York9 FC ties Montreal Impact 2:2 in wild QR3 opening leg

On Wednesday 10 July, York9 FC and Montréal Impact saw out a thriller with a flurry of goals late in the second half and playing to a 2-2 tie in the opening leg of their 2019 Canadian Championship third round two-leg series at York Lions Stadium in North York, Ontario.  

After Montreal opened the scoring just past the hour mark, York9 FC rebounded with a pair of goals of their own within five minutes of each other to take an unexpected lead with three minutes to go in regulation. However, a penalty in the final minute of play opened the door to an equalizer for the visitors.

Montreal striker Omar Browne put his team up in the 62′ after a miscommunication in front of the hosts net left Browne with a clear shot at the net without opposition. Luca Gasparotto’s attempt to head the ball back to his goalkeeper ended up right in the Impact player’s path, and he did not hesitate to bury it in the back of the net.

The hosts levelled the score at the 82′ when substitute Rodrigo Gattas sent a long pass from the centre of the field to reach Ryan Telfer just outside of the box. After taking a first touch to stop the pass, Telfer blasted a right-foot volley in the top right corner, leaving no chance to Montreal keeper Clement Diop on the play.

Five minutes later, York9 FC created havoc in the York Lions Stadium by taking the lead off a corner kick. The left-footed strike from the right side corner by captain Manuel Aparicio was headed to the second post by Luca Gasparotto behind the defenders, where Gattas jumped sideways to tackle the ball behind Clement Diop to make it 2-1 for the hosts.

It was in the 90′ that York9 FC keeper Nathan Ingham came out of his line to challenge Montreal forward Max Urruti, but his grab for the ball took the visitor down and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Montreal’s Saphir Taider shot to the right, Ingham dove to the left, the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

Both teams had their chances elsewhere in the game. Ingham stopped Montreal’s Mathieu Choiniere’s shot into the bottom right corner (45’) late in the first half and Kyle Porter’s equalizer (78’) was called back since he was caught offside on the play. On one of the final plays in stoppage time, Joseph Di Chiara of York9 FC saw his right footed shot crushing on the crossbar (90+4’). 

York9 FC concluded the game with 15 shots, but only two on target and three blocked against Montreal’s 11 shots on goal, four being on target and two blocked. Both teams will meet again at Montreal’s Saputo Stadium on July 24 with the Impact returning home with two precious away goals in tow.

Canadian Nathan Ingham was the starting goalkeeper for York9 FC, with Canadians Roger Thompson and Luca Gasparotto as central defenders along with Diyaeedine Abzi and Morey Doner on the wings. Canadians Kyle Porter, Jose Di Chiara, Ryan Telfer and captain Manuel Aparicio in the midfield along with Wataru Murofushi in front of the defenders and Simon Adjei up front.

Former Canadian international and York9 FC coach Jim Brennan sent in Rodrigo Gattas (73’) to replace Adjei, while Canadian Austin Ricci (84’) appeared late in the game to take Porter’s spot on the field.

For the visiting Montreal Impact FC, Clement Diop stated in goal behind defenders Rudy Camacho, Zakaria Diallo and Victor Cabrera, from left to right, Canadians Daniel Kinumbe and Zachary Brault-Guillard on the wings, with Ken Krolicki and Canadian captain Samuel Piette in the middle of the park, behind Canadian Mathieu Choinière, Max Urruti and Omar Browne from left to right up top.

Visiting coach Remi Garde made a double substitution at the 66th minute when Saphir Taider and Canadian Shamit Shome came on board to replace Browne and Choiniere. He later replaced Canadian international Samuel Piette with Michael Azira (85’).