MONTREAL – FC Montreal won a second consecutive game at home, besting Saint Louis FC in a 5-2 win on the synthetic field at Stade Saputo.
Forward Charles Joly scored a hat trick in the first half to help his team beat Saint-Louis, a team that lost only once before tonight on the road.
The opponent was the first one to score. On a free kick from 30 yards outside the box, James Musa volleyed the ball in the back of the net in the 5th minute.
The Bleu-blanc-noir replied with three consecutive goals, all from Charles Joly. In the 13th minute, midfielder Zakaria Messoudi passed to Joly inside the left of the box. The forward moved cut back before shooting low to the left to tie the game.
In the 25th minute, midfielder Marco Dominguez passed down the right flank for defender Janouk Charbonneau. He moved up with the ball before crossing into the box. Joly redirected the ball with his head over the goalkeeper to bring the score to 2-1.
Before halftime, the Bleu-blanc-noir did it again. Charbonneau found Alessandro Riggi down the right wing. Riggi cut back in the box and, seeing the goalkeeper coming out of his goal to challenge him, he passed to Joly who finished the job in the 40th minute.
“I’m really glad. These are my first goals of the season,” said forward Charles Joly. “The whole team has had a good chemistry and is confident over the last few games.”
Montreal scored again in the second half. In the 51st minute, Dominguez intercepted a pass and quickly went forward with the ball. His cross was blocked on defence, but Messoudi shot accurately to the left corner to give a three goal lead to his team.
Saint Louis didn’t give up. In the 71st minute, Mike Ambersley got the ball behind the defenders. He lobbed goalkeeper David Paulmin, coming out of his net to challenge him, to reduce the lead to 4-2.
In the 87th minute, Riggi scored on a rebound from Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle’s shot and helped the Bleu-blanc-noir get a convincing 5-2 win, the highest score for the team this season.
“I think it shows the continuity of what we built since the beginning of the season,” said defender Janouk Charbonneau. “Despite our record, I think our play was good in most of the games. For us, in the second half of the season, we have a 2-0-0 record.”
“In this developmental logic we play in, it was planned to be better in the second half of the season,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “Despite the goal we give at the beginning, players continued to play because they know the chances will come.”
The next FC Montreal game will be against Toronto FC II on July 21, 8pm, at the Ontario Soccer Centre. This game will be the first of five straight on the road for Montreal.
LINEUPS
FC Montreal : David Paulmin, Zachary Sukunda, Jems Geffrard, Mélé Temguia (Chakib Hocine 73’), Janouk Charbonneau, Mastanabal Kacher (Nazim Belguendouz 86’), Marco Dominguez, Alessandro Riggi (Philippe Lincourt-Joseph 90’), Zakaria Messoudi, Fabio Morelli (Victor Omar Ndiaye 63’), Charles Joly (Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle 65’)
Subs : Luca Leone, Nazim Belguendouz, Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle, Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, Victor Omar Ndiaye, John Dinkota, Chakib Hocine
Saint Louis FC : Mark Pais, Chad Vandegriffe, Sam Fink, Jacob Bushue, Oscar Gasecki (Parker Maher 46’), James Musa, Brandon Barklage, Brian Gaul, Brian Ciesulka (Charles Renken 53’), Mike Ambersley, Jeremy Lynch (Aaron Horton 32’, Kentaro Takada 66’)
Subs: Alec Kann, Nick Bibbs, Kentaro Takada, Charles Renken, Aaron Horton, Peter Kelly, Parker Maher
GOALS
STL : James Musa 5’
MTL : Charles Joly 13’
MTL : Charles Joly 25’
MTL : Charles Joly 40’
MTL : Zakaria Messoudi 51’
STL : Mike Ambersley 71’
MTL : Alessadro Riggi 87’
CAUTIONS
STL : Aaron Horton 61’
MTL : Marco Dominguez 83’
MTL : Mastanabal Kacher 85’
