MONTREAL – FC Montreal defeated rivals Toronto FC II 2-1 Wednesday afternoon, on the synthetic field at Stade Saputo.
The Bleu-blanc-noir took the lead in the 8th minute. Forward Jacques Haman dribbled into the box before being tripped by the defence. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Midfielder Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé took it and shot low to the right to give Montreal the lead early in the game.
In the 53rd minute, FC Montreal pushed forward on a quick sequence. Alessandro Riggi played it down the left wing to defender Zachary Sukunda who crossed the ball to the second post. The ball found Cameroon native Jacques Haman who scored a header, his third goal in three starts.
At the end of the game, goalkeeper David Paulmin picked up a ball that was judged by the referee to be a back pass. On the indirect free kick in the box that followed in the 91st minute, Chris Mannella scored with a low shot to the left corner to reduce the score to 2-1.
“We stay focused throughout the game so far this second half of the season, and even if today’s game was not as good, we still kept control,” explained head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “We could have been more efficient in the box. At the same time, it’s a fourth game in 12 days and I think we felt it a bit.”
Other highlights
In the first half, both keepers had to dive to block good shots.
In the 26th minute, Alessandro Riggi, who was coming from the left flank, passed to Frédéric Lajoie-Gravellle at the edge of the box. His shot forced goalkeeper Quillan Roberts to dive to his right and push the ball out for a corner kick.
In the 37th minute, David Paulmin had to do the same, diving to his right to block a low but strong shot by Chris Mannella.
With this win, FC Montreal is now 9th in the Eastern Conference with a 7-12-3 record.
“It feels good to have this 6-1-1 record since the second half of the season,” said defender Zachary Sukunda. “Confidence is high in the locker room.”
“Two goals against in the last four games is a lot better,” said defender Mitchel Bringolf. “We kept doing what we know and now our confidence is up and that’s good. We are much more prepared mentally before the game.”
The next game will be on the road as Philippe Eullaffroy’s squad travel to Wilmington on Saturday, August 22, to face the Hammerheads FC at 7pm, at Legion Stadium. The game will be available via web streaming at www.impactmontreal.com/fcmontreal.
LINEUPS
FC Montreal: David Paulmin; Zachary Sukunda, Jonathan Grant, Mitchel Bringolf, Janouk Charbonneau; Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Marco Dominguez, 74’), Louis Béland-Goyette (Zakaria Messoudi 62’), Kyle Bekker, Alessandro Riggi (Yacine Ait Slimane 80’), Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle; Jacques Haman (Fabio Morelli 69’)
Subs not used: Yann Alexandre Fillion, Mélé Temguia, Aron Mkungilwa,
Toronto FC II: Quillan Roberts; Gabriel Boakye (Wesley Charpie 46’), Skylar Thomas, Emeka Ononye, Mark-Anthony Kaye (Luca Uccello 62’); Chris Mannella, Anthony Osorio, Sal Bernal (Marcos Nunes 76), Raheem Edwards; Edwin Rivas (Molham Babouli 46’), Jordan Hamilton
Subs not used: Phil Di Bennardo, Robert Boskovic, Manuel Aparicio,
GOALS
MTL: Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé 8’ (PEN)
MTL: Jacques Haman 53’
TFCII: Chris Mannella 91’
CAUTIONS
TFCII: Emeka Ononye 8’
MTL: Louis Béland-Goyette 13’
MTL: Mitchel Bringolf 56’
TFCII: Molham Babouli 77’
MTL: Marco Dominguez 81’
