TORONTO — Argentina first division side Independiente defeated Toronto FC 1-0 on a second-half goal by striker Pablo Vitti in a tightly contested international friendly at BMO Field last night.
The decisive goal came on a 35-yard free kick by forward Ismael Sosa from the left of the Toronto penalty area. Sosa's pass arched into the six-yard box and was volleyed home by Vitti in the 68th minute, giving the visitors from Buenos Aires the only goal of the game.
Vitti's shot amongst a scrum of players went sailing past Toronto goalkeeper Brian Edwards and found the back of the net after both teams had numerous chances to break the deadlock.
"The free kick was a hard one for us to defend and I think we were playing too deep in the box," said Toronto FC midfielder Maurice Edu. "It was definitely too hard for Edwards to collect with all of the traffic in his area and he really can't be faulted for the goal."
Toronto FC goalkeeper Brian Edwards makes a save on Pablo Vitti of Independiente. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
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Toronto pressed for a goal early in the match before the visitors began to apply their own pressure and dominate possession of the ball.
In the opening five minutes Toronto striker Jeff Cunningham chested down a pass from Tyler Hemming in the Independiente penalty area and then side-footed the ball to midfielder Tyler Roselund whose shot skipped just to the right of goalkeeper Fabian Assman.
Eleven minutes later, Toronto midfielder Abdus Ibrahim broke down the left wing and slotted the ball to Cunningham, who forced Assman to make another early save.
"Both teams created enough chances to win, but they put their big chance away and we didn't," Cunningham said. "They might have been slightly better technically, but overall I don't think they were that much better a side than we were."
Independiente began to take the play to Toronto and were almost rewarded for their efforts in the 20th minute, but Sosa's appeals for a penalty kick were denied. Toronto defender Julius James appeared to trip Sosa in the penalty area and the striker was repeatedly booed by fans for the rest of the half.
The visitors came close again in the 35th minute when Vitti picked up a loose ball at the top of the penalty area from Edu but ripped his shot just over the crossbar and the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Edwards.
Toronto had the best chance to score in the closing minutes of the first half when Nana Attakora-Gyan and James both leaped for a header off a Hemming corner kick. Attakora-Gyan connected with the ball but it went just over the crossbar.
Vitti almost broke the deadlock in the 64th minute. Vitti ripped a fierce blast past Edwards and off the crossbar.
Toronto pressed for a late equalizer, and second-half substitute Rohan Ricketts was almost rewarded after beating two Independiente defenders at the top of the penalty area but his shot sliced just over the crossbar.
The coaching staff decided to use just four players who saw action in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire in the starting XI against Independiente.
"We use games like this as a learning or teaching tool," said Toronto FC assistant coach Chris Cummings. "In the first half it seemed like our back four got pulled all over the place by Independiente, but we corrected that at half-time."
Toronto FC plays its next game on Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes at BMO Field.
