In the midst of a stretch of nine games in 36 days, Toronto FC relied on its reserve players in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championships.
Two reserves made special contributions. Nana Nana Attakora-Gyan played a strong 90 minutes at center back in his first start of the season, and Kevin Harmse stepped into his old midfield role to deliver the game-winning goal. Harmse’s strong performance in midfield made a case for his return to the starting XI that he left after five shaky performances at center back.
The victory puts Toronto in the lead of the second annual Canadian Championship, which functions as a round-robin to determine Canada’s representative in the 2009-2010 Concacaf Champions League. The Reds play USL-1 teams Vancouver and Montreal both home and away.