McInerney gives Impact first leg victory over TFC in Canadian Championship semifinal
Montréal Impact got their 2015 Canadian Championship off on the right foot with a 1-0 semifinal first leg victory over archrival Toronto FC on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo.
Both sides started reserve-heavy squads in anticipation of a hectic May schedule, with the Impact coming out on top thanks to a 68th-minute goal by Jack McInerney.
The first half saw neither side look too threatening, although the home team got the better of the chances. Montréal forced Chris Konopka into a few routine saves, but none gave the TFC goalkeeper too much trouble.
Referee Silviu Petrescu allowed a lot of physical play, which led to several hard challenges from both sides. Despite the increasingly physical nature of the game, only the Impact's Wandrille Lefevre was shown a yellow card in the opening 45 minutes.
Montréal asserted itself in the second half and enjoyed the lion's share of possession as Toronto seemed more concerned with containing the home side rather than attacking.
McInerney was the most active of all, and he had a handful of good looks at Konopka's goal before notching the winner. The American forward nearly had a highlight-reel strike in the 53rd minute when he attempted a flying backheel inside the TFC penalty area, but he didn't get enough power on his effort to elude the Toronto netminder.
Fifteen minutes later McInerney was sent in alone on goal via a through ball by Dominic Oduro, but a moment of indecisiveness by the striker allowed a charging Konopka to slow the shot enough for a TFC defender to collect in front of the open net.
McInerney would atone for his mistake just seconds later. Nigel Reo-Coker whipped in an inch-perfect low cross from the right side that McInerney met at the back post, and the striker easily slotted home to give the Impact a deserved lead.
From then on out TFC appeared content with keeping a one-goal margin heading into next week's second leg, allowing Montréal to control play for large stretches. The Impact, who brought attackers Ignacio Piatti and Andres Romero off the bench after McInerney's strike, seemed desperate to add a second goal but ultimately could not break down Toronto's defensive tactics.
The two sides meet again next Wednesday at the renovated BMO Field for the deciding leg.
