A goal by Felipe Martins in added time gave the Montreal Impact a 1-0 victory over the Toronto FC Wednesday evening at Saputo Stadium, allowing the Impact to win Amway Canadian Championship 2-1 on aggregate.
Felipe Martins had come in as a replacement for Justin Mapp and banged home a rebound past Toronto netminder Joe Bendik after a Marco Di Vaio shot hit the crossbar.
The visitors dominated play in the first 30 minutes, which saw the Montreal defence bend but not break under the pressure, preventing netminder Evan Bush from being forced to any major stops.
Di Vaio missed on a chance from 18 metres out in the 38th minute, while Mapp and Bernardello also had good chances.
Jermain Defoe picked up the pace when Gilberto started feeding him passes in the second half for the visitors.
Play further opened up in the 75th minute after Mallace replaced Jack McInerney for the Montreal side.
Toronto (1-2-1) came awfully close to the winner in the 83rd minute of play when Jonathan Osorio skipped past an Impact defender and hit the post to 'keeper Evan Bush's left.
Four minutes later, after intense pressure from the Impact, Hernan Bernardello nearly put Montreal in front with a left-footed curler that missed just wide.
Hassoun Camara came close to scoring on a scissor kick in the 81st minute from 18 metres out while Jonathan Osorio also had a good chance in the 83rd for TFC, hitting the goalpost.
The Impact reached the quarter-finals of the 2008-09 Champions League, losing 5-4 on aggregate to Mexico's Santos Laguna. Toronto FC were also beaten by Santos in the semifinals of the tournament's 2011-12 edition.
The victory secured a place for the Montreal Impact in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Jermain Defoe did not play in the first match but the English star impressed the fans in the half-empty stands at Saputo Stadium.
The Impact would have won even had the game match ended in a 0-0 draw, as they had the away-goal advantage after the 1-1 draw in Toronto.
The Impact have now won the title for two year’s straight and have bagged it for the third time in the team history, as they also won it in 2008.
The Impact will play the New York Red Bulls and the Club Deportivo FAS of Salvador in the CONCACAF Champions League, which starts in August. Only one of the three teams will advance.
The Impact next host the D.C. United in a league game on Wednesday June 11 at Saputo Stadium.
The Impact got to the finals of the four-team series by first beating FC Edmonton of the NASL by a 5-4 score on aggregate. The Impact advanced to the finals against Toronto, which had edged the Vancouver Whitecaps on penalty shots.
The Impact fielded a lineup of Bush, Ouimette, Lefèvre, Pearce, Camara; Romero (Tissot 88'), Bernardello, Bernier (c), Mapp (Felipe 60'); McInerney (Mallace 75'), Di Vaio in the win.
Toronto dressed a squad of Bendik, Bloom, Caldwell, Henry, Morrow, Rey (De Rosario 74') , Hall (Osorio 67'), Bekker, Lovitz (Gilberto 55'), Defoe and Moore.
