TORONTO – Toronto FC aren’t about to concede anything yet.
“We are not out of the tournament, that’s for sure,” striker Danny Koevermans said in the wake of Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against the LA Galaxy in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal.
An 88th-minute goal by Landon Donovan deprived Toronto of a home win before a record crowd of 47,658 at a rocking Rogers Centre.
“We had a good game,” Koevermans said. “We were competitive against LA, the champions. So it’s a shame they tied it in the last minute, but we showed them today. Maybe everything works out next week and we beat them.”
The second leg will take place at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., On March 14 (10 pm ET, Fox Soccer).
The late equalizer makes Toronto’s task of advancing to the semifinals that much more difficult. But the Galaxy seldom have it easy against the Reds. The result on Wednesday was the fifth draw in a row between the clubs after four straight in league play.
And TFC will be bolstered by the return from suspension of midfielder Julian de Guzman and forward Nick Soolsma.
“We can play with [the Galaxy],” Koevermans said. “We can be competitive with them. We showed it [on Wednesday], and if we can do the same next week we have a chance to make it to the semifinal.”
