Music: {allcanada} TFC advance to Canadian Championship final

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

{allcanada} TFC advance to Canadian Championship final

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TORONTO -- Why can't Toronto FC play like this every week?

Forced to play a man short for 74 minutes, TFC showed tremendous character and plenty of attacking invention in earning a 2-0 win over the Montreal Impact Wednesday to advance to the final of the Amway Canadian Championship.

Reggie Lambe and Ryan Johnson scored the goals for the Reds, who were reduced to 10 men when defender Richard Eckersley was sent off.

TFC's victory clinched the semifinal series in their favour after the teams battled to a 0-0 draw last week in Montreal. Toronto advances to the two-legged final where it will meet the winner of the other semifinal between the Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Edmonton on May 16 and 23. Vancouver won the first leg of its semifinal 2-0 in Edmonton.

Maybe desperation is the ultimate motivator, because this Toronto side bore no resemblance to the team that has lost eight straight games to open the Major League Soccer season, and is the only club in the 19-team league without a single point.

The Reds bunkered down in the opening leg in Montreal, putting all 11 players behind the ball simply not to lose. Toronto employed similar defensive tactics in Saturday's 2-0 loss at home to DC United, a result that saw Toronto establish a new league record for the worst ever start to an MLS campaign.

Coach Aron Winter promised a more attacking brand of soccer in the buildup to Wednesday's match, and the Dutchman delivered. The Reds looked lively going forward and showed great composure in defence, the team's Achilles' heel.

In earning this morale-boosting victory, Winter relieved some of the pressure resting on his slim shoulders. A loss to Montreal and a premature exit from a tournament Toronto has won for the past three years could have been the tipping point for MLSE, the club's owners.

But by advancing to the finals, Winter has probably bought himself a bit more time. It's hard to imagine MLSE making a coaching switch on the back of this win.

This was an inspired performance from the Reds, and it'll be interesting to see if they can build upon it in the MLS and end their horrendous losing streak.

In a bit of a surprise, captain Torsten Frings was in the starting lineup for Toronto. The German midfielder injured his shoulder against DC and didn't practise with the team on Tuesday, leading many to believe he wouldn't even be named to the 18-man game day roster.

TFC swarmed the Impact right from the opening kickoff, and were rewarded for their attacking intent in the second minute. Joao Plata made a driving run into the box, and the ball eventually fell to Lambe whose effort on goal took a deflection and skipped past Montreal goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

Things turned sour for Toronto 14 minutes later when Eckersley was expelled for a high challenge on Montreal's Sinisa Ubiparipovic. Eckersley's challenge looked harmless enough, but referee David Gantar issued the Englishman a red card.

The numerical disadvantage didn't deter Toronto, though. The Reds continued to attack, with Johnson forcing Ricketts to come up with a strong save from close range.

The Jamaican made the most of his second chance, burying a shot from the edge of the six-yard box in the 38th minute after the Impact failed to clear the ball from their penalty area off a corner kick.

Tempers boiled over in first-half injury time, and players had to be separated right in front of the team benches following a bit of a melee on the sidelines.

Montreal came out strong to start the second half, dictating the pace of the game and pinning the Reds deep inside their half. Davy Arnaud should have scored from deep inside the box in the 53rd minute, but Toronto goalkeeper Milos Kocic made a marvellous save to deny the Montreal captain.

The Impact continued to threaten, with Bernardo Corradi being denied by Kocic, Felipe Martins curling a gorgeous free kick just by the post, and Justin Mapp hitting the crossbar from distance with Kocic out of position.

NOTES: The Impact has never beaten TFC in Canadian Championship play, going 0-6-2 in eight matches since the inaugural tournament in 2008... Montreal returns to MLS action on Saturday at home to the L.A. Galaxy. Toronto's next league game is May 19 when it visits DC United... Toronto was missing forward Danny Koevermans (groin strain), while Montreal was without defender Zarek Valentin (calf injury)... TFC's Nick Soolsma came on as second half substitute, making his first appearance since April 7 after battling a nagging hamstring injury...