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Played
August 17, 2010 8:00 PM EDT
BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
August 17, 2010 8:00 PM EDT
BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
Top of the Match
Mista
Toronto FC
Toronto FC
Jon Conway
Toronto FC
Toronto FC
Flop of the Match
C. Villaluz
Cruz Azul
Cruz Azul
Gerardo Torrado
Cruz Azul
Cruz Azul
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating CONCACAF Champions League: Toronto FC 2-1 Cruz Azul. Saric and Mista Lead Reds to Historic Win
The Reds defeat their Mexican opposition in their Champions League opener.
By Mike Beauvais
Toronto FC’s maiden voyage into the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League was a successful one, as they dropped a largely uninspired Cruz Azul 2-1 at BMO. First half goals from Martin Saric and Mista, each man’s first for TFC, proved to be enough for the Reds, who themselves seemed to lose interest in attacking as the match wore on. Christian Gimenez replied for the visitors in the 90th in a match that, at times, saw less than stirring football from both sides.
First Half:
With a key conference match-up looming with NYRB on Saturday, Jon Conway was handed a rare start in the Reds’ net in place of stalwart Stefan Frei, but it was the TFC offense who took center stage in a hurry.
Just attempting to keep the ball in at the far touchline, Maksim Usanov headed a ball optimistically into the Cruz Azul area. Cesar Villaluz, feeling pressured, attempted an overhead clearance and made a mess of it, putting it right on the head of Mista. The former Spanish international’s attempt on net was deflected, but right to Martin Saric, who headed it home to give TFC an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd. It marked the Argentine hardman’s first marker in a TFC shirt.
Sensing the palpable edginess from La Maquina Celeste’s defense, the Reds continued to press forward, looking for more. In the 6th, Dwayne De Rosario got a step inside on Julio Cesar Dominguez and let fly from distance with a low drive that was saved by Yosgart Gutierrez, who had previously been helpless on the Saric goal.
Minutes later, Mista cut through the middle of the Cruz Azul midfield and smartly dropped a quick pass into the opposition’s area for the trailing De Rosario. A partial lane to the net and an oncoming O’Brian White left the TFC captain unsure of which option to take. Attempting to hedge his bets, De Rosario sent in what amounted to a happy medium between a cross and a shot, but one that was too far away from goal and out of the reach of White.
The visitors had a fine chance to equalize in the 11th. With his back to goal and only a few yards outside of the TFC area, Maximiliano Biancucchi went down under pressure from Julian de Guzman. While there was initially no indication of a foul from referee Courtney Campbell, Biancucchi stayed down for a bit longer than he needed to and the striker’s strategy proved to be effective, as Campbell eventually did call an infraction.
Screened by his own wall, Conway broke late on Alejandro Castro’s ensuing free kick, but the drive went wide of the far post.
As the half went on, it became evident that the visitors’ opening defensive jitters to start the match weren’t going anywhere. Cruz Azul’s inability to settle down almost proved costly again in the 32nd. Castro and Horacio Cervantes got their signals crossed, resulting in an awful giveaway just outside of their area. De Rosario pounced on the ball and was taken down just as he sent in a through ball for Mista. Rather than playing the advantage, Campbell called for a free kick a scant few feet outside of the Cruz Azul box. De Rosario, Nick Labrocca, and Mista lorded over the ball, but it was the Spaniard who had a go, sending a strike just wide of the far post.
With inroads forward coming few and far between for the Mexican side, Cruz Azul attempted to make the best of one of their rare spells of attack late in the half. They would have equalized, had it not been for a sensational piece of goaltending from Conway.
To the right of the TFC area, Cesar Villaluz controlled a cross that had overshot the white shirts amassed in the box. Conway moved to his near post to cut the angle on an anticipated shot, but Villaluz quickly sent in a short, hard pass to Alejandro Vela, who redirected at net and forced a brilliant diving save from the lanky ‘keeper.
Looking to reward their goalie, TFC moved forward and doubled their advantage just before the break. Rushing up the left side, Raivis Hscanovics crossed to Mista at the edge of the Cruz Azul 18-yard box. The Reds’ second designated player used the run of Saric as a screen and sent in a low drive that caught a slight deflection and beat Gutierrez, giving the home side a deserved 2-0 lead at the half.
