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CONCACAF Champions League: Toronto FC 1-0 CD Motagua: Chad Barrett Bails Out Wasteful Reds
Jul 27, 2010 11:31:00 PM
By Mike Beauvais
TORONTO -- A first half marker from Chad Barrett gave an at-times-careless Toronto FC a 1-0 victory over Honduras’ CD Motagua in the home leg of their CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round match-up. The scoreline should have been far more flattering for the hosts, but an inability to convert solid chances into goals leaves Toronto with a slim one goal advantage over Motagua, with the return tie to be played a week from tonight in Honduras. Stefan Frei got the clean sheet in TFC’s net.
First Half
The visitors thought they got on the board in the 10th, when a chip pass over the TFC defense sent Mauricio Weber in alone on Stefan Frei. Frei came off of his line to try to cut off the ball, but Weber got there first, seemingly with a handball, turned, and fired into the open net and past a diving Nana Attakora. Much to TFC's relief, the assistant's flag was up for the offside. Replays showed that it was close, but Weber was indeed offside and the linesman had made the correct decision.
The Reds had a fine chance in the 18th, when Donaldo Morales' attempted clearance of a Jacob Peterson corner was intercepted near the touchline by Nane Joseph, under 20 yards out. The rookie quickly sent a low pass into the Motagua box for a streaking O’Brian White. Before the striker was able to get anything behind his shot, Ivan Guerrero interceded and deflected it out of harm’s way for a corner.
The Reds would make Motagua pay for their defensive trepidation not two minutes later. Near midfield, White forced Emilio Izaguirre into a turnover. After the defender gave away the ball rather cheaply, White found an onrushing Dwayne De Rosario, who began an odd-man break with Chad Barrett. Coming down the right, the TFC captain waited for his defender to commit to him, before crossing to a wide open Barrett at the edge of the Motagua area. The former Fire man, with plenty of time and real estate, hammered home a hard drive to give TFC a 1-0 lead.
TFC should have doubled its lead in the 36th, with White once again the catalyst. Taking a pass from Maksim Usanov and facing a backlog of Motagua shirts in front of home, White sent in a long ball across the field to an unmarked Julian de Guzman, who had slipped behind the defense. In alone on Donaldo, de Guzman rolled a tame effort on net, throwing away what was a quality scoring chance.
Almost immediately afterwards, Motagua tried to make de Guzman the goat. Knocking down a long ball past midfield, Georgie Welcome attempted a quick give-and-go with Weber. After finding Weber with a quick pass, Welcome headed to net for the return. The Uruguayan’s delivery was not optimal, as Weber sent the ball in diagonally across the box, forcing Welcome to get on his horse. Seeing what was transpiring, Frei raced from his net and slid in to kick away the ball before the Honduran international could get there.
Welcome felt aggrieved in the 41st, when he attempted to cut inside the TFC area down the right. One on one with Adrian Cann, the striker slipped the ball behind the Canadian international defender, but then collided with the big TFC #12 and went to ground rather easily. There certainly was contact and similar plays have been called penalties in the past, yet referee Terry Vaughn waved play on and Welcome did not protest much.
Second Half
Preki brought on Maicon Santos for Chad Barrett to start the second and the Brazilian itched to make his mark from the get-go. After the restart, Maicon raced down the left and sent a high, arching cross to the heart of the Motagua area. White did his best to get a head on it, but it found a home in the waiting arms of Donaldo.
A Motagua substitute would attempt to make an impact in the 49th. Former MLS MVP and Red Amado Guevara sent in a nicely placed through ball for Javier Portillo, who had come on at the half for the ineffective Charles Cordoba. The diminutive striker had a go from distance, shooting low towards the far post, but Frei got over to make the save in plenty of time.
TFC would then try to reassert pressure on their guests with a sustained attack, much like they did in the first. In the 54th, a one-two with Maicon gave Jacob Peterson an open shot on goal near the lip of the Motagua area, but for the second time in the match, the ex-Rapid’s attempt at net sailed well high. Peterson should have done better, as should have De Guzman, whose 57th minute drive from just outside the area seemed destined for Lake Ontario after being flicked on by White.
Peterson completed a hat trick of missed chances in the 63rd. From a throw-in, Mista, freshly off the bench for White, teed up Peterson from a foot outside the box. The midfielder’s effort was better this time, having seemingly beaten Donaldo, but it cleared the Motagua crossbar. This elicited raised eyebrows and a look of George Costanza-like exasperation from Preki.
With the Reds able to hold the Motagua attack at bay, TFC went in for the kill. In the 73rd, Maicon sent in a through ball for De Rosario that was well out of the reach of anybody in either shirt, but DeRo motored after it and caught up to it. Completely gassed by this point, De Rosario entered the box and smacked a low drive that forced a solid save out of Donaldo. Later, Maicon would force Johnny Leveron into a foul deep into Motagua territory. Decidedly unimpressed with referee Vaughn’s decision, the defender’s indifferent shrug would earn him a booking. Mista’s ensuing free kick would curl just over the bar in the 79th.
Ramon Maradiga would want to hide his eyes in the 83rd, as his side should have been heading back to Honduras with an away goal. After a TFC giveaway, Portillo would send a ball wide to Welcome and head to net. It was hard to tell if Welcome meant to shoot or cross, but either way, his effort was deflected by a diving Cann into Portillo’s path for what amounted to a tap-in. Portillo was unable to get a handle on the ball, and Attakora was able to the danger and the crowd at BMO breathed a collective sigh of relief. Attakora would again smartly deny Welcome in the 90th, when at close range, the defender completely took away the Honduran international’s shooting lane.
