ROCHESTER – FC Montreal lost 1-0 to the Rochester Rhinos at Sahlen’s Stadium, Saturday, ending the game with 10-men following an ejection at the beginning of the second half.
In the 9th minute, Drew Ruggles sent a through ball to Steeven Dos Santos who didn’t miss his chance alone in front of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, shooting low to his right.
After a foul by Chakib Hocine down the left flank towards the end of the first half, Rochester defender Sean Totsch played the free kick on the ground to try to catch the goalkeeper off guard, but Crépeau made the save.
Right at the start of the second half, midfielder Fabio Morelli was shown a red card after a high foot on the opponent. Despite being down a man, FC Montreal players found a second wind as they attempted a comeback.
“We should have been more confident,” said defender Zachary Sukunda. “In the second half, we played with more will. Down to 10 men, our defenders realized that we had to support the attack to stay in the game.”
In the 87th minute of play, Crépeau had to come out of his goal to challenge a through pass. Arriving at the ball at the same time as the opponent, Crépeau managed to clear it with his head.
Despite a good second half, the Bleu-blanc-noir players could not find a goal.
“We play away to the championship leader, still unbeaten, but we wait until our back is against the wall for our animal instinct to come out,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “But it’s right from the start that we should play like this. When you see what we can do with 10 men against the leader, we ask ourselves why we can’t do it from the start.”
The next FC Montreal game will be played on June 6 at Stade Saputo against the New York Red Bulls II. Admission is free and the game is open to the public.
LINEUPS
FC Montréal : Maxime Crépeau, Zachary Sukunda (Frank Zoue 76’), Mélé Temguia, Chakib Hocine (Mitchel Bringolf 46’), John Dinkota, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Marco Dominguez (Mastanabal Kacher 83’), Alessandro Riggi, Philippe Lincourt-Joseph (Victor Ndiaye 52’), Fabio Morelli, Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle (Zakaria Messoudi 67’)
*MLS Players
Rochester Rhinos: Adam Grinwis, Onua Obasi, Patrick McMahon, Grant Van De Casteele (Vasiu Apostolopoulos 62’), Julian Ringhof, Marcos Ugarte (Jonny Mendoza 78’), Sean Totsch, Drew Ruggles (Asani Samuels 62’), Tony Walls, Christian Volesky (Mike Garzi 79’), Steevan Dos Santos (Kenardo Forbes 90’)
GOALS
ROC : Steeven Dos Santos 9’
CAUTIONS
ROC : Christian Volesky 8’
MTL : Alessandro Riggi 34’
MTL : Chakib Hocine 37’
MTL : Victor Ndiaye 88’
EJECTION
MTL : Fabio Morelli 46’
