An early Jonathan Osorio goal was the difference as Toronto FC defeated the Ottawa Fury 1-0 in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal round on Wednesday.
TFC lined up with a young starting XI in the midweek match, with 18-year-old Ayo Akinola and 20-year-olds Liam Fraser and Malik Johnson all getting the start as head coach Greg Vanney elected to rest several key players ahead of a crucial MLS match on the weekend.
Vanney did utilize a few regulars, with Nick Hagglund, Eriq Zavaleta, Nicolas Hasler and Jay Chapman among the familiar faces alongside Osorio at TD Place Stadium in the nation's capital.
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Osorio, wearing the captain's armband with Michael Bradley remaining in Toronto, wasted little time in continuing his red-hot form in front of goal. The 26-year-old received the ball at the top of the Ottawa penalty area in the fifth minute and took one step to his right before unleashing a low drive that evaded Fury goalkeeper Max Crepeau. The strike appeared to take a slight deflection off Ottawa defender Nana Attakora, but the end result was the same as TFC grabbed an early 1-0 lead.
🇨🇦Telfer works to keep it alive, finds 🇨🇦Oso who buries it for @torontofc. pic.twitter.com/R8cAKOKlC4
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) July 19, 2018
Toronto appeared comfortable stroking the ball around in the quarter hour immediately following Osorio's goal, with the home side not looking particularly threatening despite having a much more familiar lineup. The Fury eventually grew into the game, but neither goalkeeper was challenged for the duration of the opening half.
The second half was a different story, as the Fury found another gear and were the aggressors throughout the final 45 minutes. TFC 'keeper Clint Irwin was called into action in the minutes following the halftime break, and he kept the visitors on top with a number of clutch saves and clearances.
Ready to answer the call @ClintIrwin#TFCLive | #OTTvTOR | #CanChamp pic.twitter.com/G4NsNv9RDs
— Toronto FC (@torontofc) July 19, 2018
Irwin's biggest stop of the night came in the dying minutes, when the 29-year-old parried a powerful Steevan Dos Santos header off the line before gathering the loose ball.
Keeping that clean sheet in tact @ClintIrwin #TFCLive | #OTTvTOR | #CanChamp pic.twitter.com/ymPEFAGyy2
— Toronto FC (@torontofc) July 19, 2018
Despite their efforts, the Fury could not find a way past Irwin and will head to Toronto a goal down ahead of next week's second leg.