TORONTO -- BMO Field got its first taste of the Mexican Primera Division and a shootout on Saturday night as Pachuca CF captured the Carlsberg Cup with a 4-3 victory on penalty kicks against Toronto FC.
With the score tied 1-1 after regulation time, penalties were required to decide the prize in the international friendly. The score was tied 3-3 after the initial five shooters, but Toronto's Kevin Harmse hit the left crossbar on his attempt. Mexican striker Edwin Borboa then stepped to the line and fired a strike into the back of the net to clinch the victory.
Toronto coach John Carver promised changes to the starting XI in the wake of his side's disappointing loss to Vancouver last Saturday, and with a Voyageurs Cup match and a game in Chicago coming in the next week, Carver took the opportunity to take a look at some new faces in his lineup. Only four players (Jim Brennan, Rohan Ricketts, Laurent Robert and Greg Sutton) returned from the team that faced the Whitecaps. Nana Attakora-Gyan, Tyler Rosenlund and Abdus Ibrahim made their first-ever starts for the Reds.
After a moribund first half last Saturday against Vancouver, TFC opened up looking much stronger against the Tuzos. In the fifth minute, Ricketts found room on the left wing and fired a cross towards the Pachuca net. Striker Jarrod Smith had to slide to reach the ball before Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero, and the awkward touch sailed over the net.
A few minutes later, Calero was nearly caught unaware on a poorly taken clearance attempt that found him on the edge of the penalty area with the ball in his own territory. Midfielder Paul Aguilar was in position to take the ball before a TFC player could capitalize.
For Pachuca, the exhibition was a good opportunity to test the squad's readiness for their upcoming SuperLiga group matches and the Apertura season opener on July 26. New signings Jose Maria Cardenas and Bruno Marioni were in the starting XI at midfield and striker, respectively.
Marioni nearly opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Pachuca's three-forward alignment was creating problems for Toronto's three-man back line, particularly on the left side against the inexperienced Attakora-Gyan and Tyler Hemming. In the 16th minute, Marioni took a cross from the left and found himself open in front of the Reds net. The Italian striker's shot, however, was a weak one, that bounced outside of the right post.
The Tuzos had another good chance 10 minutes later. Forward Damian Alvarez carried the ball into the Toronto area and passed to fellow striker Christian Gimenez on the right side, who took a quick shot. A sliding tackle by Reds defender Julius James broke up the shot, but the ball stayed in place as James slid by, giving Gimenez another chance. The point-blank shot was stopped by 'keeper Greg Sutton.
The latter half of the first 45 minutes was fairly uneventful, as the Reds seemed to take on a more defensive mindset to aid the beleaguered back line, thus keeping Pachuca at bay. As for the Toronto attack, the new lineup led to some disorganization. Sloppy passing led to turnovers and, in a few occasions, ended promising scoring chances before they could properly develop.
In the 42nd minute, however, TFC nearly scored one of the most unusual goals in their history. Robert sent a long ball from just past midfield towards the Tuzos goal, and the 50-plus-yard shot ended up sailing dangerously close to the top of the net. A surprised Calero had to jump to make sure the ball barely flew over the crossbar. A minute later, Robert was high again, this time on a direct free kick from outside the penalty area.
As the Tuzos exploited a defensive hole in the first half, TFC was able to do the same at the start of the second half. The Reds found room on the right side, with Smith and Ibrahim both taking the ball on long runs down the wing and deep into Pachuca territory. In Smith's case, the striker had to fight with Pachuca defender Julio Manzur for possession and nearly lost the ball, only to recover and manage a middling shot that Calero blocked at close range.
Both teams made liberal substitutions in the first 15 minutes of the second half, and it was substitute Christian Correa (who came into the game for Marioni in the 58th minute) who ended up making an impact for Pachuca. Some excellent ball movement between Alvarez and Correa led to the Pachuca goal in the 60th minute. Correa passed to Alvarez in the middle, and the striker attracted attention from the defenders while Scorer got into position in front of the ball. Alvarez had enough room for another quick pass up to Correa, who fired a hard shot past substitute goalkeeper Brian Edwards.
It was the first goal in a Pachuca uniform for the Brazilian striker, who signed with the team after a stint with Portuguesa of Brazil's Serie A.
The quality of Pachuca's passing was beginning to take its toll on the TFC defenders, but there was no hint that the Reds were losing heart. It took just nine minutes for TFC to respond with the equalizer. With a Robert corner kick in the air, rookie defender James leapt above the fray and headed the ball into the net. The goal was very similar to James' first MLS goal, which was the game-winner in a 2-0 victory against Los Angeles on May 31.
Toronto clogged the area in front of its net to cut off the Tuzos' passing attack, and as a result were able to generate more chances of their own in response. The best chance came in the 83rd minute when Hemming broke loose down the right side and launched a perfect cross to substitute forward Jeff Cunningham. The veteran striker was off target, however, as his shot went left.
Cunningham's shot was the last good chance for either team in the half, which led to Pachuca eventually capturing the shootout victory. It was just the latest addition to the trophy case for the side that has won the last two CONCACAF Champions' Cups, the 2007 SuperLiga, the 2006 South American Copa Sudamericana and five Mexican league titles.
TFC next play on Wednesday at Vancouver's Swangard Stadium against USL-1 side Vancouver Whitecaps in a Nutrilite Canadian Championship match. The Reds lost 1-0 to the Whitecaps last Saturday at BMO Field. Toronto's next MLS game is on Saturday in Chicago.
Pachuca CF plays the USL's Atlanta Silverbacks in a friendly on Wednesday before beginning their SuperLiga group play. Pachuca plays Chivas USA on July 13 in Los Angeles and then the New England Revolution on July 16 at Gillette Stadium.
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