TORONTO, Ontario – Despite trailing by two goals early in the first half, CF Montréal fough back to defeat Toronto FC 4-3 on Sunday night at BMO Field.
The match got off to a quick start as the home side took an early lead through a pair of early goals courtesy of Federico Bernardeschi (5', penalty) and Lorenzo Insigne (7').
But the Montrealers responded with four consecutive goals of their own. Kamal Miller started the comeback with a half-volley (19'), followed by a long-range Djordje Mihailovic equalizer two minutes later. An individual effort by Kei Kamara (43') then gave Montreal the lead for the first time in the game, before Alistair Johnston sealed the result (54') with his third goal of the season. Insigne scored his second of the game in stoppage time, but it wouldn’t be enough for the hosts.
CF Montréal now has 16 wins, including a fifth straight away from home, 52 points and 53 goals scored (all new club records). The result also extends Montreal’s second-place lead in the Eastern Conference and helps them climb to third overall in MLS.
With five games left in the regular season, CF Montréal will be back at Stade Saputo next Friday for a showdown against the Columbus Crew at 7:30pm (TVA Sports, TSN, BPM Sports, TSN 690).
COMPLETE SUMMARY HERE
GAME NOTES
**-Midfielder Mathieu Choinière became CF Montréal’s Homegrown player with the most minutes played in MLS.
-Mihailovic’s goal was his career-high eighth of the season and 12th goal with CF Montréal.
-Kamara’s game-winning goal was the 136th of his MLS career.
-A total of 11 goals have been scored by Montreal defenders this season.
WILFRIED NANCY
“My players didn't give up tonight despite the two conceded goals. They were eager to show that Montreal is a united team that follows a project and wants to enjoy itself. I saw both a boxing match and a chess game tonight. We train hard every day. Tonight, the players motivated themselves. This is the way my team behaves.”
ALISTAIR JOHNSTON
“As Toronto’s press died off, we found pockets and knocked the ball around. The fourth goal was massive. We had a very professional second half. Getting three goals like that in the same half is quite special. The self-belief in the group is there. When you have that throughout the year, you don’t feel uncomfortable conceding a goal. With how we play, we know we can break teams down. This builds on what we’ve been doing all year.”
KAMAL MILLER
“This is a massive win. It helps that the two goals were scored early. We get stronger as games go by. We knew we would have chances and fix the errors we made. We train and compete hard in training, so the games feel easier. This is important for our playoff push. We felt disrespected going into this game. We wanted to make a statement and prove that we’re a strong team and we did that tonight. We carried the momentum of the first goal throughout the full 90 minutes.”
