TORONTO — On a night in which he scored his first MLS goal and set up a teammate for another, Toronto FC forward Jeremy Brockie was most concerned with the chances missed.
"I have to be the first to put my hand up because I should have hit the back of the net with the one that Reggie [Lambe] laid back," Brockie told MLSsoccer.com after Toronto's 3-3 draw with the Montreal Impact on Wednesday night.
That chance came in the 67th minute, when TFC were up 3-1. Lambe got to the endline and cut a pass back to a wide-open Brockie. From 12 yards out, however, Brockie put his shot well over the bar.
"If we had gone up 4-1 at that point, there was no way they could have come back," he said.
But Montreal did come back, scoring two quick goals just a few minutes later. The match finished 3-3.
Facing off against an Impact squad that had pummeled TFC 6-0 in their last meeting in a Canadian Championship fixture in May, it was TFC that had their way with their fellow Canadian side in a first half. The Reds scored three goals for the first time this season, despite playing without Robert Earnshaw, the squad's leading scorer.
STATS: Toronto FC goal table
Acquired on loan from A-League side Wellington Phoenix in May, Brockie was a central component TFC's performance, scoring the the home side's opening goal in the sixth minute — his first strike since joining the club — and then setting up Steven Caldwell in the 21st minute.
But the good fortune of the first half seemed to abandon Brockie in the second. The 25-year-old New Zealander just missed out on dramatic winning goal when he hit the post in the 89th minute.
"There was some good play in that first half," Brockie added. "Unfortunately, for one reason or another, we came out in the second half and still created chances but didn't finish."
READ: Toronto FC make Steven Caldwell's loan deal permanent
After being shutout in their last two matches, TFC's squad sees something positive from the fact that they scored three times. But it comes with a caveat.
"It is the first time we have scored three goals this season," Brockie said. "But then again it is also the first time we have conceded three goals all season [in league play]. ... When are you winning 3-1 at halftime, you should always come away with the three points. It's a very disappointed changing room right now."
The players will have some time now to contemplate what went right and what went wrong. The Reds have a 10-day break before an away match against Sporting KC on July 13.
