TORONTO – Toronto FC recorded their second straight two-goal performance Saturday to beat Chivas USA, 2-1, and stay undefeated at home.
First-half goals by Nana Attakora and Chad Barrett were enough to snap a three-match winless streak and improve Toronto to 7-6-5 with 26 points.
Giancarlo Maldonado scored the lone goal—from the penalty spot—for Chivas, who dropped to 5-9-3 with 18 points. With the win, Toronto took sole possession of seventh place overall and moved three points clear of San Jose.
The loss snapped Chivas USA’s four-game unbeaten streak that saw them fight back into the playoff race after a six-match losing streak in May and June.
It also made a winner of Preki, who coached his first game against the team he led to three straight playoff appearances before coming to Toronto in the off-season.
The two goals before 20,648 at BMO Field marked the first time the offensively-challenged Reds scored two or more goals in a MLS game since a 3-1 win at home may 29 against San Jose—a span of eight MLS matches.
Coming into the game, Toronto were still basking in the high of their draw with Honduras’ Club Deportivo Motagua in Tegucigalpa Tuesday that qualified them for the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions league for the first time in club history.
Riding that momentum, the Reds dominated play for much of the game, generating numerous scoring chances.
The pressure paid off as Nana Attakora opened the scoring in the 21st minute when he got his head on a Dan Gargan sideline throw-in to beat Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
Barrett then stretched the lead to two 11 minutes later on a strange play.
Jacob Peterson attempted a shot that Maicon Santos flicked to Barrett, who shot it low past Kennedy.
Santos would later leave the game early in the second half with a knee injury.
The score held until the 66th minute when referee Jorge Gonzalez called a penalty on defender Adrian Cann for a hand ball just inside the penalty area. Maldonado converted it to cut the lead to one.
Chivas played with a greater sense of urgency the rest of the way, but they couldn’t get the equalizer and failed to build on their big home win last weekend over Eastern Conference-leading Columbus.
Next, Toronto will travel to Harrison, N.J., where they’ll face Red Bull New York Wednesday. The night before, Preki will be honored during the Brazil-USA friendly at the new Meadowlands Stadium for his induction into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, Chivas USA will try to regroup at home against Seattle next Saturday.
Chivas USA 1, at Toronto FC 2
BMO Field
Attendance: 20,648
Chivas USA (5-10-3)
Toronto FC (7-6-5)
Scoring Summary:
TOR -- Nana Attakora 1 (Dan Gargan 4) 21
TOR -- Chad Barrett 6 (Maicon Santos 1, Jacob Peterson 1) 32
CHV -- Giancarlo Maldonado 1 (penalty kick) 65
Misconduct Summary:
CHV -- Ante Jazic (caution; Reckless Tackle) 14
TOR -- Dan Gargan (caution; Reckless Tackle) 17
Chivas USA -- Dan Kennedy, Mariano Trujillo (Osael Romero 87), Dario Delgado, Michael Umana, Ante Jazic, Rodolfo Espinoza (Jesus Padilla 62), Paulo Nagamura, Ben Zemanski, Jonathan Bornstein, Giancarlo Maldonado, Justin Braun.
Substitutes Not Used: Carlos Borja, Jorge Flores, Michael Lahoud, Guppy.
Toronto FC -- Stefan Frei, Dan Gargan, Nana Attakora, Adrian Cann, Nick Garcia, Dwayne De Rosario, Joseph Nane, Julian de Guzman, Jacob Peterson (Nick LaBrocca 67), Maicon Santos (Mista 56), Chad Barrett (Fuad Ibrahim 78).
Substitutes Not Used: Raivis Hscanovics, Maksim Usanov, O'Brian White, Jon Conway.
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Referee's Assistants: Greg Barkey; Corey Rockwell
4th Official: Geoff Gamble
