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Chad Barrett showed he is prepared to compete for a place alongside Toronto's newly imported forwards Mista and Maicon. The American made the most of his 45 minutes on the pitch with a 21st minute strike that held up as the decider in Toronto's first Champions League victory.
Motagua's defenders looked shaky when Toronto pressed and it was a break in the backline that allowed Dwayne De Rosario to push the ball into space for Barrett. With nobody tracking his run, Barrett took a first-time shot past an advancing Donaldo Morales in the Motagua goal to make it 1-0 and inch Toronto closer to Champions League Group Stage.
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The key to hosting the first leg of a knockout round is not to concede and throughout much of the match the Reds looked unlikely to do so. As away goals are the first tie-breaker, Toronto did not wish to go into Estadio Nacional next Tuesday giving Motagua an advantage.
Good blocks from Adrian Cann and Max Usanov, along with takeaways by Nick Garcia, combined with alert positioning of Nana Attakora relegated the visitors to just four shots. Despite that, near the end of regulation time Javier Portillo closed in on an equalizer. The Reds' defender lost him for a moment, but as Portillo fumbled, Attakora cleared.
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Dwayne De Rosario may be in a goal scoring slump by his elevated standards, but he tore the Motagua defence to shreds with delectable passes on this night on multiple occasions. A well timed block by Sergio Mendoza, after Julian de Guzman provided a tasty backheel, likely kept the Reds' captain from opening his Champions League account.
Further to the pass that set up Barrett for the winning goal, De Rosario sent the striker through once more at the 39th minute for another good chance. The block from Mendoza arrived at the 54th but the skipper and 2010 MLS All-Star starter continued to push for a full 90 minutes.
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Toronto (4-4-2): Stefan Frei, Nana Attakora, Adrian Cann, Nick Garcia Maxim Usanov (Dan Gargan 46'), Julian de Guzman, Joseph Nane, Dwayne De Rosario, Jacob Peterson, Chad Barrett (Maicon Santos 46'), O'Brian White (Mista 62').
Unused Subs: Jon Conway, Raivis Hscanovics, Gabe Gala, Nick LaBrocca
Goals: Toronto: Barrett 21'
Discipline: Caution - Toronto: Maicon 51' Motagua: Leveron 79'
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Thursday, July 31 v. Kansas City
MLS - Week 18
8:30 PM (Rogers Sportsnet)
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GAME NOTES:.
Kansas City may be one of the less fashionable teams in Major League Soccer, but the Wizards are just seven points behind Toronto, and will view this match against the Reds as launch-pad to jump back in the playoff race.
Toronto needs to win this game to not only erase doubts about their ability to perform on the road, but to make up for the eight points dropped at home in recent weeks, including in a scoreless draw against Kansas City.
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| 13-4 |
Toronto with a dominant advantage on shots with five of them hitting target. |
| 2 |
Number of disallowed goals for Motagua due to two of the four offside calls against the visitors. |
| 28 |
Total fouls for both teams in the match, Toronto called for 18 of them. |
| 1 |
This was the first CONCACAF Champions League victory for Toronto. |
| 18,891 |
A healthy number of spectators after some fears that unfamiliarity with the Champions League format and a Tuesday night would keep fans away. |
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"We understand we are in a tough series and it's going to be a tough game down in Honduras ... We created a lot of chances but (it's disappointing) we didn't put a second goal away." - Preki when asked about what to expect in the return leg against Motagua in Honduras.
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"In another day we finish one or two (more) chances ... mind you we did get the win, but going into Central America we are going to have another tough (match) in Honduras next week." - Dwayne De Rosario comments on how he thought the Reds performed in this match and the task that's still ahead in order to advance to the Group Stage.
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"Honduras is going to be tough. They are going to be just as good if not better in their own stadium. They have that thick grass and fans that hate us, it's going to be tough." - Chad Barrett on Motagua's performance and the importance of taming the Hondurans away next week.
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