CF Montréal Falls to Toronto FC, 1-0

July 20, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club de Foot Montreal News Release

MONTREAL – In its last MLS match before the Leagues Cup break, CF Montréal lost 1-0 to Toronto FC on Saturday evening at Stade Saputo.

The only goal of the game was scored by Canadian defender Richie Laryea in the 38th minute, following assists from Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi.

CF Montréal will now pause its regular season to take part in the 2024 Leagues Cup, which kicks off next Friday with the first group stage match against Orlando City SC at Inter&Co Stadium at 8pm.

COMPLETE SUMMARY HERE

MATCH NOTES:

-Samuel Piette became CF Montréal’s all-time leader in MLS games played with 177.

-Ariel Lassiter will be suspended for his next MLS match due to yellow card accumulation.

-The match was sold out for the 12th time in as many games this season.

Post-match comments from head coach Laurent Courtois, Samuel Piette and Jonathan Sirois will be available here.

LAURENT COURTOIS

“I don’t think there was any lack of effort tonight. I’m not shy when I find that to be the case either. A lack of audacity, perhaps. I think there was too much willingness to prepare and not enough chaos. We were too meticulous. In the second half, we were more relaxed. We tried harder, but we need to create more situations in the box. The guys really wanted to do well. The will was there. The ideas were clear. The state of mind was there. We made a mistake with the goal. After that, it’s hard to apply pressure, because Toronto has a lot of rotation around the pitch. In the first half, we didn’t create enough problems. Even so, if it stays 0-0, we know we’ll have some momentum in the second half. I spoke to a few of the players. We all felt we could have done better in the second half. I’m regretting that we didn’t use the strikers a bit more in the box. It hurts, because we wanted to repay the support and sacrifice of the fans. We wanted to give them something good. The difference is that I can’t fault my players for their effort. In that respect, I have nothing to say. I said in the dressing room that we’ve still got nine games to play. If we want to make amends, we have to do everything we can to hold on to this last playoff spot.”

SAMUEL PIETTE

“The result is frustrating tonight, because we weren’t in any danger, but overall we were in control. Toronto’s block was compact and hard to break through. We found it hard to play in front of them. In the second half, we picked up the pace and showed our…