TORONTO -- Toronto FC played some of its most inspired soccer of the season Tuesday night, building on early some momentum to earn a 1-0 win over its Honduran visitors in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League qualifier.
Dwayne De Rosario was again a maestro in the midfield, earning an assist on Chad Barrett's first-half goal while creating several chances of his own against Club Deportivo Motagua at BMO Field. Toronto should have come away with more, but its play was enough to send the crowd of 18,891 home satisfied.
Toronto earned an invitation to the tournament with its successful defence of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship in May. The CONCACAF Champions League -- comprised of North American, Central American and Caribbean teams -- takes part in three stages, and sends its champion to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup.
A win or a draw in the second leg next week would see the Canadian side into the competition's group stage.
Toronto was bounced from the preliminary round of last year's tournament after failing to score a goal in two games against the Puerto Rico Islanders. The Reds fell 1-0 at home and drew 0-0 on the road.
It became clear very early on Tuesday that the team would not settle for another shutout in the competition. Toronto coach Predrag (Preki) Radosavljevic selected a squad filled with regulars, and he appeared to send them onto the field with orders to attack.
After a flourish of early movement, forward O'Brian White was nearly the first to crack the scoresheet in the 19th minute, but was thwarted with a last-second deflection from Motagua defender Ivan Guerrero.
The visitors had four World Cup players in their starting lineup -- a group headlined by former Toronto midfielder Amado Guevara -- but were sluggish early. They were still on their heels after White's attempt when De Rosario sliced them open for the opening goal.
Toronto's captain hit Barrett on the run, sending the forward in all alone on goal in the 20th minute. The 25-year-old stroked the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.
De Rosario sent forward Jacob Peterson on another run three minutes later, only to have the five-year MLS veteran send a lob harmlessly over the net. Canadian midfielder Julian de Guzman was stopped on a weak left-footed shot 10 minutes before halftime, moments before Barrett was caught from behind on a breakaway.
Forward Maicon Santos turned his marker inside out just minutes after making his debut in the second half for Toronto, but joined the growing list of near-misses when the play fizzled. De Rosario and de Guzman each had open lanes to goal before the game was an hour old, but the former was low, and the latter sent his shot too high.
De Rosario had another glorious chance in the 73rd minute, after running for what seemed like forever to chase down a pass. The 32-year-old blasted a shot on net from just inside the box, forcing a difficult save.
Toronto is set to fly to Honduras from Kansas City following its league game against the Wizards on July 31. It will face Motagua in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa on Aug. 2, a little more than a year after president Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has published a list of stark warnings for would-be travellers to Honduras on its website. The Canadian government has not issued an official travel warning, but it does advise tourists to "exercise a high degree of caution in Honduras due to an increase in violent crime as well as recent political unrest."
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