A late goal by Josh Gardner was the difference on Friday night as D.C. United remained unbeaten in the Texas Pro Soccer Fest with a 1-0 win against Toronto FC.
There wasn't much in the way of excellent chances for either side until Gardner's 84th-minute strike.
In the first half, both sides created half-chances, but lacked the cutting edge required to break the deadlock.
The best chance for either side in the first half came from United in the 33rd minute, when Cezar uncorked a shot from just outside the area that forced Toronto 'keeper Brian Edwards into a diving save.
The second half went much like the first, and the match appeared headed for a stalemate. But Gardner was right on the spot to meet Quavas Kirk's cross and fire a shot into the top of the net to give D.C. the late advantage.
Despite taking their second consecutive defeat of the tournament, it was a much improved defensive performance for Toronto off the heels of their 4-3 defeat to Houston in their tournament opener on Wednesday.
"It was a tougher game for us, because D.C. had a lot of young lads there. They worked hard and gave us one or two problems," TFC head coach John Carver said following the match. "But we looked a bit tighter at the back, and other than the goal, the goalkeeper had only one chance to save."
Carver also said that midfielder Carl Robinson, whose wife recently had a child, will fly into Texas on Saturday and be with the team for their final match on Sunday.
D.C. United 1, Toronto FC 0
Scoring Summary:
DC -- Josh Gardner (Quavas Kirk, Rod Dyachenko) 84
D.C. United: Zach Wells (Jose Carvallo 46); Galen Thompson, Patrick Carroll, Dane Murphy, Ryan Cordeiro; Jamil Walker (Quavas Kirk 46), Daniel Stratford (Rod Dyachenko 46), Guy-Roland Kpene, Josh Gardner; David Blumer (Justin Moose 56), Cezar.
Toronto FC: Brian Edwards, Pat Phelan, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan, Mike Zaher, Martin Brittain, Kevin Harmse (Joey Melo 46), Kiki Musampa, Gabe Gala (Robbie Gaspar 67), Tony Vairelles (Danny Dichio 84), Collin Samuel (Jeff Cunningham 84).
Misconduct Summary:
DC -- Guy-Roland Kpene (caution) 28
TOR -- Gabe Gala (caution) 41
DC -- Dan Stratford (caution) 42
Eddie Griffin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
