Miracle in Montreal

Miracle in Montreal
Saputo Stadium hosted the match
Event2009 Canadian Championship
Montreal Impact Toronto FC
1 6
DateJune 18, 2009 (2009-06-18)
VenueSaputo Stadium, Montreal
RefereeCarol Anne Chenard (Canada)
Attendance11,561

Montreal Impact 1–6 Toronto FC, often referred to as the Miracle in Montreal, was a soccer match played on June 18, 2009 at Saputo Stadium in Montreal, Quebec between Montreal Impact of the USL First Division and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.

Background

The match was the final fixture of the 2009 Canadian Championship. With Montreal already eliminated and the Vancouver Whitecaps leading the table, Toronto FC needed to win by 4 or more goals to capture its first Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League.[1][2]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification VAN TOR MTL
1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4 3 0 1 5 1 +4 9 Champions League — 2–0 1–0
2 Toronto FC 3 2 0 1 2 2 0 6 1–0 — 1–0
3 Montreal Impact (E) 3 0 0 3 0 4 −4 0 0–2 Jun 18 —
Source: CanadaSoccer.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points in matches between drawn teams; 3) goal differential; 4) number of goals scored; 5) drawing of lots.[3]
(E) Eliminated

Match

Tony Donatelli gave Montreal a 1–0 lead early in the first half on a penalty kick which meant Toronto needed 5 or more goals to beat Vancouver on goal differential. Toronto went on to score 6 unanswered goals, including 3 straight from captain Dwayne De Rosario on route to capturing the 2009 Canadian Championship and a place in the CONCACAF Champions League.[1] The 6–1 defeat was the worst in Montreal's franchise history at the time.

Details

Montreal Impact1–6Toronto FC
Donatelli 24' (pen.) Report De Rosario 29', 39', 49'
Guevara 69', 90'
Barrett 82'
Attendance: 11,561
Referee: Carol Anne Chenard
Montreal Impact
Toronto FC
Montreal Impact
GK 22 Canada Srdjan Djekanović
DF 23 Jamaica Stephen deRoux
DF 24 Canada Simon Gatti
DF 13 Canada Elkana Mayard
DF 2 United States Kevin Sakuda
MF 18 Argentina Leonardo Di Lorenzo
MF 14 United States Tony Donatelli downward-facing red arrow 65'
MF 17 United States Joey Gjertsen
MF 7 United States David Testo Yellow card 47' downward-facing red arrow 50'
FW 28 Antigua and Barbuda Peter Byers
FW 30 Canada Pierre-Rudolph Mayard downward-facing red arrow 71'
Substitutes
DF 16 Italy Stefano Pesoli upward-facing green arrow 50'
MF 21 Canada Félix Brillant upward-facing green arrow 65'
MF 9 Canada Rocco Placentino Yellow card 71' upward-facing green arrow 71'
Manager
Canada Marc Dos Santos
Toronto FC
GK 24 Switzerland Stefan Frei
DF 6 United States Nick Garcia Yellow card 42'
DF 3 Canada Nana Attakora downward-facing red arrow 80'
DF 11 Canada Jim Brennan
DF 15 Canada Adrian Serioux downward-facing red arrow 64'
MF 2 United States Sam Cronin
MF 20 Honduras Amado Guevara
MF 33 Wales Carl Robinson Yellow card 63'
FW 14 Canada Dwayne De Rosario
FW 9 England Danny Dichio
FW 8 Argentina Pablo Vitti downward-facing red arrow 45'
Substitutes
FW 19 United States Chad Barrett upward-facing green arrow 45'
DF 4 Puerto Rico Marco Vélez upward-facing green arrow 64'
FW 7 United States Fuad Ibrahim upward-facing green arrow 80'
Manager
England Chris Cummins
Assistant referees
Cameron Blair
Philippe Brière
Fourth official
Dave Gantar

Aftermath

Final results

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TOR VAN MTL
1 Toronto FC (C) 4 3 0 1 8 3 +5 9 Champions League — 1–0 1–0
2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4 3 0 1 5 1 +4 9 2–0 — 1–0
3 Montreal Impact 4 0 0 4 1 10 −9 0 1–6 0–2 —
Source: CanadaSoccer.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points in matches between drawn teams; 3) goal differential; 4) number of goals scored; 5) drawing of lots.[4]
(C) Champions


Montreal and Toronto perspective

Toronto FC would go on to lose to Puerto Rico Islanders in the preliminary round of 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League.[5]

The match was a significant moment in shaping the rivalry between Montreal Impact and Toronto FC.[6] In 2011, Montreal Impact officially joined Major League Soccer becoming the third Canadian team to do so after Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. This only furthered the rivalry which became known as the 401 derby and later the Canadian Classique.[7]

Montreal would get retribution against Toronto, beating them 6–0 in the same venue during the 2013 Canadian Championship.[8] This remains the largest margin of victory in Canadian Classique history.[a]

Vancouver perspective

The Montreal Impact were accused of fielding a weaker squad against Toronto FC to rest key players for the league, since they were no longer in contention for the championship. This was seen as unfair by Vancouver Whitecaps' supporters, as Montreal's alleged uneven efforts against their opponents was the reason behind Toronto FC scoring as many goals as they did.[9] This became additionally controversial when Montreal's rested players returned in a regular season match against Vancouver, which was not only won by Montreal, but also lead to Montreal gaining a home advantage over Vancouver in the playoffs due to the regular season seeding.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Toronto FC pull off miracle, win Canadian Championship". CBC Sports. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. ^ "MasterCard Priceless Moments - The Miracle in Montreal". torontofc.ca. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Nutrilite Canadian Championship Tie-Breaker scenarios". CSA Website. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
  4. ^ "Nutrilite Canadian Championship Tie-Breaker scenarios". CSA Website. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
  5. ^ Nock, Fred. "Full Time: Toronto FC loses to the Puerto Rico Islanders 1-0". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. ^ Infurna, Patrick. "The rise of the Canadian clásico, a new twist on a long-standing rivalry". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Pozuelo, Altidore lead Toronto FC past Impact in Canadian Classique". TSN. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Montreal Impact 6, Toronto FC 0". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  9. ^ a b McColl, Michael (June 20, 2009). "Montreal Screws Vancouver Again". Retrieved June 8, 2023.

Notes

  1. ^ As of July 19, 2019.