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Goal by Barrett lifts Toronto FC over Colorado

Aug 9, 2008 - 11:52 PM COMMERCE CITY, Colorado (Ticker) -- Forward Chad Barrett scored the game's only goal late in the first half Saturday as Toronto FC snapped a six-game winless streak with a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids.

Playing in his third game since being acquired from Chicago on July 27, Barrett tallied in the 44th minute on a free kick for his sixth goal of the season.

Toronto FC (7-8-4), which had been 0-4-2 in its previous six contests, recorded its first win since a 3-1 home win over Colorado on June 14. It has scored only 21 goals in its 19 games.

From 20 yards out, Barrett drilled his shot past Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul into the upper left corner of the goal, giving Toronto only its second road win of the year.

"We're very happy," Toronto FC midfielder Carl Robinson said. "It was a big performance for us with a lot of guys missing. The young lads did well."

Colorado (6-10-3) had a huge edge in play with a 21-8 edge in shots, but Toronto FC goalkeeper Greg Sutton made 10 saves for the shutout, his sixth of the year. The Rapids dropped to 1-5-3 in their last nine matches.

In their previous game, the Rapids suffered a 2-0 loss to Columbus despite a 23-5 edge in shots.

"I'm very disappointed and embarrassed by our performance," Colorado coach Fernando Clavijo said. "I'm not going to point fingers. I don't do that, so I accept the blame. At some point, you just have to put the ball in the back of the net."

Toronto FC played without midfielder Amado Guevara, who served the first of his two-game suspension after striking FC Dallas midfielder Pablo Ricchetti in the face in last Sunday's 2-0 loss that snapped a 12-game unbeaten streak at home. Barrett left that contest with a leg cramp.

Toronto FC also was without defender Marco Velez, who was handed a one-game suspension following his ejection for a second yellow card in last week's match.

"It's the proudest I've felt in all my years of football," Toronto FC coach John Carver said. "I hope everybody back home in Toronto is proud because I sure am."

Colorado pressed for the tying goal, but Sutton made two key saves in the final 10 minutes to preserve the lead.

Referee Richard Heron handed out eight yellow cards in the contest, including a second to Colorado midfielder Colin Clark in the 70th minute, leaving the Rapids down a man for the final 20 minutes, plus stoppage time.

"I really can't pinpoint anything that went wrong," Colorado defender Ugo Ihemelu said. "It was a physical game. They were missing a lot of key players but they fought, so I give them credit."