Reds earn victory over Montreal Impact
Chad Barrett scores only goal of the match
TORONTO -- The early, and unexpected, insertion of Chad Barrett proved fruitful for Toronto FC, as the striker scored the winner in a 1-0 win against the Montreal Impact in a Nutrilite Canadian Championship match on Wednesday night at BMO Field.
When Marvell Wynne left the game with a hamstring injury in the 16th minute, Barrett came on as a substitute and made a great individual effort in accepting a pass, juggling the ball to himself and firing a laser shot into the Montreal goal.
Toronto now has the full six points and zero goals allowed after their first two matches of this year's Canadian Championship and puts the Reds in firm control of the competition to determine Canada's representative in the CONCACAF Champions League. For Montreal, it was yet another setback for a club that has yet to win in five matches (0-4-1) in both national and USL-1 league play this season.
Carl Robinson returned to the Toronto starting XI after missing last Saturday's match with D.C. United with a stomach illness, which was the first time that Robinson had ever missed a Reds game for reasons other than international duty. Robinson replaced Kevin Harmse, who scored the winner in TFC's 1-0 win against Vancouver last Wednesday in the Canadian Championship opener. The only other change from the weekend came up front, as Pablo Vitti started in place of Barrett.
Toronto's first two shots of the match came from Dwayne De Rosario. The Canadian international been in fine form of late, collecting the match-winning assist against Vancouver and scoring twice against D.C. United. De Rosario's first shot was his nearest attempt, as the forward collected a long pass inside the penalty area, turned and fired a quick shot that was stopped by Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan.
When Barrett came into the game, the Toronto attack began to pick up more steam with the extra man up front. The Reds held the ball in the Montreal end thanks to some good ball-control (particularly from Vitti) and some deft passing.
One passing play almost resulted in a goal, as midfielder Sam Cronin had the last touch on the ball and sent a curving shot towards the upper right-hand corner of the net. The shot eluded Jordan, but unfortunately for Cronin and TFC, the ball bounced off of the post.
The Impact's chances in the first half were largely limited to what they could muster on the counterattack, but the defending Voyageurs Cup champions still managed to threaten on a pair of occasions. David Testo launched a dangerous-looking shot that went high in the 10th minute, and in the 28th, Montreal put together a rush that looked as if it resulted in a goal for Rocco Placentino, but the Impact midfielder was ruled offside.
For all of TFC's close chances, they finally scored in the 35th minute on what at first appeared to be a broken play. Defender Jim Brennan slipped while trying to collect a pass on the left side, but managed to recover and cross to Barrett in the middle of the field. Barrett took the pass off his chest, kicked it up to himself, turned and fired a hard one-timer from 25 yards that found the back of the net. It was the first Nutrilite Canadian Championship goal for Barrett, to go along with his two scores in MLS league play this season.
Barrett's goal was the highlight of a one-sided first half for TFC. Toronto outshot Montreal 10-1, with a 5-0 edge in shots on goal.
The attacking barrage continued after the break. Vitti and Barrett both had shots in the first four minutes of the second half, and an attempted header by Marco Velez off an Amado Guevara corner kick found the bottom of the right post.
After this initial rush, however, the Impact tightened up the field. Montreal began to play more in the middle of the field, clogging up TFC's passing routes and keeping the ball either on the wings or just outside the center circle. The Impact even managed their first shot on goal in the 66th minute, a 30-foot strike from Joey Gjersten that was blocked without much difficulty by Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
A few minutes later, Montreal had a much closer chance following a Placentino corner. In the ensuing scrum in front of the net, Nevio Pizzolitto got a foot on the ball but Guevara was in place to clear it away for the goalmouth block.
Just when it seemed as if the Impact were building momentum, the Montreal side was reduced to 10 men. Testo received his second caution of the match following a hard foul on Cronin, and was ejected from the game. Cronin remained on the ground for a few minutes, but recovered and remained in the match.
The Impact recovered from the red card and generated a scoring chance a few minutes later. Eddy Sebrango, who scored twice as a member of Vancouver Whitecaps FC in last year's Canadian Championship, drew the attention of three TFC defenders and Frei in carrying the ball to the right side. Sebrango attempted a cross to try and capitalize on the open net, but his pass was blocked before it could find another Impact player.
The Reds replied a pair of chances of their own as they looked to put the game away. Barrett and De Rosario couldn't quite convert a passing play in the 79th minute, and Barrett had a breakaway chance blocked by Jordan as the 'keeper rushed far out of his net. Barrett managed to keep possession and cross to Vitti, but the Argentinean striker's attempt went to the right of the net.
TFC welcomes the Chicago Fire to BMO Field on Saturday in league action. Their next match in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship takes place at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver on June 2 against Whitecaps FC. The Impact head home for two USL-1 dates in the next four days before hosting Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship on May 20.
