Toronto FC doesn’t begin group stage play in the CONCACAF Champions League until Thursday night, but it already knows that its path to qualification for the quarter-finals has taken a weird turn.

Eddie Johnson’s mark on the history of Toronto FC can never be erased.The American striker, who the league announced Tuesday will be repatriated to MLS after failing to make his mark in Europe, scored the first-ever league goal at BMO Field.

Eduardo Sebrango may have a 38-year-old body, but he’s playing like he’s 10 years younger.The Montreal Impact forward, who came out of retirement earlier this season to help the club reverse its stuttering fortunes, was named the NASL’s Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Setanta Sports, which is part of the Rogers’ family of channels, announced Monday that will air Toronto FC’s CONCACAF Champions League group stage match live at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

While it’s still improbable that the Impact will overhaul FC Edmonton for the last playoff spot, FCE’s recent struggles have made the race a lot more interesting than it needed to be.

With his team's final NASL season circling the drain, Impact coach Nick De Santis put out a line-up that some may have felt was randomly drawn from a hat, but one that paid dividends as the Montreal side ran roughshod over the last-place Atlanta Silverbacks, taking a 4-0 decision in front of some 11,000 delighted fans.

Vancouver coach Tom Soehn’s return to D.C. certainly didn’t go as he would have liked.Chris Pontius scored twice for D.C. United and rookie Joe Willis saved the day in goal, as the Whitecaps fell 4-0 at RFK Stadium.

All the changes worked for the best as Joao Plata's 77th-minute strike gave TFC a 1-0 victory over RSL. The win snapped a six-game (0-4-2) winless streak in league play for Toronto and suddenly the Reds find themselves on a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) in all competitions.

Coming into tonight’s game against FC Tampa Bay — needing to make up a point a game on the sixth-place Fort Lauderdale over the course of the season’s last nine games in order to take part in the postseason — the Montreal Impact tonight snatched a draw from the jaws of victory, as the visiting FC Tampa Bay came back from a two-goal deficit at the 84-minute mark to end the night in a 3-3 draw.

It has its primary sponsor. It has its new logo. And now the Montreal Impact has its man.He is Jesse Marsch.