ROCHESTER, New York – FC Montreal lost 2-1 against the Rochester Rhinos after scoring the first goal of the game, Saturday night, at Sahlen’s Stadium.
FC Montreal started the game without complexes against the defending champions. The Bleu-blanc-noir had the best chance in the first half, when forward Charles Joly found Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla behind the defence. Tabla shot on goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, and Louis Béland-Goyette’s shot on the rebound went over the target.
In the second half, Charles Joly intercepted a back pass from Ryan James and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Joly beat him on the right to give Montreal the lead in the 48th minute.
The Rhinos got one back right away. In the 52nd minute, on a turnover, Marcos Ugarte dribbled to the box before passing to Christian Volesky at the penalty spot. Volesky beat goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau with a low shot on the left.
The Rhinos added another goal in the 56th minute. After a foul in Montreal’s box, the referee gave a penalty to Rochester. Volesky took the shot in the lower right corner to give a lead to the locals.
FC Montreal’s players tried to come back in the second half, but the Rhinos’ defence held on.
“I’m satisfied with the efficiency of the players, individually and collectively,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “It’s unfortunate that our young guys weren’t rewarded for a game where they were solid, disciplined and applied. There was a good mental strength, and the youngsters all had the same goal with clear and precise instructions. Sometimes, there are defeats that you want to forget, like the one in Wilmington, but we need to remember this one and build on it because, globally, it was a high-quality game.”
“I think we had a precise game plan, and we executed it well,” said midfielder Louis Béland-Goyette. “It’s positive, and we need to keep this up for the next games of the season. Then, after some mistakes on our part, the game got away in the span of 5 to 10 minutes.”
The next FC Montreal game will be played on Sunday, May 1st, against Orlando City B, at the Titan Soccer Complex, at 7:30pm (EDT). The game will be available via live streaming at www.impactmontreal.com.
LINEUPS
FC Montréal: Maxime Crépeau; Janouk Charbonneau, Kyle Fisher, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Aron Mkungilwa; Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Marco Dominguez (Alessandro Riggi 64’), David Choinière (Mastanabal Kacher 85’), Louis Béland-Goyette (Philippe Lincourt-Joseph 79’), Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla; Charles Joly (Fabio Morelli 79’)
Subs not used: Luca Leone, Simon Lemire, Heikel Jarras
MLS players
Rochester Rhinos: Adam Grinwis; Vasileios Apostolopoulos, Joseph Farrell, Dominic Samuel, Jordan Becker (Asani Samuels 70’); Marcos Ugarte (Tony Walls 70’), Sean Totsch (Bradley Kamdem Fewo 81’), Michael Garzi, Sean Reilly; Christian Volesky, Kenardo Forbes
Subs not used: Tomas Gomez, Daniel Lynd, Ryan James, Andre Fortune
GOALS
FCMTL: Charles Joly 48’
ROC: Christian Volesky 52’
ROC: Christian Volesky 56’ (Penalty)
CAUTIONS
FCMTL: Marco Dominguez 50’
FCMTL: Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé 56’
FCMTL: Louis Béland-Goyette 66’
FCMTL: Mastanabal Kacher 86’
ROC: Kenardo Forbes 94’
FCMTL: Janouk Charbonneau 96’
FCMTL: Kyle Fisher 97’
