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.
A match which even had to be interrupted for 1 hour 50 minutes, just as the players came out of the tunnel after half-time. This delay added to the quirky nature of this quarter-final. The meeting resumed at 10:25 p.m.
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 1642MTL 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.
Hamilton builds a lead
But what will it take to give a little will to these blue-white-black color bearers, a defect that they have been openly trying to correct for a month? 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 with this desire which Courtois’ men have sorely lacked in recent weeks.
This second goal forced the CFM to have to score three to hope to advance to the semi-final.
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 paid off. 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.
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
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.