The U15 and U17 teams started their second half of the season by taking four points against Rochester NY FC Academy. An outcome that could not have been achieved without the precious help of our partner club AS Brossard who generously lent their field for the occasion.
U15: a successful performance and a hat-trick
Michael Ampofo will long remember his first three goals in MLS Next, all scored in the same game. The midfielder was instrumental in CF Montréal’s victory, scoring twice in the box before converting a late penalty. "I'm very happy with my game and the hat-trick, but it was also a great team effort,” said the 14-year-old player. “We were able to show what Montreal is capable of doing. "
Defender Daniel Panait provided two assists, first thanks to a cross for a Vitaly Movchan header and a long throw for a Caed Casimir volley. A complete domination as the final score indicates: 5-0.
“I am very satisfied and proud of my team," said U15 head coach Esteban Landazabal. “We had prepared well for this game by working hard during the week and we were very focused on the task. We had dominated some games during the season but without having such a big score. We were able to take our chances and score five goals that felt good. We're getting back on track, and it gives us motivation going into Florida and for the rest of the season."
U15 Starting XI: Jean-Christophe Belzile – Malek Coriélus – Daniel Dimbu-Vasile (cap.) – Daniel Panait – Maxime Scaglione – Michael Ampofo – Pierrot Mbiaga - Hevra Jounang – Vitaliy Movchan – Diego Nué Brito – Owen Graham-Roache
Substitutes: Louka Pohu, Josh Nteziryayo, Joel Kontchou, Ashraf Savadogo, Dany Saoud, Caed Casimir
Goals:
CFM – Michael Ampofo (25th)
CFM – Vitaly Movchan (33rd)
CFM – Michael Ampofo (36th)
CFM – Caed Casimir (67th)
CFM – Michael Ampofo (80th)
U17: A frustrating point
Despite holding most of the possession, Montreal was too sloppy in front of goal to hope to take the three points in Brossard. Marc-Alexandre Happi Emaga opened the scoring with a nice effort to give the U17s the lead at halftime. Rochester tied the game on the hour mark before Jesse Saputo scored on a rebound four minutes later to regain the lead. The advantage was eventually squandered when a loose ball in the middle of the defence allowed the visitors to score their equalizing goal. Final score: 2-2
"I am very disappointed because we are not rewarded,” said U17 head coach Maxime Leconte. “It's frustrating because we had a lot of chances, but we still lacked efficiency and lucidity on both sides of the pitch. We gave the opponent hope and we were punished. Even if the group was young, there were good things. The players must continue to insist on specific work in training. This will allow us to better manage these types of games in the future."
U17 Starting XI: Ewan Derrien-Lairet – Aleck St-Pierre – Sergei Kozlovskiy – Luca De Montigny – Joaquim Coulanges – Emrick Fotsing – Armand Kadiamba – Tim Arnaud – Jesse Saputo – Rafael Coulanges – Marc-Alexandre Happi Emaga
Substitutes: Jeremy Sanon, Quélou Ayemi, Franco De Cicco, Thomas Monnin, Eliott Germain-Aubrey, Diego Chaverra-Gilbert, Antony Alexis
Goals:
CFM – Marc-Alexandre Happi Emaga (25th)
RNYFC – Noah Morelli (62nd)
CFM – Jesse Saputo (66th)
RNYFC – Marco Panunto (73rd)
Next up for the Academy is a trip to Florida to take on Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF on February 25 and 26. Both groups will also attend the first game of the MLS season of the CF Montréal first team against Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium.