Vancouver Football Club turned its attention back to the Telus Canadian Championship this week, as it hosted MLS side CF Montreal in the first of two quarterfinal matches at The Stadium at Langley Events Centre on Wednesday night.
VFC had scored the first goal during the second period of play, Damiano Pecile and Nicolas Mezquida credited with giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
But the five-time Canadian Champions from Montreal retaliated about 10 minutes later, to tie things up in minute 63 with a shot by Dagur Porhallsson that was inadvertently hit by Vancouver netminder Matteo Campagna and went in his own goal.
Then, with literally only minutes left on the clock, Montreal’s leading scorer Prince Owusu placed a successful penalty shot in the Vancouver net by sending the keeper in the wrong direction and to the ground.
VFC Eagles fell 2-1 in the first of the two-match series for the quarterfinals of the Telus Canadian Championships, leaving head coach Martin Nash rubbing his head and looking tired at the post-game press conference.
“Our attitude and our application was good,” he said. “It was just, you know, that quality in the third end that let us down at times.”
He would have been content with a 1-1 tie, but referring to the late penalty goal, Nash described it as frustrating, noting his team had virtually no time to respond.
Describing the game as a series of missed opportunities, the coach concluded his team is still very much in this battle, and said there’s a lot to fight for when they face FC Montreal this weekend for a rematch.
Both these sides got to the quarterfinals by defeating a pro-am club from Premier Soccer Leagues Canada. Montreal took down Albertan champions Calgary Blizzard, while Vancouver beat Langley United in a derby clash back in May.
Since the quarterfinals consist of two matches, VFC takes on Montreal again this Sunday. That game kicks off 4:30 p.m. PT in Quebec.
And as in previous years, the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Canadian Championship are two-legged home-and-away ties, with the winner on aggregate score advancing. If the aggregate score is tied after two games, teams proceed to 30 minutes of extra time, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary.
The team that emerges triumphant there will move on to a two-match semifinal series in September, striving to make it to the finals in late October in the quest for the Voyageurs Cup.
The path to the Voyageurs Cup, and qualification for the Concacaf Champions Cup, continues with five Canadian Premier League sides eager to be the CPL’s first-ever CanChamp winner – the VFC Eagles among them.