Toronto suffered a fatal setback in their pursuit of an Eastern Conference playoff place by surrendering the lead to draw 1-1 with Montreal Impact on Saturday.

Felipe Martins cancelled out Warren Creavalle's opener in the first half, and Toronto could not find a winner even when Heath Pearce became the first of three men to be sent off in the latter stages.

Creavalle put the Canadians ahead on 20 minutes with a scuffed finish into the bottom corner from the left edge of the box.

Former Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion striker Luke Moore blazed over the crossbar for Toronto moments later, before Montreal began to apply some pressure at the other end.

Martins and Jack McInerney both shot wide before the Eastern Conference's bottom side equalised through their Brazilian striker, who found the top corner from Andres Romero's pass on 39 minutes.

The visitors to BMO Field took this momentum into the second period as McInerney hit the crossbar, while Martins and Pearce also had chances as Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik kept them on level terms.

Gilberto spurned an opportunity at the other end and shot straight at Impact stopper Evan Bush before the game's feisty final stages, which saw Pearce dismissed for a reckless 82nd-minute lunge on Dominic Oduro.

The referee evened things up in stoppage time as Toronto's Jonathan Osorio was shown red on a bad night for his side, who are now five points behind Columbus Crew with one regular-season game left to play.

Montreal's Hassoun Camara was shown a second booking for his part in a post-game melee.