Second Half:
Enrique Meza hoped that the respite after 45 minutes would be right to tonic to aid his seemingly shell-shocked side. The visitors opened the half with a little bit more of a spring to their step, but still lacked any real intent.
With the opening minutes spent trading possession in the middle third of the field, the first real chance of the half came in the 55th when Cruz Azul broke forward. Coming down the right, Villaluz eschewed waiting for teammates and let go from distance. The Mexican international hammered a strike that looked earmarked for inside the far post, but Conway turned it aside with another fine diving save.
The Reds were apparently content with allowing their guests the majority of possession as the half went on, as they were able to snuff out the Cruz Azul attack before any real danger. Preki couldn’t have been too pleased with this tactic and it almost proved costly in the 63rd. Conway left his line to punch away a Castro corner, but it eluded him, leaving Javier Orozco with a free header. The substitute should have been able to pull one back for Cruz Azul, however, Orozco missed entirely.
As the clock ticked down, Cruz Azul once again had the chance to break their duck in the 83rd. Spotting a streaking Emmanuel Villa heading to the far post, and with a step on Adrian Cann, Fausto Pinto attempted to set up his striker with a low cross. The service was a good one, but Conway dove headlong off of his line and punched the ball away from danger.
The Mexicans would get their breakthrough in the 90th from substitute Christian Gimenez. A foul by Usanov resulted in a free kick to the left of the TFC area from just under 25 yards out. As Castro did in the first half, Gimenez used the Toronto wall as a screen and rung the ball off of the inside of the near post and into the net, spoiling Conway’s clean sheet.
That would be as close as Cruz Azul would come to knotting the score, as the two minutes of stoppage saw the brewing bad blood between the two clubs begin to spill over. Referee Campbell did a commendable job of keeping the waning minutes under control and the Toronto faithful erupted as the final whistle blew on a famous victory for the Reds.
While victorious, Preki won’t be happy with the way his club began to fade down the stretch and their inability to truly bury a club that was asking to be put out of its misery for two-thirds of the match. The gaffer will hope to address this prior to the arrival of Rafa Marquez and the Red Bulls on Saturday.
His counterpart, Meza, will fly back to Mexico City ruing the lack of effort in the first that did in his side’s chances to take home at least a point from their first ever Canadian encounter.
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First Half:
With a key conference match-up looming with NYRB on Saturday, Jon Conway was handed a rare start in the Reds’ net in place of stalwart Stefan Frei, but it was the TFC offense who took center stage in a hurry.
Just attempting to keep the ball in at the far touchline, Maksim Usanov headed a ball optimistically into the Cruz Azul area. Cesar Villaluz, feeling pressured, attempted an overhead clearance and made a mess of it, putting it right on the head of Mista. The former Spanish international’s attempt on net was deflected, but right to Martin Saric, who headed it home to give TFC an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd. It marked the Argentine hardman’s first marker in a TFC shirt.
Sensing the palpable edginess from La Maquina Celeste’s defense, the Reds continued to press forward, looking for more. In the 6th, Dwayne De Rosario got a step inside on Julio Cesar Dominguez and let fly from distance with a low drive that was saved by Yosgart Gutierrez, who had previously been helpless on the Saric goal.
Minutes later, Mista cut through the middle of the Cruz Azul midfield and smartly dropped a quick pass into the opposition’s area for the trailing De Rosario. A partial lane to the net and an oncoming O’Brian White left the TFC captain unsure of which option to take. Attempting to hedge his bets, De Rosario sent in what amounted to a happy medium between a cross and a shot, but one that was too far away from goal and out of the reach of White.
The visitors had a fine chance to equalize in the 11th. With his back to goal and only a few yards outside of the TFC area, Maximiliano Biancucchi went down under pressure from Julian de Guzman. While there was initially no indication of a foul from referee Courtney Campbell, Biancucchi stayed down for a bit longer than he needed to and the striker’s strategy proved to be effective, as Campbell eventually did call an infraction.
Screened by his own wall, Conway broke late on Alejandro Castro’s ensuing free kick, but the drive went wide of the far post.
