Music: {allcanada} TFC leg it out

Saturday, August 28, 2010

{allcanada} TFC leg it out

TORONTO -- Real Salt Lake hit the post twice in the final 10 minutes Saturday as Toronto FC escaped with a gritty 0-0 draw.

A week after the Reds saw their 17-game home unbeaten streak end with a 4-1 loss to New York, Toronto (7-8-6) managed one point against the defending MLS Cup champions in a match where neither side pressed a consistent attack.

Real Salt Lake's Nick Wingert fired a quick shot to the right of Reds goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 82nd minute but couldn't beat the woodwork in front of 21,047 at BMO Field.

Will Johnson, a Canadian national team member, then hit same post in the 87th as Real Salt Lake (11-4-7) came close again.

Johnson began the match on the bench for but came on in the 69th minute. The Toronto native played the full 90 minutes in Salt Lake's 5-4 loss to Mexico's Cruz Azul on Wednesday in CONCACAF Champions League group play.

The two sides combined for seven shots on goal (4-3 in favour of Real Salt Lake) in a back-and-forth first half, but neither team really threatened. Toronto's best early scoring opportunity was a Dan Gargan header that bounced off the crossbar in the second minute.

Real forward Fabian Espindola nearly put his team ahead in the first minute of the second half. Espindola manoeuvred past Frei but his shot went wide into the side netting.

Frei looked much better on a save in the 60th minute, diving to his right to knock aside a well-placed shot from midfielder Javier Morales off a cross.

The Reds had a good scoring chance of their own from an unlikely source a few minutes later. Defender Nick Garcia sent a 25-yard volley that required a fine save from Real goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

The draw improves Toronto's all-time home record against Real Salt Lake to 2-0-2. Real has yet to score a goal at BMO Field.

The shutout was Rimando's 10th of the season, tying him with Los Angeles' Donovan Ricketts for the league lead.

This was the first of three games between Toronto FC and Real over the next 32 days. The two clubs meet in CONCACAF Champions League group play at Utah's Rio Tinto Stadium on September 15 and at BMO Field on September 28.

Notes: TFC defender Nana Attakora served a one-game suspension after receiving a red card during last Saturday's loss to New York. ... Toronto's next game is at FC Dallas on Sept. 4.