TORONTO - Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco each had a a goal and an assist to lift Toronto FC to a thorough 3-1 victory over rival Montreal Impact on Wednesday.
Giovinco added a franchise record to his superb night, recording a single-season record for assists.
Jozy Altidore scored Toronto's other goal, while Ambroise Oyongo had the lone goal for the Impact.
The game was part of Major League Soccer's Rivalry Week and what's been dubbed the "401 Derby" isn't a rivalry of proximity alone. The two teams are separated by just one place in the Eastern Conference -- Toronto (6-6-1) went into Wednesday's game in fourth, and Montreal (5-5-2) right on their heels in fifth.
Toronto got off to a sluggish start and in the 19th minute, Ignacio Piatti launched a cross in that Oyongo one-timed past Toronto 'keeper Chris Konopka, prompting cheers from the tiny crowd of Montreal fans in the top north-east corner of the stadium.
Bradley got TFC on the board in the 27th minute when found himself on the end of a beautiful cross from Giovinco. The tiny Italian, who was held off the board in a frustrating performance four days earlier in a 2-0 loss to New York City FC, pulled the ball back, dancing around flat-footed Impact defender Laurent Ciman to get a cross off for a team-record seventh assist.
