The fans at Montreal's Olympic Stadium were made to wait for it, but the Impact and Toronto FC eventually put on an exciting show with the hosts hanging on late for a 3-2 derby victory in the opening leg of the Eastern Conference Championship series.
Montreal had everything going their way for more than an hour, but they will head to Toronto for the decider next Wednesday desperately clinging to a tenuous lead after conceding a pair of late away goals.
As a periodic reminder, all marks are given on a scale with "6" as the average. The grades are also relative to pitch time, meaning a full shift "7" is more impressive than one handed out for a 15-minute showing.
MONTREAL IMPACT
GK Evan Bush (6) – The home netminder had nothing to do for nearly a half hour, but ended up making three comfy saves. Bush was let down late by some sloppy defending.
RB Hassoun Camara (6.5) – After slowing the Atomic Ant on a couple of early occasions, Camara remained solid as could be defensively. Though he often helped Montreal move up his flank, the right back's influence on the ball was sporadic.
CB VÃctor Cabrera (3.5) – The Impact defender got away with an early stunt play back to his 'keeper, but it started a trend of lackadaisical play that culminated with his overt culpability on both TFC goals.
CB Laurent Ciman (6) – Though the Belgium veteran was beaten on a couple of incidents, he largely held his ground at the back. Ciman also generally fed the counter attack well.
LB Ambroise Oyongo (7) – Like his bookend wide back, Oyongo could have made more use of his numerous bursts up the wing. Of course, on his one long jaunt up the middle, he bagged a surprise winner. He had one disappointing moment in defense, which immediately prefaced Toronto FC's first strike.
CM Marco Donadel (7) – For about 65 minutes, Donadel was the sturdy backbone of Montreal's game plan. He controlled the center of the park, racking up six pass interceptions, two tackles and an assortment of traffic-direction passes. When he suddenly became quiet, though, things definitely took a turn for the worse.
CM Hernán Bernardello (5) – While Bernardello was not nearly as effective as his midfield running mates, the Argentinean did manage several defensive help plays and a handful of passes into attack. However, his lackadaisical back-track allowed Bradley the space to score TFC's second away goal.
CM Patrice Bernier (7) – The 37-year-old midfielder remains as cool as cucumber ice cream. Bernier notched two assists on the night, but his first was a direct express thing of beauty. Without his quick-thinking action, that 10th minute icebreaker never happens and perhaps we have a different game.
RW Dominic Oduro (7.5) – The hustling right winger was on his horse all night; heck, he even managed eight total defensive stops in the Montreal end. That's not what had him in the spotlight, though. Oduro coolly raced in to start the scoring with his first career postseason goal, and then deftly started the play that ended with the hosts up two mere seconds later.
LW Ignacio Piatti (7) – As should be expected, Piatti repeatedly ate up ground on the dribble and facilitated counters. He also picked up the primary assist on Montreal's second goal and tracked back for seven recovery plays in the Impact end for good measure. The only thing missing was for him to threaten goal.
FW Matteo Mancosu (7) – It wasn't the Italian forward's strongest hold-up night, but he made the most of his big chance by streaking through the box for Montreal's second goal. And like his fellow attackers, Mancosu also chipped in at the defensive end.
Head Coach Mauro Biello (7) – The hometown boy-turned-boss must have been living a dream for the first hour and change. His revved up side certainly wasn't bothered by the international break, the pitch or the kickoff delay. Biello's game plan was working to a tee until Toronto FC changed the game with a couple of substitutions.
Substitutes:
FW Didier Drogba (5.5) – The star sub looked a little rusty on the ball, but he absolutely came off the bench to rattle the visitors physically.
RB Donny Toia (6) – Though only on for nine minutes, he helped the hosts calm things down.
FW Johan Venegas (N/A) – While on for a brief three-minute cameo, the Costa Rica ace certainly looked willing.
TORONTO FC
GK Clint Irwin (5) – The Reds backstop wasn't as busy as one might think. As such, his floundering dive at the third Montreal goal set his grade back a good bit.
RCB Eriq Zavaleta (6.5) – The no. 15 shirt was easily the most impressive of TFC's back three, especially in the first half. Without his repeated interruptions, things may have been a lot dimmer. On the other hand, his passing out of defense was somewhat spotty.
CB Drew Moor (4) – The middle Toronto FC defender needed early cover on a couple of occasions, and it didn't get any better. Moor was pulled away from his station on Mancosu's strike and for some reason chose not to close down Oyongo on Montreal's winner.
LCB Nick Hagglund (3) – The youngster's night started well enough with a few quick quality interventions. From there, it went off the cliff. Hagglund was badly burned on the first two Montreal tallies and would end up with an astonishing nine turnovers in his own end.
RWB Steve Beitashour (5.5) – It was a fairly uneven night moving in to attack for Beitashour until he played a big part in Altidore's big goal. He also had his moments at the back, but was among the guilty on Mancosu's goal.
LWB Justin Morrow (4.5) – This was an outing that could have been much better for Morrow. He constantly worked into good attacking positions only to squander the moment. While he made some plays at the back, he was also caught up far too often in the opening frame.
CM Michael Bradley (5.5) – It was a hot-and-cold display from the Reds skipper, who had plenty of trouble adequately feeding the attackers. Bradley was also far too easy to pass in the opening half, as evidenced by his inability to check Bernier on Montreal's opener. He nearly pulled his grade back to passing with a late run strike that gave his side some momentum heading home for Leg 2.
RCM Armando Cooper (5) – The Panamanian midfielder ran his socks off, but without ever being too effective. Like Morrow, he could have done plenty more on both sides of the ball.
LCM Jonathan Osorio (4) – Before being removed near the hour, Osorio was nearly invisible. Aside from a few flank outlets, he managed all of one positive pass in the Impact end and that was a short layoff just across the midfield stripe.
FW Sebastian Giovinco (7) – Much of what he tried on the night didn't come off, but Giovinco just kept trying and trying until he finally set up Toronto FC's all-important first. He also earned five free kicks, which quite arguably was about three or four too few.
FW Jozy Altidore (7) – The Reds power forward used his body well, and probably got away with a couple of bumps. Nevertheless, Altidore's hold-up touches kept the visitors afloat early and he was rewarded with a strong header for their first marker.
Head Coach Greg Vanney (5.5) – Given the outcome, one has to question a few of his lineup choices. That said, Vanney certainly knew the strings to pull to get the series back within reach heading home. The Reds simply had to score an away goal and they managed two, which ably covers other mishaps.
Substitutes:
FW Tosaint Ricketts (7) – Sure, his short penalty-area pass teed up Bradley's goal, but Ricketts' impact was more about how his runs disrupted the home defense to no end.
CM Will Johnson (6.5) – Though not as influential as Ricketts, Johnson also helped turn the tide late.
RWB Mark Bloom (N/A) – He wasn't on long enough (1 minute) to break a sweat.
