You could be forgiven if you forgot that Jon Conway was a member of Toronto FC.

Acquired by the Reds in March after being placed on waivers, Conway has been a permanent fixture on the substitutes' bench this season, serving as backup to sophomore goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Conway, 33, has yet to play a single minute for TFC during Major League Soccer's regular season, having been limited to starts in one Canadian club championship match in June and an exhibition game against English side Bolton Wanderers last month.

But the veteran shot stopper finally received his chance to start in a meaningful game Tuesday night when he was between the posts against Mexico's Cruz Azul in the Reds' CONCACAF Champions league debut.

'I train every day like I'm going to play'

Even though he's seen limited action this year and has had to bide his time on the bench, Conway hardly looked rusty against the Mexicans, making a series of big saves to help Toronto earn a crucial 2-1 win at home.

A lack of playing time hasn't dulled Conway's reflexes, which he attributes to working hard in training as though he is the club's No. 1 goalkeeper.

"I train every day like I'm going to play," Conway said. "Week in and week out, I feel like if my number is called. I'm always ready. That's the way I train each week and if I get the call, I'm ready to go."

Cruz Azul coach Enrique Meza heaped praise on the underutilized Conway in the post-match news conference, but the TFC keeper won't let that inflate his ego.

"I'm pretty stable along those lines," Conway said. "I never let it get too high or too low. … You have to keep an even keel."

Excels at organizing defence

A veteran of 11 MLS campaigns, Conway has had to watch Frei, a finalist for last year's MLS rookie of the year award, start and complete all 19 regular season games for Toronto this season.

Instead of sulking about his lack of playing time, Conway maintains a philosophical attitude and goes to great lengths to remain focused and sharp should he get the call from coach Preki to replace Frei.

"Mentally, I'm in every match, whether I'm on the field or not," explained Conway, a third-round pick of the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2000 MLS draft.

"I've been doing this a fairly long time now, so I know what I need to do, both mentally and physically. It's coming to work each day and making sure I'm ready to go on game day if I get the call."

Aside from making a trio of fantastic saves against the Mexicans, Conway also efficiently organized his defence, barking out orders to the back four to prevent Cruz Azul from carving out scoring chances.

The organizational aspect of the goalkeeper's job is something that Conway feels he excels at.

"It's easy for me," he said. "That's my bread and butter. For me, talking to the guys in front of me, making sure that they are organized, it makes my job a lot easier, and I've prided myself on doing that throughout my career."