Sunday, Sep 4, 2022. 9:35 PM
Despite allowing two goals in the first seven minutes of play, CF Montreal came from behind to win 4-3 once morest Toronto FC in the Canadian Classic on Sunday at BMO Field.
Wilfired Nancy’s men set a new club record for most points in a season with 52. The previous mark of 51 points was set in 2015.
Kamal Miller, Djordje Mihailovic and Kei Kamara scored in the first half for the Montrealers. Alistair Johnston also blackened the score sheet in the second half.
With the win, CFM (16-9-4) solidified their hold on the Eastern Conference second tier. He has a five-point lead, while having a game in hand, ahead of the No. 3 New York Red Bulls.
The Italian stars of the TFC (9-14-7), Lorenzo Insigne, twice, and Federico Bernardeschi, sounded the response for the Ontario team.
CFM completed their MLS series sweep once morest TFC with a 1-0 win at Stade Saputo in July. Bob Bradley’s troupiers, however, eliminated the CFM during the Canadian Championship with a 4-0 victory in June.
Centre-back Rudy Camacho has regained his place in the starting 11 following being sidelined with injury in the last three games.
Kamara, a leading forward, also made a comeback as a starter.
The Bleu-blanc-noir will take the lead on Friday, in Montreal, ahead of the Columbus Crew.
An emotional match
From the second minute of play, Ayo Akinola made poor control in the Montreal area and Samuel Piette came into contact with the latter, but without result. The game continued, however the referee _ following consulting the video replay _ decided to reverse his decision and offer a penalty to the Queen City club.
Bernardeschi didn’t miss such an opportunity and sent Pantemis the wrong way to rattle the strings. It was his seventh goal in nine games and a fourth from a penalty.
Two minutes later, Piette was once more unlucky when he headed Bernardeschi’s cross in the direction of Insigne. Napoli’s all-time top scorer scored a fine volley and beat James Pantemis.
Insigne has hit the mark in five of his last seven games.
However, the Montrealers had not yet given up.
In the 19th minute, Miller, central defender, made an attacking breakthrough before passing the ball to Kamara who drew on the spot. If goalkeeper Alex Bono parried the ball, Miller, in turn, flew to succeed with a volley that found the back of the net.
Like the Torontonians, the Montrealers only needed two minutes to score once more.
Mihailovic went there with a hard shot from outside the penalty area to level the score. Bono touched the leather, but wasn’t able to push it back enough.
A few minutes following his second goal, Victor Wanyama had a golden chance to give CFM the lead. Although Bono had abandoned his cage, the Kenyan’s header went above the horizontal bar.
If Kamara’s net in the 34th minute was disallowed due to a foul by Romell Quioto, he recovered just before stoppage time.
A long throw-in from Joel Waterman sent Kamara into a duel with Chris Mavinga. The CFM player beat his cover and then surprised the opposing goalkeeper between the legs.
CFM retired for the locker room with their first lead of the game.
If Quioto missed a chance early in the second half, he instigated the fourth goal for his team. His center at the far post allowed
it was up to Kamara to take the Toronto defense on the wrong foot and hand the ball to Johnston, who drove the final nail in the TFC coffin.
After 54 minutes of play, the Bleu-blanc-noir was leading 4-2. He then dictated the pace for what followed.
With the match sealed in added time, a mix-up between Camacho and Piette allowed Insigne to lob Pantemis and cut CFM’s lead in half.