Posted on August 2, 2012
TORONTO – Bermuda international Reggie Lambe connected for a brace — a goal in each half — to power Toronto FC to a 5-1 triumph over CONCACAF Champions League debutante CD Aguila on Wednesday night.
It was the the opening match for both teams.
Luis Silva and Terry Dunfield also scored as the Major League Soccer club earned its fourth win in its last six matches.
The goals were the first in three games allowed by Aguila, which arrived in Toronto only hours before kickoff because of flight problems.
Toronto went ahead three minutes later when Silva used his head to redirect Torsten Frings’ corner kick inside the left post.
Lambe tallied his first goal in the 17th minute, trading passes with Silva on the right side of the penalty area before he finished with a low drive.
The El Salvadoran side capitalized off a free kick when goalkeeper Milos Kocic failed to hold Osael Romero’s shot over the defensive wall, which enabled Cuban native Yaikel Perez to pounce on the rebound inside the six.
Dunfield restored the two-goal advantage three minutes later, redirecting Ashtone Morgan’s bouncing cross past Aguila goalkeeper Benji Villalobos with his shin. It was only the second goal scored by Dunfield in all competitions since he joined the team midway through 2011.
Lambe, who has two goals in 18 games in MLS, added his second in the 48th minute. He took the ball near the top of the defensive third, dribbled unchallenged to just outside the penalty area and drove a shot inside the left post.
Jamaican striker Ryan Johnson tallied his sixth goal in CCL action in the 58th. Silva played a ball into the area and forced Villalobos to come off his line. Johnson dribbled around Villalobos to the left and finished by rolling into an open net.
Aguila will return to CL action on Aug. 21, taveling to Mexico to face Santos Laguna, while Toronto will host the reigning Mexican champion a week later in rematch of last year’s semifinals.
Photo: Reggie Lambe scored a goal in each half for Toronto FC. Photo courtesy of MLS
Categories: Bermuda, Canada, Champions League, Cuba, El Salvador, Jamaica, North America
Tags: CD Aguila, CONCACAF Champions League, Major League Soccer, Milos Kocic, Reggie Lambe, Ryan Johnson, Toronto FC, Yaikel Perez
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