P osted by

Harjeet Johal ,

June 21, 2016 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C - The first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship Final kicked off at BMO Field between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC. Each side looked to set the tone and pick up momentum heading into the second leg on Wednesday, June 29 at BC Place in Vancouver. Toronto FC was able to win a closely contested 1-0 match thanks to a goal from Sebastian Giovinco just before halftime. The Atomic Ant's shot took a clear deflection off Kendall Waston before finding the net. A crowd of 20,011 cheered on Toronto FC as they will now head to Vancouver with that all important one-goal and first leg advantage. After the match, both head coaches weighed in their assessment of how their side performed. "I thought we were terrible in the first half and much better in the second half of the game", offered Greg Vanney, "Ironically we were fortunate to score in the first half and failed to score in the second half. That is my initial take on the game." Carl Robinsons take was "Interesting game of football, I think we were the better team in the first half. We were unable to get the goal, then conceded a goal with a deflection, a bit unlucky. But Toronto were the better team in the second half and we were lucky not to concede a second goal." The Opening 45

Vancouver jumped out with a pair of early scoring chances thanks to striker Octavio Rivero. Toronto FC goalkeeper Clint Irwin did well to deny Rivero's header 4' minutes into the match. 15 year-old Caps midfielder Alphonso Davies earned a start for the Whitecaps and didn't look a tad out-of-place along the flanks. Toronto was playing a dangerously high back-line and Vancouver was creating opportunities with a direct long ball targeting former Caps defender, Steven Beitashour.



Toronto FC was having difficulty linking up with strikers Sebastian Giovinco and Mo Babouli. One of the best opportunities for the reds to score came from a free kick in the 32' minute. Russell Teibert was whistled for a foul, and Giovinco stepped up from 40 yards out to test Whitecaps birthday boy goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi. The ball went up and over the wall, but Tornaghi was able to dive to his right to make the save.



The home-side opened the scoring just before the break thanks to an unfortunate deflection. Sebastian Giovinco was able to create some space for himself in the Vancouver box. He fired his shot between Whitecaps defenders, Sam Adekugbe and Kendall Waston. The ball deflected off Waston's leg and took a wild deflection. Paolo Tornaghi could do nothing as Toronto FC had the lead in the 43' minute. At the end of the first half, Toronto had a 51% - 49% possession advantage and a 6-3 advantage on corners. A good effort but annoyed by caps scoring woes. Annoyed game decide by fluke goal. Tornagi played well #VCup #whitecapsfc — Iain Allan (@evilbert86) June 22, 2016 Should have scored a couple of more. Hope that doesn't come back to haunt #TFC — Brian (@Areathrasher) June 22, 2016

The Second Half

Toronto FC came out in search for another goal and they added pace and pressure on the Whitecaps back-four. Giovinco was able to cut through a pair of Whitecaps defenders for a long shot from distance that rattled the near post in the 52' minute. Moments later Justin Morrow was at the far back post inches away from scoring a tap in-goal and doubling the lead.



In an effort to try to gain momentum and an elusive goal. Carl Robinson elected to bring on Blas Perez in the 63' and Kekuta Manneh in the 67' minute. Manneh had a brace and an assist in an exciting back and forth 4-3 match at Toronto FC on May 14.



Vancouver was able to generate a decent scoring opportunity in the 70' minute, but it did not come from any of the substitutes.



Kendall Waston delivered a powerful and awkward kick that Clint Irwin had trouble with, but still managed to tip the ball over the bar. On the ensuing corner, Christian Bolanos was left open, but could not beat Irwin near post. The Caps were surging in search of the equalizer, but also had to be cautious not to expose themselves to a counter-attack from the always dangerous Giovinco.



Toronto FC showed that they are a much improved side this season and they earned a well deserving 1-0 win and first leg advantage. Vancouver couldn't score early on and Toronto FC capitalized on a lucky deflection just before halftime. TFC picked up their play in the second half and limited Vancouver's scoring opportunities. Greg Vanney and Toronto FC are in great shape heading into the Voyageurs Cup final match next Wednesday at BC Place. TFC Man of the Match Clint Irwin

Clint Irwin was tested early in on in the match and late in the match with Toronto nursing a 1-0 lead. Irwin has started every MLS and ACC match for Toronto FC this season. He was sharp when he stopped Octavio Rivero and continued with his strong play in the second half when Kendall Waston looked to have a sure-fire tying goal. Toronto FC isn't known for having the strong defensive back-line, but having Irwin behind them allows them to take more risks. Irwin picked up a clean sheet with his 5 saves and helped Toronto stop a Vancouver side that had previously had success playing at BMO Field. "We wish it could be more but we have shown that we can keep clean sheets. We are comfortable with that. We know that they have to come out and attack us and hopefully give us the space to get a goal. We know that an away goal would be huge for us. It’s not ideal but at the same time we didn’t really give them much of anything." Whitecaps FC Man of the Match Paolo Tornaghi

Paolo Tornaghi was looking to earn a clean sheet and a victory on his 28th birthday. It didn't happen that way, but he was able to keep his team in the match. Toronto FC came out in the second half and was on an all out attack in search of an insurance goal. Tornaghi was able to deny countryman Sebastian Giovinco on numerous occasions, and he commanded his net when Vancouver was under siege. If not for Tornaghi's 6 saves on the night, Toronto FC would have earned themselves a bigger first leg advantage. Tornaghi has given Vancouver a chance to go back home and win the Voyageurs Cup. Vancouver Whitecaps FC Starting XI: Paolo Tornaghi; Fraser Aird, Kendall Waston, Pa-Modou Kah, Sam Adekugbe; Ben McKendry, Russell Teibert; Christian Bolaños, Pedro Morales(C) 63 (Blas Perez), Alphonso Davies 67 (Kekuta Manneh); Octavio Rivero 78 (Erik Hurtado). 4-2-3-1



Toronto FC Starting XI: Clint Irwin; Steven Beitashour 84 (Nick Hagglund), Eriq Zavaleta, Drew Moor, Justin Morrow; Benoit Cheyrou(C), Marky Delgado 78 (Tsubasa Endoh), Will Johnson, Jonathan Osorio; Sebastian Giovinco, Mo Babouli 87 (Jordan Hamilton). 4-4-2



Notes: Jonathan Osorio earned his 100th cap in all competitions for Toronto FC.