Toronto FC came up just short in their bid to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League after a 1-1 draw with the Montreal Impact on Tuesday at BMO Field in the final game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.
TFC entered the game needing nothing less than a win to capture the Voyageurs Cup, as they trailed Montreal six points to four in the tournament table. The Reds jumped out to an early lead after a Rohan Ricketts header in the 15th minute, but the Impact tied the game 11 minutes later. Toronto outshot Montreal 11-8 and poured on the pressure in the second half, but couldn't get the tie-breaking goal against the USL First Division team.
In a reflection of the game's importance, both sides fielded close to their first-choice lineups. Sixteen-year-old Abdus Ibrahim started at forward for TFC ahead of struggling veteran Jeff Cunningham and scoring leader Danny Dichio, who has been sidelined with a concussion. For the Impact, Roberto Brown started at striker over Severino Jefferson, who had played at forward in the first three Canadian Championship games.
The capacity crowd in attendance provided an atmosphere worthy of a championship game, as the BMO Field faithful were even more boisterous than usual with almost non-stop chanting, singing and streamer-tossing. A respectable contingent of Impact fans added to the cup final feeling in the stadium.
The two teams responded to the crowd's energy with a fast-paced start. The Impact recorded a shot in the first 58 seconds of action, but Toronto controlled most of the possession battle in the first 10 minutes. The Reds' best chance in the early going was a Laurent Robert cross from the left side that curled dangerously inside the penalty area, but Montreal goalkeeper Matt Jordan jumped to punch the ball out of harm's way.
The early pressure paid off TFC in the 14th minute. From the left side of Montreal territory, Robert chipped a pass up to defender Jim Brennan running into the penalty area. With an Impact defender bearing down, Brennan looped a cross to the right side of the goal that winger Rohan Ricketts headed in for the opening score. It was Ricketts' second goal in as many Canadian Championship games, as the Englishman also netted a score in TFC's 2-2 draw with Vancouver on July 9.
Ricketts' goal was a crucial confidence-booster in the must-win game for TFC. It also ended a minor scoring drought for the Reds, who hadn't scored in their last three competitive games at BMO Field.
Now down a goal, Montreal began to press on attack for the first time in the match. The Impact had success in taking the ball down the wings, but their crosses were consistently broken up by the TFC back line or by goalkeeper Greg Sutton's leaping grabs. Sutton, a former USL All-Star with Montreal, twice extended himself into the air to intercept crosses before they could reach the target.
Sutton couldn't stop everything, however, as the Impact tied the game on a header of their own. Roberto Brown re-directed a Joey Gjertsen corner kick in the 26th minute to bring Montreal level. It was Brown's second goal of the competition; the former Colorado Rapids striker scored the winner in Montreal's 2-0 win against the Whitecaps on June 25.
Montreal were once again at the even score that would bring them the Canadian Championship, but the Impact didn't fall back on attack. Gjertsen nearly scored the go-ahead goal in the 31st minute when he launched a powerful right-footed shot that sailed just past the right goalpost.
Toronto had their chances to retake the lead, but in spite of being awarded three direct free kicks in dangerous positions (two which also saw Impact bookings) in the last seven minutes of the half, the Reds went into the break in an unwanted deadlock with their Canadian rivals.
As the second half began, the Reds pressed on attack while Montreal took a more defensive posture. The strategy kept TFC from recording a shot, and in fact it was the Impact who had the best chance in the start of the half. In the 61st minute, Leonardo Di Lorenzo carried the ball downfield and nearly found Brown streaking towards the net. Jim Brennan was in hot pursuit and the TFC captain's sliding tackle deflected the ball out of play to the left.
As the match entered its final half-hour, an increasingly desperate Toronto side picked up the pace even more. The Reds had a trio of attempts that caused the crowd to buzz, but the two shots that resulted from these chances both went awry.
The first substitutions of the game underlined both sides' intent -- Toronto to score, Montreal to defend. The Reds sent in Jeff Cunningham, the fourth-leading scorer in MLS history, in place of Ibrahim, while the Impact replaced striker Rocco Placentino with midfielder Sita-Tily Matondo. Montreal had to make an unwanted substitution a few minutes later when defender Adam Braz had to be carried off the field following a collision on the left side of the Impact goal. Braz was replaced by Cedric Joqueviel.
The defensive posture helped Montreal blunt the TFC pressure, and the Impact came up with a decent attempt on a counterattack on a shot from Matondo. The game developed into a series of passes across the midfield that failed to develop into any serious chances.
At the 89-minute mark, Toronto had an agonizing close chance off a direct free kick from Amado Guevara. The ball sailed towards the scrum in front of the Impact net, bounced off the head of TFC's Julius James and hit the left post. Defender Nevio Pizzolitto then backheeled the ball off the line and it actually laid still in front of the net before Jordan could pounce on the ball just ahead of a rushing Brennan.
With five minutes of added time to work with, the Reds could only manage another pair of close calls that drew groans from the home crowd. Guevara carried the ball deep into Montreal territory with some excellent one-on-one moves, but his subsequent shot was deflected wide. A little later, Maurice Edu collected a long pass and raced towards the net on a near-breakway, but he couldn't quite find space for a proper shot and the attempt went left.
At the final whistle, the Reds could only watch as the Impact celebrated their victory. Montreal has now won all seven Voyageurs Cups since the trophy was first awarded in 2002, though this is the first year that an MLS team was involved in the competition and a Champions League berth was at stake.
The Impact now advance to the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League to face Nicaraguan side Real Esteli in a home-and-home tie. The first leg of the tie will be played on August 27 at Montreal's Stade Saputo, with the second leg played on Sept. 2 in Esteli.
As for Toronto FC, the side heads into the All-Star break with just one win in their last nine MLS and Canadian Championship games. The Reds will try to become the first visiting team to win at Rice-Eccles Stadium when they face Real Salt Lake on Monday.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
