Toronto FC wins fourth Canadian Championship

Toronto FC has won the 2012 Amway Canadian Championship following a 1:0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Toronto won its fourth-straight Canadian title, this time winning 2-1 on aggregate with both a goal on the road and at home in the two-leg final.

Lambe scored the winning goal in the 84th minute from the top of the box. Substitute Nick Soolsma advanced the ball to Lambe who then fired it through a Vancouver defender’s legs for his second goal of the Championship.

After no goals were scored in the first half, both Toronto and Vancouver were reduced to 10 men after ejections to both teams in the 57th and 58th minutes. Toronto FC’s Julian de Guzman was shown a direct red card while Sébastien Le Toux was shown his second yellow card of the match, hence also a red card and ejection from the match.

Moments after Lambe’s goal, Vancouver’s Martín Bonjour had an opportunity with a free kick from just outside the box, but his kick was just high and over the crossbar.

For the championship final, Toronto FC’s starting XI featured Milos Kočić in goal, Jeremy Hall at right back, Adrian Cann and Doneil Henry at centre back, Ashtone Morgan at left back, Julian de Guzman, Torsten Frings and Joao Plata at midfield, and Ryan Johnson, Eric Avila and Reggie Lambe up front.

In the second half after both teams had already been reduced to 10 men, coach Aron Winter replaced Avila with Richard Eckersley (60′), Plata with Nick Soolsma (78′), and goal-scorer Lambe with Terry Dunfield (84′).

Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s starting XI featured Joe Cannon in goal, Young-Pyo Lee at right back, Alain Rochat and Jay DeMerit at centre back, Martín Bonjour at left back, Jun Marques Davidson, John Thorrington and Gershon Koffie at midfield, and Camilo Sanvezzo, Eric Hassli and Sébastien Le Toux up front.

In the second half, coach Martin Rennie replaced Rochat with Jordan Harvey (65′), Sanvezzo for Darren Mattocks (66′), and Thorrington for Chiumiento (73′).

Attendance for the championship final at BMO Field was 13,777. The average attendance for all six 2012 Amway Canadian Championship matches was 12,477.

The 2012 Amway Canadian Championship ran four consecutive Wednesday nights from 2-23 May. Now in its fifth season, the Championship featured Vancouver Whitecaps FC, FC Edmonton, Toronto FC and Impact Montréal. Previous champions were Toronto FC from 2009 to 2011 and Impact Montréal in 2008. Throughout the competition, fans have been able to follow the Amway Canadian Championship via live television broadcasts (Sportsnet and TVA Sports), an in-match Twitter stream @CanadaSoccerEN, and extensive post-match coverage via CanadaSoccer.com/championship, Facebook, Flickr.com/CanadaSoccer and youTube.com/CanadaSoccerTV.

Canada’s 2012 champion will now compete in 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League with 23 other teams from the region. As always, CONCACAF Champions League will qualify one team for the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup. Already qualified for this year’s CONCACAF Champions League season are Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo from USA, Tigres UANL, Santos Laguna, Monterrey and Chivas-Guadalajara from Mexico, AD Isidro Metapán, CD FAS and Aguila from El Salvador, LD Alajuelense and CS Herediano from Costa Rica, CSD Municipal and Club Xelajú MC from Guatemala, CD Olimpia and CD Marathón from Honduras, Real Estelí FC from Nicaragua, Chorillo FC and a yet-to-be-determined club from Panama, and three yet-to-be-determined clubs from the Caribbean.