Music: {allcanada} TORONTO FC DOWNS EDMONTON TO ADVANCE TO CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

{allcanada} TORONTO FC DOWNS EDMONTON TO ADVANCE TO CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

TORONTO -- Alan Gordon scored in the first half as Toronto FC clinched a spot in the final round of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over FC Edmonton.

Toronto, which has won the championship the past two years, won the two-game home-and-home series 4-0 on aggregate after taking the opening game 3-0 in Edmonton on April 27.

FC Edmonton, an expansion team in the North American Soccer League, was reduced to 10 men because of a red card in the 23rd minute of the series opener. Until that Edmonton had played well.

TFC followed that win on Saturday with a non-effort 3-0 loss in a Major League Soccer game in Seattle that head coach Aron Winter referred to as "a bad game."

Edmonton also lost Saturday in its league, 5-0 to the Montreal Impact in its NASL home debut.

The opposing team will be more difficult in the final round. It will either be Vancouver or Montreal who were playing their second game Wednesday as well. Vancouver already holds a victory over Toronto in MLS play.

TFC took the lead on Gordon's goal in the 21st minute, putting his left-footed shot high into the left corner past goalkeeper Lance Parker on a nifty setup by Joao Plata.

Gordon also scored in Edmonton, with Maicon Santos scoring the other two. Santos came into Wednesday's game as a second-half substitute before an announced attendance of 17,937 at BMO Field which had large patches of empty seats.

Parker made a good save early in the second half as Toronto tried to control the tempo with cautious play. A few minutes later, Edmonton applied some pressure at Toronto's goal, as 'keeper Stefan Frei had to make a save on an Edmonton free kick.

Parker had a couple of adventures in the second half. He was almost caught out on a long shot and then strayed out of his goal during a scramble but Toronto did not get a direct shot.

Later in the half, the energetic Plata whistled a shot just wide.

Notes: Toronto is home to Houston in an MLS game at BMO Field on Saturday, its fifth game in 14 days. ...The Nutrilite final also will be two legs, May 18 and 25. Vancouver and Montreal also were playing the second game of their home-and-home at Vancouver, which won 1-0 last week at Montreal. ...Edmonton was without Shaun Saiko for Wednesday's match because he was serving a suspension for his red card in the first game for his tackle on Oscar Cordon. ..This was Edmonton's first appearance in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto competed in the first three with Montreal winning in 2008 before Toronto took the next two titles.