VAUGHAN, Ontario - FC Montreal will try to get a fourth win in a row on Sunday, August 28, at 4pm, when it visits Toronto FC II, at the Ontario Soccer Centre, in Vaughan.
Montreal came back from behind to win 3-2 against Bethlehem Steel FC in its last game, on August 21. In the win, first team forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel scored his sixth goal of the USL season, while defenders Aron Mkungilwa and Thomas Meilleur-Giguère scored the two other goals.
Mkungilwa was named on the USL Team of the Week after his performance in that game, adding an assist on Jackson-Hamel’s goal.
“We always try to win games when we start them,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “We want to perform while taking points. We take one game at a time. We will have a different team with the guys gone with the national team. The whole group is concerned. It helps to know that the players subbed in bring something in the game as well.”
In their last meeting in Ontario, FC Montreal tied 1-1 at TFC II’s home. Jackson-Hamel scored the first goal of the game, but Liam Fraser equalized in the last minutes of the game.
For Sunday’s game, both teams will play without two key players that were called by the Canada U20 Men’s team for a camp in Costa Rica. FC Montreal will be without Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla and Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, while Toronto will miss Luca Uccello and Liam Fraser.
However, Montreal saw its substitutes answer the call in the latest games and bring something interesting to the play. In the last game, Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, coming in the 73rd minute, set up the winning goal for Mkungilwa.
“We feel good. The atmosphere is much better when we win,” said Aron Mkungilwa. “We knew it will come and we remained confident. We will do anything to get the three points, even more in Toronto, against our rivals. It’s a team that plays a lot on individualities and the three players up top.”
For Toronto, the team lost its last three games. Despite this stretch, they only allowed four goals. Raheem Edwards is their best scorer with six goals, but didn’t score in his last six games.
FC Montreal will then come back home to host the Wilmington Hammerheads FC on Wednesday, August 31, at 7pm, at the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex.
