TORONTO – FC Montreal won 1-0 against their Canadian rivals, Toronto FC II, Tuesday night, at the Ontario Soccer Centre.
From the beginning of the second half, the Bleu-blanc-noir kept creating opportunities offensively. In the 55th minute of play, midfielder Zakaria Messoudi moved forward towards the middle of the field with the ball. In front of the box, his shot surprised keeper Quillan Roberts in the top right corner to help Montreal take the lead and score the only goal of the game.
At the start of the game, Toronto had a good chance to score from a 25 yard free kick. Malik Johnson sent the ball to the second post, deflected by defender Chakib Hocine, but goalkeeper David Paulmin made the save.
Near the end, Massimo Mirabelli approached the goal and took a strong shot to the top right corner. Goalkeeper David Paulmin dove to make the save which helped Montreal keep its one goal lead until the final whistle. It’s a third consecutive win this season and a first on the road.
“I had to come up big at the end of the game, but I give full credit to my defence. We were really solid,” said goalkeeper David Paulmin. “I also felt the passion of a derby game. Things got a little heated towards the end of the game.”
“It’s a win on the road against Toronto, the joy is multiplied by 100,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “We were good in our defensive transition, but we could have done better in our offensive transition and should have had better control of the game in the final 30 yards.”
FC Montreal climbed the standings, finding themselves in the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference. The next game for Philippe Eullaffroy’s players will also be on the road, as they face the Charlotte Independence Friday at 7:30pm, at the Ramblewood Soccer Stadium.
LINEUPS
FC Montreal: David Paulmin; Zachary Sukunda (John Dinkota 68’), Jems Geffrard, Chakib Hocine, Janouk Charbonneau; Marco Dominguez, Mastanabal Kacher (Nazim Belguendouz 74’), Alessandro Riggi (Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle 73’), Zakaria Messoudi (Philippe Lincourt-Joseph 90’), Fabio Morelli; Charles Joly (Victor Omar Ndiaye 80’)
Subs: James Pantemis, Mélé Temguia, John Dinkota, Nazim Belguendouz, Victor Omar Ndiaye, Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle, Philippe Lincourt-Joseph
Toronto FC II: Quillan Roberts; Emeka Ononye (Edwin Rivas 73’), Gabriel Boakye, Daniel Fabrizi, Mark-Anthony Kaye (Nicholas Osorio 87’); Anthony Osorio, Liam Fraser, Marcos Nunes (Luca Uccello 63’), Malik Johnson; Massimo Mirabelli, Jordan Hamilton (Kevin Timachy 58’)
Subs: Phil Di Bennardo, Robert Boskovic, Marcus Godinmo, Luca Uccello, Nicholas Osorio, Edwin Rivas, Kevin Timachy
GOALS
MTL: Zakaria Messoudi 55’
CAUTIONS
MTL: Nazim Belguendouz 83’
TFC: Anthony Osorio 88’
