Toronto FC came up short in their first taste of CONCACAF Champions League action, dropping the first leg of qualifying tie against the Puerto Rico Islanders, 1-0, on Wednesday night at BMO Field.
Kendall Jagdeosingh's second-half goal was all the offense that Puerto Rico needed in spite of being outshot by a 17-6 margin by a Toronto side that just couldn't turn their attacking advantage into a conversion.
The result means that in order to advance to the group stage of the Champions League, TFC will have to win in Puerto Rico on Tuesday by at least a two-goal margin. A 1-0 win for the Reds will send the tie to extra time and possibly a penalty kick shootout. Any other result will eliminate Toronto from the competition.
With Amado Guevara and Nana Attakora out with injuries, TFC made some changes to their starting XI. Emmanuel Gomez made his first start in a competitive game for the Reds, taking Attakora's spot at center back. Sam Cronin was back from international duty, which pushed Pablo Vitti up into Guevara's usual attacking midfield role. Adrian Serioux did not start the game due to nagging injuries, but did appear on the substitution list.
After playing a number of reserves last Saturday in Vancouver in order to keep the starters fresh for this game, the Islanders fielded their usual starting lineup against the Reds. Before the 4-2 defeat in Vancouver, Puerto Rico had reeled off clean sheets in their previous five games, though the Islanders captured just one win during that shutout streak.
Neither side could claim an advantage in the early going, though the Islanders did penetrate deep within the TFC zone for a shot in the second minute. Puerto Rico's pace and energy in the opening minutes belied the fact that Wednesday's game was their ninth consecutive road contest.
The Reds couldn't muster much of anything on attack before finally getting a solid scoring chance in the 26th minute. Forward Chad Barrett faced double coverage as he carried the ball on the left side, but Barrett split the two defenders with a big cross that found Dwayne De Rosario to the right of the Puerto Rico net. De Rosario met the cross with a header that went just wide of the right goal post.
De Rosario's attempt seemed to stimulate the Toronto attack. The Reds' passing became a bit crisper and the team created more pressure in the Puerto Rico end of the field. The best chance of the brief period of TFC dominance was a pass from De Rosario that slashed down the right side and almost found Ali Gerba with space in front of goal.
That chance was the last decent attempt of the half for Toronto, as they continued to have trouble breaking down the stout Islanders back line. TFC showed some good movement and passing prowess with the ball, but whenever the Reds moved the ball past two or three Puerto Rico defenders, another one was always there to break up the pass or clear the ball away.
TFC looked stronger at the start of the second half. Marvell Wynne took a bounce pass at midfield, put the ball through the legs of a defender and found space for a hard shot that went over the net. Eight minutes later, Cronin found Gerba with a bounce pass on the left side of the goal that 'keeper William Gaudette got just enough of to knock out of play.
Cronin had a close chance of his own in the 61st minute. The rookie midfielder had the last touch on a series of passes deep in the Puerto Rico end, and Cronin sent a tantalizingly curvy shot towards the left side of the net. The ball appeared to glance off the leg of Islanders defender Nigel Henry, and this minor re-direction was all that was needed to send it wide.
While Toronto applied the pressure, it was Puerto Rico who opened the scoring in the 67th minute. A long shot into the penalty area drew the attention of TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei, who went to the right side of the box to try and catch the ball. But Frei simply couldn't get a handle on it, and Jagdeosingh took the pass, turned and fired past the prone 'keeper.
The massive away goal was the third of the season (in all competitions) for Jagdeosingh. The Trinidadian has been a fixture in the Islanders' lineup, appearing in 21 of Puerto Rico's 22 league games thus far this season.
Now facing a deficit, the Reds re-applied the pressure to try and salvage at least a draw from the match. Gerba nearly got free for the equalizer in the 76th and did indeed find the back of the net, but the big striker was just barely offside on the play.
O'Brian White and Danny Dichio entered the game for Barrett and Carl Robinson, as TFC wanted as much striking capability on the field as possible to push for the tying goal. The Reds had four quality chances in the last 10 minutes of regulation play -- De Rosario missed a direct free kick, Wynne fired a hard shot wide, Jim Brennan had a close-range shot stopped, and Dichio had a falling header blocked by Gaudette just before it snuck into the left side of the net.
TFC resumes their league schedule on Saturday at Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution, and then head to Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium for the final leg of their two-match series with Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
