For the second week in a row, CF Montreal dominated their opponents at home, but this time they left Stade Saputo with three points more in the standings.
An own goal by Lukas MacNaughton in the second half gave the Montreal team a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday night.
Wilfried Nancy’s men had experienced some disappointment seven days ago when two technical errors handed Sporting Kansas City a 2-1 win, the Western Conference’s worst team, despite dominating on shots and possession time.
CF Montreal (10-8-2) did it again against Toronto FC (5-12-4) and ended a two-game losing streak. He took the opportunity to take sweet revenge against his rival, who had won a convincing 4-0 victory in the semi-finals of the Canadian Championship on June 22.
“We knew it was going to be a different game than the one in Toronto. It was important to keep the focus on the match to play and to get the result above all, but it is very satisfying to have been able to beat the rival in the ‘derby'”, mentioned Romell Quioto, who was stripped of his eighth goal of the campaign after the game.
In the 69th minute, Quioto jumped in to redirect an Alistair Johnston cross, but the ball hit MacNaughton’s head before crossing the goal line.
The Montreal troops maintained their fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings and remained undefeated in their last four MLS duels against the Torontonians (3-0-1).
The victory comes in James Pantemis’ first start of the season in MLS and his first in the league since October 23, 2021. He replaced Sebastian Breza in net and helped CF Montreal to their first home shutout in 2022.
“I wanted to change tonight. I’ve always used the words “for now” when talking about goalies. They are two goalkeepers who have different styles, but who have little experience. I could have made this change before, but I decided to do it today. They are in competition and we will see what will happen. James was good like all the other players tonight and he made the saves he had to make, ”analyzed Nancy.
Midfielder Djordje Mihailovic also made a comeback during the match, in the second half. He played for 30 minutes, his first since May 28, in a 4-3 win over FC Cincinnati.
“I was happy for Djordje. He did his usual job. He helped the team try to score, but it was a bit difficult for him pace-wise. Djordje is one of the best players to run for long periods and repeat high intensity actions. It’s normal that it’s more difficult because the game is different from the training sessions. It’s still good that he’s back and we’ll see later,” said Nancy.
CF Montreal will return to action next Saturday, paying a visit to DC United.
Montreal Domination
It was not the scoring opportunities that were lacking for CF Montreal during the first quarter of an hour of play.
From the fifth minute, Quioto slipped a pass to Kei Kamara, who made a good low shot. Alex Bono, however, dove to his left to deflect the ball against the horizontal bar and save the furniture.
The visitors began to damage the lawn of CF Montreal in the 22nd minute. Mark-Anthony Kaye managed to sneak into the penalty area, but his shot was deflected by Pantemis while diving.
Shaken following contact with Domenico Criscito earlier in the game, Samuel Piette got two good chances to break the deadlock. His first shot, in the 34th minute, landed in the hands of Bono while his second, in the 36th minute, just missed the target.
Quioto got the ball rolling early in the second half. After accepting a cross, the imposing Honduran turned to unleash a shot that narrowly missed the net.
Toronto FC thought they had moved the ropes in the 54th minute, but Ayo Akinola was easily in an offside position before deceiving the vigilance of Pantemis.
The Bleu-blanc-noir opened the scoring for real after building a good attack in enemy territory.
It was the 29th consecutive game in MLS with at least one goal allowed for Toronto FC, which puts them tied for the third longest streak in league history.
Just three minutes after Quioto’s goal, Akinola broke away from the CF Montreal defenders and once again scored, but the referee on the sidelines didn’t let him off the hook with a off-side.
Kamal Miller picked up a second yellow card, in the 81st minute, and he received a red card, forcing CF Montreal to protect their lead at 10 against 11.
“We had dominated Kansas City and we had done it in Seattle too. We dominated our game against Toronto, we mastered our subject and today we managed to hold the score,” said defender Rudy Camacho.