HALIFAX – Colby Barnett’s early strike in the sixth minute proved decisive as AFC Toronto secured a 1-0 victory over Halifax Tides FC on Saturday in the Northern Super League.
An unmarked Barnett calmly slotted a volley past Tides ‘keeper Erin McLeod after a high cross from Nikayla Small to give Toronto (2-2-1) the early lead at Wanderers Grounds.
“Nikki put in the most perfect ball that she could have. In my mind I was just like, ‘Do not miss this, do not miss this,’” said Barnett, who scored her first NSL goal. “I was really happy to be on the other side and it definitely feels nice. I get why the strikers like it so much.”
Toronto is now on a three-game unbeaten run and tied with second-place Ottawa Rapid FC and Vancouver Rise FC with seven points. Ottawa has played one less game.
Halifax (0-3-1) sits at the bottom of the NSL rankings and continues to search for their initial win in this season’s opening year of the league.
In Toronto’s game, they maintained 51% of the possession and had a lead of 10-7 in shot attempts, with a score of 4-2 for shots on target.
We keep working hard and improving continuously. At this stage, we aren’t overly worried about our record—we expressed this sentiment following both defeats and victories, and it remains unchanged,” stated Toronto’s head coach Marko Milanovic. “The more effort we invest, the clearer it becomes each week how much progress we’re making.
Next up, Halifax visits Vancouver on Wednesday, while Toronto travels to Montreal for a match against league-leading Roses FC on Thursday.
The report from The Canadian Press was initially released on May 17, 2025.
The Canadian Press
