TORONTO - The manner in which Toronto FC disposed of the visiting Montreal Impact on Wednesday night implied that the Reds had revenge on their minds.

Chad Barrett scored the only goal of the game in the 35th minute on a beautiful one-touch-and-volley blast from outside the penalty area. While the end score line of 1-0 was flattering to the visiting Impact, a relentless Toronto FC attack made life very difficult for the defending Nutrilite Canadian champions.

"We dominated the game, but it doesn't show on the score sheet," Barrett said of the result. "But we did get the three points, the defence played well and Stefan (Frei) had another great night."

Frei, the first-year goalkeeper, was forced to make just one save in recording the clean sheet while his counterpart, Matthew Jordan, was exposed to 16 shots.

"They are a very dynamic team going forward so you have to be on your toes," Jordan said of the Reds performance. "But that is life on the road and that is life in a big tournament."

The Impact won the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship in 2008 and represented Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League. The game on Wednesday was the first time back at BMO Field since raising the trophy last July.

The win keeps Toronto (2-0-0) atop the group standings with six-points through two games. Montreal (0-0-1) and Vancouver (0-0-1) are tied with no points.

Toronto coach Chris Cummins was forced to make an unplanned substitution in the 16th minute when Marvell Wynne limped off with a hamstring injury. The defender was playing an attacking role before the injury and was replaced by forward Chad Barrett.

Cummins confirmed the Wynne substitution was a cautionary move.

"Marvell got a knock on his hamstring and he thought he might have tweaked it." Cummins explained. "He will have a scan (Thursday)."

The extra attacker nearly paid dividends in the 20th minute when a swerving drive from first-year player Sam Cronin beat Jordan but not the far goal post. The assault on the Impact net continued in the 25th minute when De Rosario was allowed an open shot from 18-yards out. The effort just grazed the top of the cross bar.

Montreal, defending for much of the first 30 minutes, had a goal disallowed in the 29th minute when Rocco Placentino was ruled offside.

The trouble compounded for Montreal in the second half when midfielder David Testo was shown a straight red for a reckless challenge on Sam Cronin. Testo will miss the next match on May 20 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

"Maybe we did enough to get a tie, but certainly we did not do enough to win the game," John Liminatis, the Impact coach, said before making a not-so-cryptic assessment of the officiating. "The other thing is that in the game there are three parties, and the third party needs a lot of work."

Playing with a man advantage, the Reds nearly doubled the lead in the 78th minute but Jordan produced a spectacular save off an Amado Guevara one-time shot to keep it at 1-0. Jordan was forced in to action again five minutes later when Barrett broke in alone but failed in his attempt to deke the goalkeeper.

"We have to be more clinical in our finish," Cummins said of the missed opportunities. "We have to be careful that it does not come back and bite us in the backside."

Barrett, who finished with three shots on target, agreed with the coach.

"I am pissed off at myself. I make the game much more exciting than it needs to be."

Toronto will play the final two games of the tournament away from home in Vancouver and Montreal. The next match is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2 against the Whitecaps and can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet.

TFC Lineup: Stefan Frei; Adrian Serioux, Jim Brennan (C), Marco Velez, Nana Attakora-Gyan; Sam Cronin, Marvell Wynne (Barrett, 16), Dwayne De Rosario (Harmse, 75), Carl Robinson; Pablo Vitti, Amado Guevara (Ibrahim, 88)

Bench: Kevin Harmse, Faud Ibrahim, Rohan Ricketts, Johann Smith, Chad Barrett, Ammanuel Gomez, Greg Sutton (GK)