TORONTO – Chad Barrett scored the game’s lone goal to give Toronto FC a 1-0 victory and a bit of revenge over the Montreal Impact in the Nutrilite Canadian championship Wednesday.
Canada’s only Major League Soccer squad improved to 2-0 with six points in the race for the Canadian title, having beaten the Whitecaps 1-0 a week earlier at BMO Field. Montreal and Vancouver, both of the United Soccer Leagues, are 0-1.
Barrett scored in the 35th minute in what was a lopsided affair at BMO Field, settling a pass from Jim Brennan and then hammering in a volley from 25 yards out past Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan into the left corner. Barrett had been subbed into the game in the 16th minute when Marvell Wynne left with a sore hamstring.
Montreal (2-1-1) won last year’s Canadian title thanks to a pair of 2-0 victories over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Toronto (1-1-2) had a 1-0 win and 1-1 tie against the Impact, and lost just once – 1-0 at home to Vancouver – but finished two points behind Montreal.
Favoured Toronto FC was forced to the sidelines as the Impact qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League by virtue of the tournament win. Montreal mounted a charge to the quarter-finals of the inaugural tournament, drawing 55,571 spectators to Olympic Stadium for a game against Santos Laguna of Mexico in February.
Vancouver (1-2-1), set to become Major League Soccer’s second Canadian entry in 2011, placed third.
Wednesday’s score didn’t reflect a one-sided matchup that saw Toronto, off to its best start in its young MLS existence, dominate the struggling Impact from the opening whistle. Toronto kept Jordan busy with numerous near-misses that elicited groans from the crowd of 17,872 red-clad TFC fans, including a first-half bullet by Dwayne De Rosario that grazed the right post, and a shot by Sam Cronin early in the game that also bounced off the post.
The Impact briefly celebrated in the 28th minute when Rocco Placentino fired a shot past Toronto ‘keeper Stefan Frei, but the goal was called back as offside.
Toronto outshot Montreal 10-1 in the first half alone.
The Impact appeared poised to tie the game in the 70th minute on a shot by Nevio Pizzolitto, but Toronto midfielder Amado Guevara blocked the shot with his chest on the goal-line.
A minute later, Montreal was reduced to 10 men when David Testo received his second yellow card and was ejected for a hard foul on Cronin.
It was all Toronto from that point on as the home team had several more scoring chances, including a shot from an unmarked Guevara that Jordan managed to tip over the top of the net. Toronto blew what promised to be an easy goal in the 82nd minute when Barrett found himself alone at the top of the box, but lost the ball trying to dribble around Jordan.
In its third MLS season, Toronto (3-2-4) is off to its best start ever, and hasn’t lost in its last five games. Montreal, meanwhile, is off to a rough beginning, going 0-3-1 in its first four USL matches.
A bit of revenge was obviously on the minds of the Toronto fans – before kickoff, fans unfurled a massive banner that read “You can run, by you can’t hide” that covered nearly an entire section of patrons.
Midfielder Carl Robinson was back on the pitch for Toronto after missing Saturday’s 3-3 tie at D.C. United with a bout of what was believed to be food poisoning that also afflicted four others, including striker Danny Dichio and assistant coach Nick Dasovic.
NOTES: The next game of the Canadian championship has Vancouver visiting Montreal on Wednesday. . . Toronto visits Vancouver on June 2, and Montreal on June 10. . . Toronto is home to the Chicago Fire on Saturday in the team’s next MLS game. . . The Impact hosts Charleston on Friday in USL action.
