All wins are not created equal.

While Toronto FC struck first in its two-game CONCACAF Champions League set with CD Motagua of Honduras at BMO Field Tuesday night, the 1-0 margin of victory means the Central Americans remain in good shape with the return leg set for next week.

“It’s not the best feeling but we’ll take it,” said striker Chad Barrett, who stroked home the goal in the 20th minute as the Reds got the start they were after in front of 18,891 fans.

But despite dominating the game and showing a flair many expected from the visitors, Toronto couldn’t net a second goal that would have offered some breathing room ahead of a visit to the altitude and hostility of Estadio Nacional in Tegucigalpa next Tuesday.

A two-goal victory at home would give the Hondurans this preliminary round.

The winner of the two-game aggregate advances to the group stage of the competition, which is for the top club teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Asked if he thought the narrow win here would be enough, Barrett said: “We’ll see.

“They’re going to be just as good if not better on their own field. They’ve got fans that hate us. It’s going to be tough.”

For much of the second half, it was clear Motagua was content to defend for a 1-0 loss.

TFC had a 13-4 edge in shots, hitting the target five times to two for Motagua.

TFC desperately pushed forward with sterling ball control in the midfield and repeated assaults on the visitors’ net, led by Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman, who each had a host of chances.

“It’s very disappointing,” De Rosario said of not winning by more. “I know what the challenge is going to be like when we get to Honduras. It’s not going to be easy.

“It’s going to be a tough battle but we were able to come out with a win and that’s most important.”

In the 73rd minute, Maicon Santos sent De Rosario into the Motagua penalty area but his left-footed blast was turned away by goalkeeper Donald Morales.

De Guzman, enjoying another strong effort, was skillful on the ball throughout the night but showed a lack of finish on several good chances and was left frustrated.

Coach Preki Radosavljevic liked the fact his team kept pushing forward rather than defending the lead but he said “we have to be smarter,” noting the Reds narrowly averted the disaster of a goal by the visitors, which would have made the task even more daunting.

TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei grabbed a Sergio Mendoza header off a corner in the 82nd minute. With just five minutes remaining, Javier Portillo was set up by Georgie Welcome but couldn’t convert a pass across the goal mouth.

“We were trying to get a second goal because we knew how important (it was),” Preki said.

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TFC, which is here after winning a second straight Canadian championship, lost 1-0 to the Puerto Rico Islanders at BMO Field in the first leg of last year’s preliminary round. They then played to a 0-0 draw in the return leg to get eliminated from the competition.

On the goal, O’Brian White deftly flicked the ball into the path of a streaking De Rosario on the Motagua side of the centre line. The TFC captain played a two-on-one with Barrett perfectly, sliding a pass across the top of the penalty area to the wide open striker who patiently waited for a helpless Morales to commit before slotting a left-footed shot past and into the net.

Unlike last Saturday against FC Dallas, when TFC let up after taking the lead and eventually wound up settling for a 1-1 tie, the Reds kept coming forward this time.