Barrett breaks through in Toronto FC road win
Club moves atop East logjam
Last Updated: Sunday, July 12, 2009 | 1:59 AM ET
CBC Sports
Chad Barrett, right, seen earlier this season, doubled his goal total Saturday night in San Jose. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)Chad Barrett scored twice and Pablo Vitti broke a tie early in the second half as the Toronto FC earned a much-needed road win on Saturday in San Jose.
Toronto prevailed 3-1 in the match at Buck Shaw Stadium, snapping a five-game road losing streak. Dwayne De Rosario set up two of the goals for the winners.
Toronto (7-6-4) moved into a first-place tie in the East with the Chicago Fire, who have played one less game. D.C. and Columbus are one point behind.
Toronto returns to action on Saturday for a game against the Houston Dynamo (CBC Sports, 1 p.m. ET).
Vitti's goal came in the 54th minute. With his back to the San Jose net, he flicked a header past the outstretched hands of keeper Joe Cannon.
Toronto then caught a break in what had been a competitive game when last defender Aaron Pitchkolan pulled up lame on a loose ball, allowing Barrett to walk in uncontested on Cannon.
The Toronto forward deked the netminder and deposited the ball into the empty net in the 69th minute.
Amado Guevara nearly made it 4-1 not long after Barrett's fourth goal of the season, but Cannon made an impressive save.
Toronto was coming off a two-week layoff, but came out with energy.
After an early Vitti chance, Barrett got his first of the night in the sixth minute. De Rosario drew defenders toward him in the box and played the ball over his shoulder for his teammate, who fired it into the back of the net.
Barrett nearly marked goals in consecutive minutes but his header of a Jim Brennan cross went just wide of the right post.
The Earthquakes applied pressure in the 29th minute, with Ryan Johnson forcing Toronto keeper Stefan Frei to punch the ball out of bounds. The ensuing corner was harmless to Toronto.
San Jose would equalize in the 32nd minute, however.
Pablo Campos got clear on a long ball and fought off three Toronto defenders in the box, setting up Darren Huckerby for the putaway.
The teams traded chances within a matter of seconds late in the first. Campos forced Frei to make a save, with De Rosario seeming to catch Cannon a bit by surprise with a header, but the keeper held on to the ball.
The visitors got a bit sloppy in their own end about seven minutes after Vitti's go-ahead goal, but San Jose couldn't come up with a clear chance on net.
Barrett would soon make it a two-goal margin to help drop San Jose to 3-9-4.
Vitti fired a bullet shot in the game's waning moments, forcing Cannon to tip the ball over the bar.