As the half went on, it became evident that the visitors’ opening defensive jitters to start the match weren’t going anywhere. Cruz Azul’s inability to settle down almost proved costly again in the 32nd. Castro and Horacio Cervantes got their signals crossed, resulting in an awful giveaway just outside of their area. De Rosario pounced on the ball and was taken down just as he sent in a through ball for Mista. Rather than playing the advantage, Campbell called for a free kick a scant few feet outside of the Cruz Azul box. De Rosario, Nick Labrocca, and Mista lorded over the ball, but it was the Spaniard who had a go, sending a strike just wide of the far post.
With inroads forward coming few and far between for the Mexican side, Cruz Azul attempted to make the best of one of their rare spells of attack late in the half. They would have equalized, had it not been for a sensational piece of goaltending from Conway.
To the right of the TFC area, Cesar Villaluz controlled a cross that had overshot the white shirts amassed in the box. Conway moved to his near post to cut the angle on an anticipated shot, but Villaluz quickly sent in a short, hard pass to Alejandro Vela, who redirected at net and forced a brilliant diving save from the lanky ‘keeper.
Looking to reward their goalie, TFC moved forward and doubled their advantage just before the break. Rushing up the left side, Raivis Hscanovics crossed to Mista at the edge of the Cruz Azul 18-yard box. The Reds’ second designated player used the run of Saric as a screen and sent in a low drive that caught a slight deflection and beat Gutierrez, giving the home side a deserved 2-0 lead at the half.
Second Half:
Enrique Meza hoped that the respite after 45 minutes would be right to tonic to aid his seemingly shell-shocked side. The visitors opened the half with a little bit more of a spring to their step, but still lacked any real intent.
With the opening minutes spent trading possession in the middle third of the field, the first real chance of the half came in the 55th when Cruz Azul broke forward. Coming down the right, Villaluz eschewed waiting for teammates and let go from distance. The Mexican international hammered a strike that looked earmarked for inside the far post, but Conway turned it aside with another fine diving save.
The Reds were apparently content with allowing their guests the majority of possession as the half went on, as they were able to snuff out the Cruz Azul attack before any real danger. Preki couldn’t have been too pleased with this tactic and it almost proved costly in the 63rd. Conway left his line to punch away a Castro corner, but it eluded him, leaving Javier Orozco with a free header. The substitute should have been able to pull one back for Cruz Azul, however, Orozco missed entirely.
As the clock ticked down, Cruz Azul once again had the chance to break their duck in the 83rd. Spotting a streaking Emmanuel Villa heading to the far post, and with a step on Adrian Cann, Fausto Pinto attempted to set up his striker with a low cross. The service was a good one, but Conway dove headlong off of his line and punched the ball away from danger.
The Mexicans would get their breakthrough in the 90th from substitute Christian Gimenez. A foul by Usanov resulted in a free kick to the left of the TFC area from just under 25 yards out. As Castro did in the first half, Gimenez used the Toronto wall as a screen and rung the ball off of the inside of the near post and into the net, spoiling Conway’s clean sheet.
That would be as close as Cruz Azul would come to knotting the score, as the two minutes of stoppage saw the brewing bad blood between the two clubs begin to spill over. Referee Campbell did a commendable job of keeping the waning minutes under control and the Toronto faithful erupted as the final whistle blew on a famous victory for the Reds.
While victorious, Preki won’t be happy with the way his club began to fade down the stretch and their inability to truly bury a club that was asking to be put out of its misery for two-thirds of the match. The gaffer will hope to address this prior to the arrival of Rafa Marquez and the Red Bulls on Saturday.
His counterpart, Meza, will fly back to Mexico City ruing the lack of effort in the first that did in his side’s chances to take home at least a point from their first ever Canadian encounter.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match
Fans' Flop of the Match
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
H. Suazo
Striker Monterrey |
7 | 2 |
|
Oribe Peralta
Striker Santos Laguna |
6 | 0 |
|
H. Gómez
Striker Santos Laguna |
6 | 0 |
|
Abraham Carreno Rohan
Striker Monterrey |
5 | 0 |
|
A. De Nigris
Striker Monterrey |
4 | 0 |