Toronto FC Knock Off Impact 2-0 in Nutrilite Opener

This article was last updated on May 19, 2022

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Toronto FC in action
It’s called the beautiful game. But the Nutrilite Canadian Championship opener was simply ugly at times as Toronto FC scraped out a 2-0 victory over Montreal Impact in front of 21,436 Reds’ faithful at BMO Field.
Dwayne De Rosario picked up a goal and an assist while Chad Barrett scored the other to pace Toronto’s attack against Montreal in a game that was plagued by fouls and had very little rhythm and flow.
“We started the game pretty decent," said Coach Preki. “The injury, the red card, all these things were happening in the game and we kind of lost our rhythm. I thought we were a little bit casual and, for whatever reason, we started playing scared and negative.”
The bitter rivalry between the 401 rivals heated up early in the game as both teams were cautioned in the opening minutes and combined to rack up a total of six yellow cards and a dismissal.
“I think the fans came to see a soccer match and not a boxing match, said Barrett. “Whatever, I think they got both.”
“It started off right from the get-go…and I think tempers just started to fly. I’m not one to hold my tongue either so I was in there but the next time I wish we’d just play soccer.”
The scrappy affair took its toll on Toronto as they lost two defenders to injury in the first 35 minutes. Ty Harden was cut to the bone when he collided with Montreal goalkeeper Matt Jordan during the first scoring play. While Nick Garcia received what looked like a punch to the head by Roberto Brown.
Harden was taken to hospital and released after receiving 22 stitches and according to Preki, Harden will be out of action for a while. Meanwhile, Garcia was suffering from a headache and will be reassessed on Thursday.
Not even De Rosario came out unscathed – he was sporting small band-aids on his cheek as a result of being scratched during the match.
“These games are going to be physical,” said De Rosario. "These games are going to be demanding and I think you saw it tonight."

Striking Early
Toronto was able to get on the score sheet first on a sloppy play in the 11th minute. Dan Gargan’s corner floated into the box and on the ensuing goal mouth scramble, De Rosario managed to beat out Harden and Jordan to the loose ball as he swung it into the back of the net.
Harden’s injury occurred when Jordan slid in an attempt to clear the ball but instead drove his cleats into Harden’s right leg. Harden managed to get up and celebrate the goal but fell to the ground after hobbling to the other side of the field. He lay on the ground for a several minutes and left the game as he had to be taken off on a cart. The injury forced Toronto to make an early substitution, bringing in defender Raivis Hscanovics in Harden’s place.
Impact’s Brown and TFC’s Garcia were involved in some kind of altercation early in the first half and tempers boiled over in the 35th minute when Brown delivered a heavy blow to Garcia’s head, knocking him out cold. Referee Paul Ward didn’t hesitate and dismissed Brown with a red card dropping Montreal down to ten men. Garcia lay on the ground for quite a while before having to be helped off the field.
With the second injury, Toronto was again forced to make a substitution – this time Preki brought in O’Brien White to play up front and dropped Gabe Gala to the left-back position.
As the half came to an end, Montreal was awarded a free kick and Leonardo Di Lorenzo unleashed a great strike but TFC keeper Stefan Frei was up for the challenge and made a tremendous save to keep his team up by a goal.

Barrett’s Double Dribble
The second half started out slowly as both teams battled for the ball in the midfield. Despite having the extra man, TFC didn’t dominate the play as expected and only created a few scoring chances.
But in the 61st minute, Chad Barrett collected a De Rosario pass to score a highlight-reel goal. Barrett dribbled the ball past two Impact defenders inside the box before unleashing a shot that curved past a diving Jordan into the net.  
The goal was huge for Barrett who has been struggling so far this year and should give him a boost in confidence. Later in the 2nd half Barrett became upset when White elected to shoot instead of passing the ball off to him as he was open on the right side – a sure sign that he wants the ball and is working hard to get himself into scoring positions.
Toronto will now head on the road to take on the defending MLS champions, Real Salt Lake, on Saturday night in their next league game. TFC’s next NCC match will take place on May 12th in Montreal in what should be another scrappy game between the two rivals.

Notes:
TFC have played 3 home games this season and have worn a different kit for each game – this match featured their grey uniforms… The NCC is a tournament involving Canada’s three soccer clubs, Toronto from MLS while Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps from the USSF D2 league, for the right to represent Canada at the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. Montreal won the inaugural 2008 tournament in Toronto and TFC returned the favour clinching the title last year in Montreal with a 6-1 win…Last season Montreal failed to win a single match when they surrendered the game’s first goal.

Contact Aman Dhanoa at aman@oyetimes.com

Photos courtesy of Annandi Merhai of Devi Designs
 

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