Seagulls hovered above the partisans, ready to steal their food. On the field, the Forge picked up the one kindly given to him by CF Montreal.
In one of the strangest atmospheres we have ever seen inside a sports venue, the CFM was knocked out of the Canadian Championship by the Hamilton Forge, a Canadian Premier League (PLC) club. ), bowing out 2-1 (3-2 in total goals) to the boos of the supporters.
“How do you explain this poor performance of your team? », asks colleague Sydney Fowo, from BPM Sports, to Laurent Courtois.
“I can’t explain it,” replies the head coach in a weak voice, almost inaudible despite the microphone plugged into the speakers of the conference room at Saputo stadium.
“What was your message at halftime? », asks Fowo again.
” I am ashamed. »
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
George Campbell and Tristan Borges
We ask him to elaborate a little more.
“I am ashamed of what happened in Toronto. In general, and for our supporters who made the trip. The face we showed. The fact of having been supplanted in the effort. [Ce soir], I have difficulty explaining this first half, which is so lethargic. We all have ambitions. And I would like us to match ambitions with actions. I didn’t see that in the first half. I am hugely disappointed, for the club and for the fans. »
To add to the bizarre nature of this quarter-final, the match even had to be interrupted for 1 hour 50 minutes, just as the players emerged from the tunnel after half-time. The meeting resumed at 10:25 p.m.
Hamilton builds a lead
Already, the supporters were few in number on this Wednesday evening, and they had to do without the energy displayed by the two main groups of supporters in the first half. This is because the IMFC Collective and the 1642 MTL remained silent during the first half of the meeting, thus showing their dissatisfaction with recent results as well as the lack of commitment and “grinta” demonstrated by the team.
Which gave rise to an uncomfortable mix of silence, cries of seagulls, and some fans trying to liven up the crowd as best they could. And, above all, grumbling towards the CF Montreal players, completely out of their X once again on Wednesday.
The first 45 minutes of this quarter-final second leg were probably the worst the CFM has played in recent memory. Nothing worked. And between the few Montreal pushes decorated with sad failures, the Forge played the game.
Daniel Parra took a nice shot in the 14the minute that Sebastian Breza was unable to block. 1-0 Forge. The negative clamor emanating from the stands only intensified.
And 10 minutes later, Hamilton took advantage of Montreal’s big defensive gaps again. Kwasi Poki doubled the Hammers’ lead, and it was completely deserved. Le Forge showed up in Montreal with the dog, and this desire which was sorely lacking among Courtois’ men in recent weeks.
This second goal forced the CFM to have to score three to hope to advance to the semi-final.
But what are the Blue-White-Black’s color-bearers missing so that they can regain a little will, a defect that they have been openly trying to correct for a month?
“ [Il va falloir] wake up, look in the mirror, explained Mathieu Choinière, a comment that constantly comes up in the club’s press briefings these days. »
We can talk about tactics, technique, but if we show up on the pitch and we don’t have the intensity, wanting it, we’re going to go nowhere.
Mathieu Choinière
Courtois was willing to talk about reviewing the physical “programming” to be sure to “present” the players “at their best mental and athletic level”. But he also returned to the idea of “basic elements of commitment and desire” to get out of this slump.
We have to admit, after just one victory in 12 games, that the problem is deeper than that.
A better copy in the second half
Then there was the rain, the thunderstorms, a storm that seemed to never want to leave the sky above the Saputo stadium.
Then, yes, CF Montreal played with more desire upon returning from the long break. Supported by a once again active Collective, the locals laid siege to the Forge area for almost the entire half.
At the 66e, it bore fruit. Zouhir’s curling shot found Victor Wanyama’s header in the box to make it 2-1.
But Montreal still had to find the fault twice. And that didn’t happen.
After the final whistle, Samuel Piette and Mathieu Choinière, in particular, spoke for long minutes with members of the Collective. The discussion was intense, then ended cordially, with Piette ending up giving his jersey to a supporter.
“We saw the banner,” said Choinière. The group displayed the word “Unacceptable”, in particular, throughout the meeting.
” They are right. They are there at every game, they sing for us, they even made the trip to Toronto. The least we can do is show that we want to play this match, to push, and to make our supporters proud. »
A triumph in the Canadian Championship, remember, has often been named as a main objective by the organization since the start of the season. Just like participation in the MLS series. This is already a first missed target.
When even the seagulls had gone to bed.
RISING
The Saputo stadium DJ
During the very long minutes of waiting for the weather delay, the DJ in residence at the Saputo stadium played a series of songs for the occasion. It’s Raining Men Weather Girls, Rusted From the Rain by Billy Talent, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Iz Kamakawiwo’ole, you get the idea. Better entertainment than the local team had offered so far.
FALLING
Joaquin Sosa
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Kwasi Poku and Joaquin Sosa
The Uruguayan was substituted at half-time, and it was deserved. His passes from behind were too often either off target or directly into the legs of the first Ontarian in front of him. It was too weak for the purposes of the evening.