Ryan Johnston

Follow TFC and the Champions League with Twitter. I will update from training, on match day and whenever news breaks.

Mista.

The man known only as Mista made his debut for Toronto FC in 4-3 penalty kick loss Wednesday against English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers.

The man known only as Mista made his debut for Toronto FC in a 4-3 penalty kick loss Wednesday against English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers.

The game finished 1-1 in regulation time before Bolton converted four of its five penalty kicks to claim the Carlsberg Cup. For Toronto, the team remains winless in all friendly competitions since 2007.

Mista, whose full name is Miguel Angel Ferrer Martinez, also served as Reds' captain in his first game.

The recently acquired Spanish forward signed with Toronto FC on July 6, but was ineligible to play until July 15 due to international transfer rules. A further mix up with documentation kept him out of Toronto's 2-1 loss to Philadelphia on July 17.

However, on Wednesday night at BMO Field the former La Liga player provided supporters with a glimpse of the skills that helped him win a UEFA Cup with Valencia in 2003-04.

Paired up front with fellow new signing Maicon Santos, Mista played provider on the stroke of half to give Maicon his first goal in a Reds' uniform. A sloppy giveaway by Bolton in the middle of the field allowed Jacob Peterson to find an open Mista, who delivered a looping cross to the unmarked Maicon. The Brazilian did well to head the ball back across the goal.

"I thought it was a very well executed play from the first pass to the goal," Preki said post-match. "The timing was great and obviously the finish was world class."

As pointed out by the Reds' coach prior to the match, Mista played just 45 minutes and was replaced to start the second half.

"The plan was to play both (Mista & Maicon) for 45 minutes," Preki confirmed. "Mista still looked heavy in some moments, but that is normal. It is important that he steps on the field, and as you can see when he touches the ball you can see he has a special ability."

Preki fielded a line up of mostly reserves, with a few trialists and academy players also getting the call. Due to the relaxed substitution rules Preki made nine changes in the game. Bolton made 10 changes after starting the game with an experienced lineup that included Kevin Davies, Martin Petrov, Zat Knight and Matt Taylor.

With an important league game against FC Dallas on Saturday and the first-leg of its CONCACAF Champions League playoff against Honduran club Montugua set for Tuesday, the coach was more inclined to rest the starters for those games.

"This game was fun. It was for the fans and for the young players and the trialists who came out so we could have a look at them."