While the Preki and the Reds will undoubtedly be happy to be heading south a goal to the good, the club sorely missed out on the chance to enter the return tie with a commanding advantage. With away form a constant problem for the Reds this season, a subpar effort in Honduras will result in the club looking back and ruing this plethora of spurned opportunities.
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First Half
The visitors thought they got on the board in the 10th, when a chip pass over the TFC defense sent Mauricio Weber in alone on Stefan Frei. Frei came off of his line to try to cut off the ball, but Weber got there first, seemingly with a handball, turned, and fired into the open net and past a diving Nana Attakora. Much to TFC's relief, the assistant's flag was up for the offside. Replays showed that it was close, but Weber was indeed offside and the linesman had made the correct decision.
The Reds had a fine chance in the 18th, when Donaldo Morales' attempted clearance of a Jacob Peterson corner was intercepted near the touchline by Nane Joseph, under 20 yards out. The rookie quickly sent a low pass into the Motagua box for a streaking O’Brian White. Before the striker was able to get anything behind his shot, Ivan Guerrero interceded and deflected it out of harm’s way for a corner.
The Reds would make Motagua pay for their defensive trepidation not two minutes later. Near midfield, White forced Emilio Izaguirre into a turnover. After the defender gave away the ball rather cheaply, White found an onrushing Dwayne De Rosario, who began an odd-man break with Chad Barrett. Coming down the right, the TFC captain waited for his defender to commit to him, before crossing to a wide open Barrett at the edge of the Motagua area. The former Fire man, with plenty of time and real estate, hammered home a hard drive to give TFC a 1-0 lead.
TFC should have doubled its lead in the 36th, with White once again the catalyst. Taking a pass from Maksim Usanov and facing a backlog of Motagua shirts in front of home, White sent in a long ball across the field to an unmarked Julian de Guzman, who had slipped behind the defense. In alone on Donaldo, de Guzman rolled a tame effort on net, throwing away what was a quality scoring chance.
Almost immediately afterwards, Motagua tried to make de Guzman the goat. Knocking down a long ball past midfield, Georgie Welcome attempted a quick give-and-go with Weber. After finding Weber with a quick pass, Welcome headed to net for the return. The Uruguayan’s delivery was not optimal, as Weber sent the ball in diagonally across the box, forcing Welcome to get on his horse. Seeing what was transpiring, Frei raced from his net and slid in to kick away the ball before the Honduran international could get there.
Welcome felt aggrieved in the 41st, when he attempted to cut inside the TFC area down the right. One on one with Adrian Cann, the striker slipped the ball behind the Canadian international defender, but then collided with the big TFC #12 and went to ground rather easily. There certainly was contact and similar plays have been called penalties in the past, yet referee Terry Vaughn waved play on and Welcome did not protest much.
Second Half
Preki brought on Maicon Santos for Chad Barrett to start the second and the Brazilian itched to make his mark from the get-go. After the restart, Maicon raced down the left and sent a high, arching cross to the heart of the Motagua area. White did his best to get a head on it, but it found a home in the waiting arms of Donaldo.
A Motagua substitute would attempt to make an impact in the 49th. Former MLS MVP and Red Amado Guevara sent in a nicely placed through ball for Javier Portillo, who had come on at the half for the ineffective Charles Cordoba. The diminutive striker had a go from distance, shooting low towards the far post, but Frei got over to make the save in plenty of time.
TFC would then try to reassert pressure on their guests with a sustained attack, much like they did in the first. In the 54th, a one-two with Maicon gave Jacob Peterson an open shot on goal near the lip of the Motagua area, but for the second time in the match, the ex-Rapid’s attempt at net sailed well high. Peterson should have done better, as should have De Guzman, whose 57th minute drive from just outside the area seemed destined for Lake Ontario after being flicked on by White.
Peterson completed a hat trick of missed chances in the 63rd. From a throw-in, Mista, freshly off the bench for White, teed up Peterson from a foot outside the box. The midfielder’s effort was better this time, having seemingly beaten Donaldo, but it cleared the Motagua crossbar. This elicited raised eyebrows and a look of George Costanza-like exasperation from Preki.
With the Reds able to hold the Motagua attack at bay, TFC went in for the kill. In the 73rd, Maicon sent in a through ball for De Rosario that was well out of the reach of anybody in either shirt, but DeRo motored after it and caught up to it. Completely gassed by this point, De Rosario entered the box and smacked a low drive that forced a solid save out of Donaldo. Later, Maicon would force Johnny Leveron into a foul deep into Motagua territory. Decidedly unimpressed with referee Vaughn’s decision, the defender’s indifferent shrug would earn him a booking. Mista’s ensuing free kick would curl just over the bar in the 79th.
Ramon Maradiga would want to hide his eyes in the 83rd, as his side should have been heading back to Honduras with an away goal. After a TFC giveaway, Portillo would send a ball wide to Welcome and head to net. It was hard to tell if Welcome meant to shoot or cross, but either way, his effort was deflected by a diving Cann into Portillo’s path for what amounted to a tap-in. Portillo was unable to get a handle on the ball, and Attakora was able to the danger and the crowd at BMO breathed a collective sigh of relief. Attakora would again smartly deny Welcome in the 90th, when at close range, the defender completely took away the Honduran international’s shooting lane.
While the Preki and the Reds will undoubtedly be happy to be heading south a goal to the good, the club sorely missed out on the chance to enter the return tie with a commanding advantage. With away form a constant problem for the Reds this season, a subpar effort in Honduras will result in the club looking back and ruing this plethora of spurned opportunities.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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