CF Montreal led 1-0 late in the game, en route to collecting three valuable points in the standings in the qualifying race. But Toronto FC, as good enemies, crushed all their efforts with a free kick tie in the last seconds of the match.
The Toronto team, who languish at the bottom of the standings and no longer have a chance to advance to the playoffs, had only one goal, Saturday night at BMO Field: to put sticks in the wheels of CF Montreal, always searching for a goal. place in the playoffs. And he succeeded.
Wilfred Nancy’s men will probably have nightmares about it. Free kick for Jose Altidore at 95NS The minute, slithering down the net to the left of James Pantimes, would have them slip 5NS to 8NS Arranged in just a few seconds. So they have been eliminated from the playoffs for now, with three games per season.
The disappointment was strong in the post-match press conference. Quebec goalkeeper James Bantames, who had been brilliant throughout the game with nine shots blocked on goal, came to the microphone with a completely disoriented face.
“It’s more like a loss than a draw,” he hinted. Those were three points we needed, and we had it to the end. ”
Photo by Dan Hamilton, USA Today Sports
Zachary Broult Gillard and Ritchie Laria (right)
“We did a lot of attack, and defense, in the middle,” said Zachary Broult-Gillard. We were unlucky. After all, it’s football. ”
Two-part match
It must be said that Toronto Football Club has not played at all like the team that has been defeated 17 times this season. And then, we already knew that he wouldn’t make a gift for CF Montreal, even if he had nothing to lose. Coach Javier Perez even left out several pillars of the team during the previous game, in order to prepare well for Saturday’s match.
And the Montreal team found themselves crammed into their own half for the first 25 minutes, unable to find an obstacle in the Toronto defense.
Meanwhile, locals netted Montreal several times in the first half, notably thanks to 21-year-old striker Jacob Schaeffelburg, who was twice thwarted by James Bantames. Possession was even on either side after the first half without goals, but the Torontonians had three shots on target, compared to zero for Montreal.
However, they came back strong in the second half. Sonusi Ibrahim alone in front of Quentin Westberg’s goal at 55NS Minute, he headed out to score the first goal in his fourth meeting of the season.
Photo by Kevin Sosa, USA Today Sports
Celebrating Sanusi Ibrahim’s goal in the second half
That’s when both teams seemed to be stepping up their game and spirits began to heat up in the cold fall. Toronto FC’s top scorer this season, Jonathan Osorio, appears to have bounced back a few times.
“We started the first half badly, we lost some easy balls,” said coach Wilfried Nancy. After we recovered, he was better in the second half. We had more control, and we were able, like our goal, to do fun things and control the game a bit more. We knew if we kept the ball a little bit more, they wouldn’t be able to. to defend for a long time. ”
At the end of the match, Montreal squandered many opportunities to drive the final nail in the coffin of their opponents by scoring a second goal. in 76NS In the minute, Joaquin Torres gave a beautiful pass to Djordji Mihajlovic in the middle of the penalty area. But the last shot ended its way just wide. Then, at 90NS, Bjørn Johnsen had a golden opportunity, alone in front of Westberg, but the ball flew over the net.
We had chances to score the second goal but we didn’t put them down.
Wilfried Nancy, Montreal coach
The violent Toronto club repeatedly threatened. The Montreal team stuck to Altidore, who had already insisted on attacking since entering the match in 66NS Minute, do not come to destroy all his efforts and remove two valuable points in the ranking.
” I think that [mon positionnement] Pantemise said of the tragic goal. “Unfortunately, the first guy on the wall turned around, the ball went through. I could probably have gone a little bit to the left. In the end, if it didn’t turn, then no goal. We can talk about a meter or two, but what happened has happened.”
“I was satisfied with this game because it was a tough match compared to the context. Before the last 10 seconds, we did the right thing,” Wilfried Nancy assured him, noting that several players on the team were having their first 401 derby experience.
“The ranking doesn’t matter to me as far as the Toronto location is concerned,” he said. We wanted to win this match, and we were close to winning it, but we didn’t know how to do it until the end, so [c’est une] Big disappointment for everyone. ”
last race
New York City FC got 5NS Position at the end of the night under a 6-0 win over DC United. The latter is now found at 9NS Venue, behind CF Montreal. The New York Red Bulls and Atlanta United are ranked sixth, respectively.NS and 7NS A place with as many points as Montreal (43), but with a match in hand.
Wilfried Nancy’s team will have to get back on their feet on Wednesday, when they take on Hamilton Forge at Tim Hortons Field in the Canadian Championship semi-finals. Note that this clash will not affect the ranking.
She will then travel to New York to face the Red Bulls next Saturday, before returning home at Saputo Stadium for the last two games of the season.