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Brennan keeps Toronto FC in playoff chase

Oct 18, 2009 - 3:09 AM TORONTO(AP) -- Jim Brennan scored his second goal of the season, goalkeeper Brian Edwards earned his first shutout and Toronto FC beat Real Salt Lake 1-0 on Saturday to boost its slim playoff chances.

Toronto (10-10-9) is tied with New England, D.C. United and FC Dallas for the eighth and final MLS playoff spot with 39 points. Real Salt Lake (10-12-7, 37 points) fell to 11th.

Both teams are still alive for the final playoff spot, but will likely need help from other teams to secure a postseason berth.

Toronto, which has allowed an MLS-high 15 goals after the 75th minute, was able to hang on against Salt Lake, which has scored a league-high 17 goals in the last 15 minutes. The sellout crowd erupted when the referee blew his whistle after 4 minutes of added time in the second half.

Toronto, which went 5-0-2 in its final seven home matches while outscoring opponents 12-5, wrapped up its home schedule at 8-3-4.

Toronto snapped the scoreless tie just 2 minutes after the restart. Defender Emmanuel Gomez started the scoring play with a long pass from inside his own half that forward Chad Barrett chested down inside the Salt Lake penalty box.

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando came off his line to block Barrett's shot, but Brennan raced in and fired the rebound into the far corner, past sliding defender Jamison Olave.

Making his second straight start in place of the injured Stefan Frei (dislocated finger), Edwards preserved the lead in the 72nd minute with a diving save to deny Salt Lake substitute Robbie Findley.

Edwards had two shutouts in his rookie season last year.

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Story from: STATS LLC, http://www.stats.com.