Eastern Conference clash with the New York Red Bulls, Fraser highlighted Pereira's resilience."He is a very good player who has really good game understanding, knows what to do when within the game," said Fraser about Pereira."Things are going to happen and you can’t let a mistake affect you. As a seasoned and experienced professional, he didn't."He played well, he obviously contributed in many other ways, and that's what I would expect."It's certainly pleasant to see that players can stay focused, even if they make a mistake or they're involved in an erroneous moment, they continue to be focused and play well."we keep battling on  https://t.co/XP3kmdqvtQ— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) October 15, 2026The New York Red Bulls are eighth in the East, just three points and three places ahead of play-off chasing Toronto.Michael Bradley's side saw their momentum halted during the week after a 2-1 defeat against D.C. United – their second loss in three MLS matches (W1).PLAYERS TO WATCHNew York Red Bulls – Eric Maxim Choupo-MotingEric Maxim Choupo-Moting has scored in back-to-back regular-season matches for the first time since May 2025.Choupo-Moting has never scored in three straight regular-season matches, as the last Red Bull player to score in three consecutive league games was Cameron Harper in May 2024.Toronto FC – Daniel SalloiDaniel Salloi has seven goals and seven assists this season after setting up Theo Corbeanu on Wednesday.Salloi is the second player in the last six seasons with at least seven goals and seven assists for Toronto (Federico Bernardeschi – eight goals, eight assists in 2024).MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK RED BULLS WINNYRB are unbeaten in 14 straight regular-season meetings with Toronto (W9 D5), last losing to the Reds in July 2019. This equals the longest regular-season unbeaten run by one team against another in the post-shootout era (since 2000).The Red Bulls won their last home match 4–1 against San Diego FC, just the club’s fifth home win of the 2026 regular season. It has been over a year since NYRB won two straight home league games, defeating Real Salt Lake and Philadelphia Union in August 2025.Toronto scored an 89th-minute equaliser to draw with Orlando after scoring twice in stoppage time to beat Montreal 2–1 on Saturday.It is the second time in the last 15 seasons that Toronto have avoided defeat in two straight matches despite trailing entering the 89th minute in both (May-June 2019).OPTA WIN PROBABILITYNew York Red Bulls – 46.5%Draw – 26.5%Toronto FC – 27%The post Toronto boss Fraser highlights Pereira’s professionalism appeared first on SoccerNews.